Cooley Enhances Crypto and Fintech Litigation Capabilities

Los Angeles – December 15, 2025Brian Klein has joined Cooley as a litigation partner in the firm’s Business Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations practice groups in Los Angeles. Brian has a broad civil and white collar criminal defense practice, with an emphasis on representing crypto and fintech companies in government investigations and commercial litigation. At Cooley, Brian will expand the litigation department’s representation of those clients and its broader litigation practice in Los Angeles.

“Brian is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and respected advocates for innovators in the crypto industry, and we are excited that he is joining our team,” said Ian Shapiro, partner and chair of the firm’s global litigation department. “Brian’s arrival reinforces the litigation department’s long-standing reputation as one of the elite for the representation of crypto companies.”

Brian joins Cooley from a Los Angeles litigation boutique where he practiced for 12 years, after five years as an assistant US attorney for the Central District of California. Before becoming an AUSA, Brian practiced criminal defense at Brafman & Associates and Skadden in New York. Brian is ranked Band 1 for Crypto-Asset Disputes by Chambers and Partners, and he is one of Law360’s Fintech MVPs. He is also an adjunct faculty member of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

“Many of the world’s most innovative executives and businesses turn to Brian for their most consequential crypto dispute and enforcement matters,” said Andrew Goldstein, partner and head of Cooley’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice. “He is a gifted trial lawyer and accomplished leader who is widely recognized for his success in many of the most complex and high-stakes crypto trials in recent history.”

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join this world-class team of litigators and to be a part of such a collaborative and dynamic team,” said Klein. “Cooley’s platform of innovative companies is truly unmatched, and I am looking forward to partnering with our cutting-edge clients as they navigate today’s increasingly complex and rapidly evolving enforcement and litigation landscape.” 

Cooley’s global litigation practice includes more than 470 lawyers in the US and Europe and is the leading litigation department for the representation of tech, life sciences and other innovative companies. In 2025, Cooley has added numerous elite, next-generation lawyers to its litigation department throughout the US, including Elizabeth Prelogar, Raymond Tolentino, Ephraim McDowell, Brian Nelson, Janet Kim and Sean Quinn in Washington, DC; Simona Agnolucci, Ben Hur, Jonathan Patchen, Eduardo Santacana, Joshua Anderson and Tiffany Lin in San Francisco; Michael Rome in Los Angeles; Lyndsey Kruzer in Boston; and James Kim and Tejal Shah in New York.

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