Usman Sheikh is Chair of the Blockchain & Fintech Practice. He is a Transactional Partner in Baker McKenzie’s Toronto office and is also a member of the Firm’s Litigation and Government Enforcement Practice Group. A highly regarded thought leader on blockchain and distributed ledger technology, Usman has briefed the offices of several prime ministers, as well as ministers, on blockchain’s disruptive power, and is regularly invited to speak to business leaders and at global blockchain conferences throughout the world.
Usman was named as one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by Canadian Lawyer (2018) and as one of the top FinTech lawyers in Canada (Band 1) by Chambers for four consecutive years (2020 - 2023). Most recently, he was recognized in Toronto Life’s The Influentials 2021 list, an annual feature that highlights Toronto’s most influential people over the last 12 months.
Author of over 25 legal and academic publications, Usman is set to publish The Law of Blockchain Technology (Thomson Reuters) in 2023.
Prior to joining Baker, Usman spent four years as a prosecutor in the OSC’s Enforcement Branch, including within the Insider Trading/Market Manipulation Unit. In this role, he investigated and prosecuted all forms of securities law violations, including the largest criminal case of insider trading in Canadian history, as well as a recent regulatory case of insider trading for which the highest sanctions in Canada were ordered. Usman has served as counsel on several precedent-setting securities and commercial cases in Canada, including cases before the Supreme Court of Canada. He has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia, as well as before a wide variety of administrative tribunals, including the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and IIROC.
Practice Focus:
Usman regularly advises clients on FinTech, blockchain and digital asset matters, both on corporate and litigation cases. He has provided legal counsel on cutting-edge token sales, NFTs, crypto asset trading platforms (aka currency exchanges), blockchain/FinTech mergers & acquisitions and cybersecurity breaches. He has also served as counsel on many of the most prominent and novel securities litigation and crypto litigation matters in Canada. Over the years, Usman’s clients have included Canada’s largest banks and stock exchanges, investment dealers, co-founders of Ethereum, supranational organizations, 12 of the largest crypto assets in the world, DeFi protocols, metaverse projects, as well as several fintech pioneers.
Updated March 2024
