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Bobby Wenner

Partner, FinTech Practice at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Minneapolis, MN

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Why they matter

Ex-CLO of a FINRA-member digital-asset broker-dealer turned Taft fintech partner — a rare operator-plus-counsel read on payments and digital-asset licensing risk.

Background

Bobby Wenner is a Partner in Taft Stettinius & Hollister's FinTech practice, joining in May 2025 from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he was of counsel in the FinTech and Regulation group. Before returning to private practice, he served as chief legal officer of a FINRA-member broker-dealer and alternative trading system for digital asset securities, and as associate general counsel of its parent holding company. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law and a B.A. from the University of Denver, and is admitted to practice in Colorado and Minnesota.

Notable deals

  • 2025
    Joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister as Partner in the FinTech Practice, moving from Nelson Mullins alongside practice chair Richard Levin
  • 2025
    Co-authored "The SEC May Have a Problem—Crypto Enforcement in the Age of the Major Questions Doctrine" in International FinTech Review
  • 2024
    Co-authored the U.S. chapter on AI regulation for Global Legal Insights' "AI, Machine Learning & Big Data 2024" guide

Call-prep brief

Bobby Wenner — Partner, FinTech Practice, Taft Stettinius & Hollister

Background

  • J.D. Georgetown Law (2016); B.A. University of Denver (2012, cum laude)
  • Admitted in Colorado and Minnesota
  • Joined Taft May 2025 from Nelson Mullins, where he was of counsel under FinTech practice chair Richard Levin
  • Rare operator background: former chief legal officer of a FINRA-member broker-dealer/ATS for digital asset securities, and associate general counsel of its holding company

Current focus

  • Regulatory counsel to broker-dealers, ATSs, digital asset/currency trading platforms, issuers, custodians, and derivatives venues
  • Product development, licensure applications (state money transmitter, broker-dealer), and SEC/FINRA/CFTC enforcement defense

What he cares about

  • Regulatory clarity for digital-asset securities trading infrastructure
  • Administrative-law limits on enforcement-driven rulemaking (major questions doctrine)
  • Practical compliance pathways for fast-growing fintechs, not just theory

Sensitivities

  • Note: his specialty is digital-asset/crypto broker-dealer regulation, not traditional card-network merchant acquiring — useful for regulatory-adjacent payments diligence, but confirm fit before treating him as a core payments-rails expert
  • As a practicing lawyer, expect careful, non-conflicted, high-level commentary rather than client specifics

Questions to ask

  1. How is FINRA/SEC licensing friction for digital-asset trading platforms shaping deal timelines and valuations right now?
  2. From his CLO experience, what operational red flags should a buyer look for in a payments/digital-asset target's compliance stack?
  3. How might major-questions-doctrine litigation change the regulatory risk calculus for fintech targets over the next 12-18 months?

Outreach draft

Subject
FinTech Regulatory Diligence Call — Digital Assets
Hi Bobby, I'm on a deal team at [Fund] evaluating an investment touching payments and digital-asset infrastructure. Your background as chief legal officer of a FINRA-member digital-asset broker-dealer, combined with your current work at Taft advising fintechs on licensing and SEC/FINRA/CFTC matters, would be really valuable as we scope regulatory risk. Would you have 30 minutes in the next couple of weeks for a paid expert consultation? Happy to work around your schedule, and we'll keep the discussion high-level and non-conflicted. Thanks, [Placeholder Name]

Sources