Adam Atlas is the founder of Adam Atlas Attorneys at Law, a boutique fintech and crypto law firm based in Montreal, Canada, licensed in New York and Quebec. Founded in 2003, the firm advises payments businesses, crypto companies, banks, and independent sales organizations across the United States and beyond on everything from MSB licensing and credit card acquiring to stablecoin, DeFi, and AI law. Adam also operates fintech.law®, a free open-source resource on payments law, and provides regular MSB law updates to the U.S. Money Services Business Association.
I asked Adam how he went about building his firm.
"In 2003, I was a third-year associate at a large corporate firm doing M&A," he told me. "I found myself chafing a bit. I liked the activity of bringing in new business, and that was frowned upon for my stage at that firm. I had an entrepreneurial streak, and I was young and had no dependents and a low-rent apartment and I could afford a laptop. So, I did that. I bought a laptop and quit."
A client followed him out the door. That client put him on a small retainer and gave him work in electronic payments, the niche that would define his career. He went to trade shows, picked up clients, and spent years building expertise in a field that most lawyers hadn't yet discovered. More than two decades later, he is still at it, and the practice has evolved alongside the industry from payments to crypto to artificial intelligence law.
Building a team came gradually. His first lawyer approached him at a trade show and asked if he ever needed help. He did. The rest followed organically, one person at a time, each hire made only when the work genuinely supported it.
"When you start out, you have your first client and you're hustling and looking for work, it's very hard to imagine paying the salary of another person," he said. "But if you're fortunate, you can grow into a position where that's entirely reasonable and entirely doable. Think of having a person down the hall who starts their day with nothing to do. That's blissful because you can give them things to do."
What shapes how Adam leads is his firm philosophy he put to paper years ago and reads aloud with his team at an annual gathering:
"We have the privilege of the trust of some of the most creative minds in the world. We must honor that trust. We must find within ourselves reason to give our very best at every moment in every interaction we have with anyone in a professional context. Always contribute value to a conversation. Express genuine care for the welfare of our client — even if we dislike some things about them. Speak from the basis of facts and knowledge that you master. Collectively, we have the ability to do great things and propel our clients to where they want to go. We are a special team with the right mix of professionalism, strength, sensitivity and heart to get our clients through the highs and the lows of their legal journeys."
That philosophy has guided the firm through more than two decades of change from classic payments to crypto to AI law. And Adam is clear-eyed about what keeps the firm relevant as the landscape continues to shift.
"A.I. will give answers to the kinds of questions our clients ask us," he said. "But you have to know enough about what you're asking to know if it's giving you back incorrect information. We're one step ahead of the A.I."
Are you a payments business, crypto company, or fintech navigating U.S. or Canadian regulatory requirements? Connect with Adam Atlas and check out Adam Atlas Attorneys at Law.