About
Michael Hassard is a Senior Associate at Tor Ekeland Law, based in New York. He serves as trial and appellate counsel in federal criminal and civil matters throughout the United States, representing computer hackers, cryptocurrency users, white-collar defendants, and businesses operating in the digital-asset sector.
Michael’s practice focuses on federal criminal defense, including prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), cryptocurrency-related offenses, and matters involving the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He also handles complex civil litigation and advises digital-asset and decentralized-finance businesses on regulatory compliance and U.S. approvals. His work includes representing clients facing allegations of unauthorized computer access, digital-asset fraud, and government surveillance, as well as parties in high-stakes commercial, financial-services, and securities disputes.
Michael served as trial counsel to Roman Sterlingov in United States v. Sterlingov, the federal prosecution concerning the Bitcoin Fog mixing service. In that case, federal prosecutors advanced novel theories relying on blockchain-forensic evidence. Michael continues to work on the appeal, which challenges the reliability of that evidence. His appellate practice also includes other federal criminal appeals, and his trial-level work includes sentencing advocacy challenging government loss calculations.
A recognized voice on financial privacy, blockchain forensics, and digital civil liberties, Michael regularly speaks at industry conferences and appears on podcasts addressing how U.S. prosecutors build cases from blockchain data and the limitations of forensic tools introduced in court.
Michael is licensed to practice in New York and is admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, Western District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, and District of Colorado, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He also regularly appears pro hac vice in federal courts nationwide.
Michael earned his J.D. from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. While there, he served as a board member of the International Commercial Arbitration Team, competed twice at the Willem C. Vis Moot in Vienna, Austria, and played Division I NCAA roller hockey. He earned his undergraduate degree, with a specialist in Political Science, from the University of Toronto, where he played U Sports football for the Toronto Varsity Blues. He also completed a study-abroad program in European integration theory at Københavns Universitet.
Before law school, Michael coached the Bosnian National Ice Hockey Team and played for Sarajevo Medvedji through Hockey Sans Frontières, a Québec-based nonprofit. He now coaches the U18 team for Ice Hockey in Harlem in New York City.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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