Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_635264d6b4b15" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Kyle Roche is now associated with a new law practice based in New York</li>
 <li>Roche will represent KeyFi CEO Jason Stone in an ongoing lawsuit against Celsius</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Kyle Roche, the embattled crypto lawyer at the center of a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ava-labs-ceo-rejects-report-alleging-conspiracy-with-law-firm/">high-profile exposé</a> outing him for a secret pact with Ava Labs, was recently dropped by the law firm he co-founded.



Now, he’s single-handedly started a new firm — and working with an old client.



&#8220;I’ve established a new solo practice called Kyle Roche P.A.,&#8221; he told Blockworks in an email on Friday.



The lawyer is a legal representative for Jason Stone, CEO of staking software and strategies firm KeyFi, in an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/celsius-accused-of-market-manipulation-by-ex-employee/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ongoing lawsuit</a> against bankrupt crypto lender Celsius for alleged market manipulation.&nbsp;



At the time <a href="https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=RvF30Mz2IZW63s1mjjau2Q==" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">KeyFi’s complaint</a> was filed, Roche was still a partner at law firm Roche Freedman.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x191/11749/PLEADINGS/1174910202280000000069.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">notice of change of firm</a> filed Thursday shows updated contact information for Roche, who is now piloting his own professional association in New York.



“Please take notice that Jason Stone and KeyFi, Inc., hereby notify the court and all parties of record that Kyle W. Roche, who is admitted to practice in this court, is now associated with Kyle Roche P.A,” the attorney said in the filing.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Roche Freedman rebrands in wake of Ava Labs scandal</h3>



Confirmation of Roche’s new gig comes right after he was ousted <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/law-firm-drops-kyle-roche-following-ava-labs-expose-fallout/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">from his old practice</a>, where he no longer holds equity.



“We are focused on continuing to provide our clients with top quality representation and are proud of the firm’s accomplishments to date. We wish Kyle the best in his future endeavors,” a spokesperson for the firm told Blockworks.



That outfit, formerly called Roche Freedman, has now rebranded to Freedman Normand Friedland.



Roche’s role there came under severe strain following allegations he was involved in a secret pact with Ava Labs, the developer of the Avalanche blockchain.&nbsp;



Roche, working as a lawyer for Roche Freedman, allegedly agreed to pursue class-action lawsuits against Ava Labs’ competitors in order to gain sensitive information and divert scrutiny away from the crypto company.



In secretly recorded videos, Roche <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/kyle-roche-moves-to-withdraw-from-multiple-lawsuits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">described</a> himself as Ava Labs’ in-house crypto expert and claimed his skills were directly attributable to his pursuit of lawsuits against “half the companies in this space.”



Both Roche and Ava Labs have denied the allegations, claiming they are “categorically false.” Even so, Roche subsequently <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/kyle-roche-moves-to-withdraw-from-multiple-lawsuits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">withdrew as an attorney</a> from multiple lawsuits and Roche Freedman was booted from a class action against stablecoin issuer Tether.



It isn’t clear yet whether Roche is representing other companies, apart from KeyFi, as legal counsel. The attorney didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.



This report was updated on Oct. 21 at 9:41 am ET to include Kyle Roche&#8217;s comment.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



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Ousted Crypto Lawyer Opens New Firm After Ava Labs Scandal

<div id="highlights-block_63511e5515c77" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Kyle Roche withdrew from several class action cases in September, but lawyers called for his entire firm to be removed</li>
 <li>A US judge formally ousted Roche Freedman as counsel from a lawsuit against Tether last week</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Embattled lawyer Kyle Roche is facing the consequences of secret video recordings in which he said crypto developer Ava Labs paid him to harm competitors via class-action lawsuits.



“Kyle Roche is no longer with the firm. The firm will be renamed Freedman Normand Friedland LLP,” a spokesperson told Blockworks.



“We are focused on continuing to provide our clients with top quality representation and are proud of the firm’s accomplishments to date.  We wish Kyle the best in his future endeavors,” the spokesperson added.



On <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylewroche/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/KyleWRoche" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>, Roche is still listed as a partner at Roche Freedman. He didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.



<a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/crypto-law-firm-co-founder-out-after-secret-recordings-leak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg Law</a> first reported the development on Wednesday.



Roche had <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/kyle-roche-moves-to-withdraw-from-multiple-lawsuits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moved to withdraw</a> as an attorney from multiple class action cases last month. But legal representatives for the targets also sought <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/roche-freedmans-legal-targets-cry-foul-after-video-leak/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">removal of the entire law firm</a> in response to the leaked videos.



The alleged agreement required Roche to sue “half the companies in this space” with the objective of obtaining sensitive internal information, while simultaneously deflecting scrutiny away from Ava Labs, the blockchain studio behind Ethereum and Solana competitor Avalanche.



Roche was to do so in exchange for AVAX tokens and equity. Both Ava Labs’ CEO Emin Gün Sirer and Roche have denied the allegations.



On Oct. 13, a US judge ousted Roche Freedman from representing investors in a <a href="https://www.fnf.law/tether-bitfinex-must-face-crypto-market-manipulation-claims" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">class action</a> accusing Tether of market manipulation. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/crypto-law-firm-roche-freedman-parts-ways-with-founder-after-video-leak-2022-10-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters</a> noted that the domain name “<a href="http://freedmannormand.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">freedmannormand.com</a>” was registered on the same day as the judge’s order.



Tether said it was pleased with the “well-reasoned decision” to expel the law firm as counsel.



“Roche Freedman’s repeated attempts to trivialize and separate itself from Kyle Roche’s despicable statements describing unethical conduct were not the least bit persuasive,” the company said in a <a href="https://tether.to/en/tether-supports-court-decision-for-removal-of-roche-freedman-llp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Kyle Roche not the only lawyer to receive Ava Labs&#8217; tokens</h3>



Roche Freedman has initiated more than a dozen class action lawsuits against major crypto players. Roche was entitled to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/03092021cyrulnik.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">19% of the law firm’s equity</a> as of Dec. 2019.&nbsp;



Elliott Greenfield, a legal representative for Tether, previously claimed that others at the law firm were involved with Ava Labs and they may still hold substantial amounts of AVAX tokens.



A memorandum of understanding, revealed as part of a dispute between Roche Freedman and former equity partner Jason Cyrulnik, however shows Roche was the sole attorney responsible for business with Ava Labs.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png" alt="" class="wp-image-34905" width="768" height="374" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/image-1-1024x498.png?w=1402 1402w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption>AVAX distributions to Roche Freedman lawyers.</figcaption></figure></div>


Still, the document puts the share of an undisclosed amount of AVAX tokens distributed to other lawyers including founding partner Devin &#8220;Velvel&#8221; Freedman and Cyrulnik, who received 32% and 25% of the haul respectively. 



Roche received 28% with the remaining 15% distributed evenly to three other lawyers at the firm, according to the filing.



This report was updated on Oct. 21 at 12:17 am ET to include Freedman Normand Friedland&#8217;s comment.



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Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



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