Mr. Serafini brings more than fifteen years of combined policy and legal experience in financial services to his work at Patomak. His work at Patomak focuses on advising clients on emerging regulatory issues and strategy involving new financial products.
Prior to joining Patomak, he was a director in the Office of Global Government Relations at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. His work at DTCC was directed at monitoring and advancing policy matters in Congress and with regulators, including issues related to the Dodd-Frank Act, financial technology (fintech), market structure, data privacy, tax, and cybersecurity.
Before serving as a Director at DTCC, Mr. Serafini worked in the Broker-Dealer and Public Policy Practice Groups of WilmerHale, where he advised large and medium-sized financial institutions on U.S. broker-dealer, swap-dealer, clearinghouse, enforcement, and congressional investigation matters. He was also a member of an inaugural cryptocurrency working group that developed WilmerHale’s expertise on the industry and provided strategic advice to clients developing digital assets.
In addition to his extensive private sector experience, Mr. Serafini has held multiple roles working in government. He served as Counsel, Policy Adviser, and Director of Legislative Affairs at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he also chaired the Global Markets Advisory Committee and held public hearings on cross-border implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act, cryptocurrency, high-frequency trading, and the mandatory clearing of swaps.
Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Serafini served as Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Congressional Affairs. His work included ushering several free trade agreements through Congress and leading the successful Senate confirmation process of the USTR Ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the Chief Agricultural Negotiator. Mr. Serafini also has experience working in the United States Senate, where his portfolio included policy and oversight issues before the Senate Finance and Agriculture Committees.
Mr. Serafini received his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, cum laude, and his B.A. in international relations and minor in international economics, magna cum laude, from Beloit College. He is a frequent public speaker on the interplay between policymaking and the implementation of new fintech.