Cheryl Isaac is a partner and a member of the Asset Management and Investment Funds practice, where she concentrates on derivatives and commodities law. Cheryl regularly speaks and writes on novel legal issues relevant to the derivatives industry, and relies on her years of experience in private practice to advise clients on complex and in some cases unprecedented business models and financial products. Cheryl counsels a broad range of derivatives market participants—energy and commodity traders, financial institutions, brokers, asset managers, and derivatives exchanges, among others—on legal and regulatory matters under the Commodity Exchange Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and related US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and National Futures Association (NFA) rules and regulations.
She works with derivatives market participants to apply for registration with the CFTC and NFA, develop robust compliance programs, and help them understand how US derivatives regulations apply to their existing or expanding business activities. She also advises clients on transactions in security-based swaps and applicable US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. She regularly engages with regulators on behalf of clients, and advocates for reasonable and principles-based rulemaking.
In addition to traditional finance, Cheryl also counsels derivatives and commodities market participants on a variety of emerging asset classes with evolving regulatory frameworks, including digital assets, decentralized finance (DeFi), and voluntary carbon credits. Among other things, Cheryl helps clients understand when and how one of these novel products or platforms would be subject to regulation by the CFTC.
Cheryl also has significant experience negotiating bespoke derivatives transactions in a variety of asset classes (interest rates, FX, digital assets, and commodities), including ISDA Master Agreements and related documentation.
Professional Background
Prior to joining the firm, Cheryl practiced law at other US and international law firms, where she represented clients in a variety of complex financial transactions, including interest rate swaps and other derivatives products, venture debt financings, digital asset transactions, and also advised on compliance with related derivatives laws and regulations.
