Conrad G. Bahlke is counsel in Willkie's Asset Management Department and practices in the areas of derivative transactions, commodities regulation and banking regulation. He represents banks, corporations, governmental organizations, investment funds (including private equity funds, hedge funds and mutual funds), sovereign nations, central banks, pension plans and individuals in structuring and entering into a broad variety of derivative instruments and commodity transactions, including equity, credit, commodity, energy, weather, interest rate and currency derivatives.
Conrad also advises on related financial services regulatory matters. He represents clients before banking and commodities regulatory agencies, self-regulatory organizations, exchanges and clearinghouses with respect to acquisitions, regulatory audit, registration, risk management and compliance matters. He has also advised on litigation and mediated disputes related to derivatives, and has represented clients on significant derivatives-related matters in bankruptcy.
Conrad has recently been advising clients on a wide variety of matters raised by the Dodd-Frank Act and related derivatives, commodities, securities and banking regulations, and by evolving financial technology including cryptocurrency and its derivatives, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and distributed ledger technology.
Conrad has held prior positions with the Federal Reserve Board and with the Division of Economic Analysis and Planning of the Chicago Board of Trade. He is a frequent speaker and writer on derivatives, commodities and banking topics.
Experience
Prior to joining Willkie in 2017, Conrad was counsel and partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and was previously a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York.
- Listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2023) in the Nationwide Derivatives category.
- Listed in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2024) in the Derivatives category.
- Recognized in The Legal 500 USA for Structured Finance: Derivatives and Structured Products.
- Recognized in Super Lawyers for work in business/corporate and banking.
- Recipient of the National Public Service Award of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section for pro bono work with the United Nations World Food Programme on the world’s first humanitarian relief-related weather derivatives transaction.
- Member, Committee on Futures and Derivatives Instruments, American Bar Association
- Member, New York City Bar Association
- Member, Banking Law Committee
- Member, Committee on Futures and Derivatives Regulation
- Chair, Subcommittee on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
- Member, Derivatives and Structured Products Law Committee, New York State Bar Association
- Member, Board of Editors, Futures and Derivatives Law Report
Publications
- Co-author, “DOJ Issues Cryptocurrency Enforcement Framework,” NYU School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, November 2020
- Co-author, “NFA Mandates Virtual Currency Disclosure,” Willkie Client Alert, September 24, 2018
- Co-author, “Virtual Currency Update: FINRA Encourages Firms to Disclose Activities Relating to Digital Assets; CFTC Alerts Customers to Exercise Caution Before Making Purchases,” Willkie Client Alert, July 25, 2018
- Co-author, “U.S. Regulatory Agencies Propose Amendments to Rules Implementing the Volcker Rule,” Willkie Client Alert, June 11, 2018
- Co-author, “CFTC Proposes Amendments to Uncleared Swap Margin Rules,” Willkie Client Alert, May 24, 2018
- Co-author, "CFTC Chairman Issues Second White Paper on Reforms to Swaps Regulation,” Willkie Client Alert, May 2, 2018
- Co-author, “Virtual Currency Update: Increased Government Scrutiny and Enforcement, Willkie Client Alert, April 6, 2018
- Co-author, "CFTC Compliance Alert: Annual Affirmations and Virtual Currency Transaction Filings,” Willkie Client Alert, January 30, 2018
- Co-author, “CFTC and SEC Continue to Be Active with Respect to the Virtual Currency Market,” Willkie Client Alert, January 26, 2018
- Co-author, “Cryptocurrency Update: SEC Chairman Clayton's Statement Urging Caution With Cryptocurrencies and ICOs; SEC Cease-and-Desist Order Against ICO,” Willkie Client Alert, December 21, 2017
- Co-author “Virtual Currency Update: CME, CBOE and Cantor Exchanges Self-Certify Bitcoin Futures and Options to the CFTC; SEC Halts ICO Scam,” Willkie Client Alert, December 6, 2017
- Co-author, “Unblocking the Blockchain: Regulating Distributed Ledger Technology,” Futures & Derivatives Law Report, November 2016
- Co-author, “Recent Developments in the Regulatory treatment of Bitcoin,” Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, January 2016
- “Dodd-Frank Five Years In: Regulation, Documentation, Unknowns,” Futures and Derivatives Law Report, July 2015, Vol. 35, Issue 6
- Co-author, “Checkpoint: Update – Implementation Schedule of Margin Requirements for Uncleared Derivatives,” Derivatives: Financial Products Report, April 2015, Vol. 16, No. 8
- Co-author, “CFTC No-Action Relief from Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Swap Transaction Counterparties that are Neither Swap Dealers Nor Major Swap Participants,” Derivatives: Financial Products Report, May 2013
Speaking Engagements
- Moderator, "The Future of Exchanges and Digital Marketplaces," Georgetown University/International Monetary Fund FinTech Week, Washington, DC, November 7, 2018
- Speaker, "Virtual Currency and Distributed Ledger Regulation," Silicon Valley Blockchain Society, Inaugural Austin, TX Meeting, May 22, 2018
- Speaker, "Virtual Currency and Distributed Ledger Regulation in the United States," Congreso Nuevas Tecnologias-Derecho y Empresa, Madrid, May 17, 2018
- Moderator, "New Products/Financial Technology," American Bar Association, Derivatives and Futures Law Committee, Naples, FL, Jan. 19, 2018
- Speaker, "Cryptocurrencies: Recent Legal and Regulatory Developments and Considerations for Private Fund Managers," Managed Funds Association, New York, NY, Oct. 25, 2017
- Speaker, “Blockchain Technology and the Financial System: Legal and Regulatory Issues,” New York City Bar Association, Futures & Derivatives Regulation Committee, June 14, 2017
- Speaker, “The Federal Reserve Board’s Proposed Rule on Mandatory Contractual Stays for Qualified Financial Contracts,” Futures Industry Association Webinar, March 9, 2017
- Moderator, “The Bankruptcy Code and the Derivatives Safe Harbor,” New York City Bar Association Conference: Where Bankruptcy and Derivatives Collide, March 7, 2017
- Speaker, “State of the Market: Assessing the Evolution and Impact of Dodd-Frank on the Derivatives Market to Date,” American Conference Institute’s Global Market Regulatory Summit on Swaps and Derivative Transactions, Washington, DC, November 30, 2016
- Speaker, “Blockchain Regulation in a Trump Administration,” RegTech Summit US, New York, NY, November 17, 2016
- Speaker, “Blockchain and How It Will Change Our Business,” American College of Investment Counsel Annual Meeting, New York, NY, October 20-21, 2016
- Speaker, “Swap Collateral Documentation and the New Final Margin Regulations for Uncleared Swaps,” Strafford Webinar, September 29, 2016
- Speaker, “Blockchain Technology and the Financial System: Legal and Regulatory Issues,” New York State Bar Association, Derivatives and Structured Products Law Committee, May 13, 2016
- Speaker, “Blockchain Technology and the Financial System: Legal and Regulatory Issues,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Financial Markets Lawyers Group, April 7, 2016
- Speaker, “United Nations World Food Programme and African Union: Derivative Investment and Insurance Initiatives,” Columbia Law School, New York, NY, November 2015
- Speaker, “U.S. Regulation Update,” London Bullion Market Association, September 16, 2015
- Speaker, “Bank Regulatory Developments,” American Bar Association Derivatives and Futures Law Committee Winter Meeting, Naples, FL, January 23, 2015
Credentials
Education
University of Chicago Law School, J.D., 1984 University of Chicago Booth School of Business, M.B.A., 1984 Oberlin College, B.A., 1980