ORWL

Managing Committee: William O'Rorke, Alexandre Lourimi, Romain Chilly

Number of Partners: 3

Number of other fee-earners: 7

Languages: English, French

ORWL is a premier French boutique law firm exclusively dedicated to the crypto-asset and FinTech actors. Founded in 2018, the firm has established itself as a market leader in France, offering a full-service practice that combines high-level regulatory, tax, corporate, and litigation capabilities.

Uniquely positioned at the intersection of law and financial technology, ORWL advises a diverse client base ranging from early-stage startups and DeFi protocols to major international exchanges and institutional players entering the digital asset space. The firm is widely recognised for its deep understanding of blockchain technology and its active contribution to the shaping of the French and European regulatory frameworks.

ORWL provides strategic, operationally focused counsel to help clients navigate complex compliance landscapes, structure innovative token-based transactions, and resolve high-stakes disputes in the digital economy.

Description: Led by William O’Rorke, ORWL advises on the full spectrum of regulatory and prudential issues affecting crypto-assets and fintech. The team is routinely instructed on CASP (crypto-asset service provider) and payment-institution authorisations, MiCA-related authorisations and passporting, MiFID-related questions, and AML/CFT programme implementation and remediation. It assists token issuers, wallet and custody providers, exchanges, stablecoin issuers and payment firms with authorisations, regulatory engagement, compliance target operating models and regulatory audit. ORWL combines regulatory drafting with pragmatic implementation advice, including governance, prudential readiness and supervisory remediation.

Key Contact: William O’Rorke

Contact : [email protected]

Description: Led by Romain Chilly, ORWL acts for clients in civil, commercial and regulatory disputes arising from crypto operations, including enforcement, injunctions, regulatory investigations and cross-border litigation. The firm represents exchanges, token issuers and fintechs before domestic courts and in international enforcement matters, and manages sensitive regulatory interactions and supervisory reviews. Its contentious practice is closely integrated with its regulatory offering to deliver coordinated defence and remediation strategies.

Key Contact: Romain Chilly

Contact : [email protected]

Description: Led by Alexandre Lourimi, ORWL’s tax practice distinguishes itself by combining traditional tax expertise — corporate income tax, VAT, personal income tax, international and wealth taxation — with a deep technical understanding of the crypto-asset and blockchain ecosystem. This dual competence allows the firm to advise a wide range of clients (start-ups, fintechs, investment funds, service providers, individual crypto-investors) on structuring and optimising innovative operations such as token issuances, staking, mining, marketplace flows or token-based remunerations. The firm also provides support in sensitive matters — for example VAT treatment of crypto activities, international tax and residency issues, audits, regularization, and defense in tax litigation relating to digital assets.

Key Contact: Alexandre Lourimi

Contact : [email protected]

ORWL serves a broad fintech, crypto-asset and stablecoins ecosystem.

Key sectors include:

• Crypto-assets services providers;
• Exchanges and trading venues;
• Custody and wallet providers;
• Investment funds;
• Payment institutions and e-money businesses;
• Token and stablecoin issuers;
• Decentralised finance (DeFi) and staking protocols;
• Asset managers and tokenisation projects;
• Gaming platforms, incluing NFTs services.

The Firm’s clients comprise start-ups, scale-ups, established fintechs and regulated financial institutions.

ORWL_ maintains a regular cross-border practice, advising non-EU and multinational clients on EU market access strategies, MiCA passporting and multi-jurisdictional roll-outs. The Firm coordinates licensing, compliance and product-structuring mandates with foreign counsel and regulators, manages complex regulatory interfaces and supports both inbound and outbound enforcement and supervisory matters. ORWL_ also assists EU-based clients with inbound international enquiries and enforcement matters.

• France : 54 Bis rue de Clichy (75009) in Paris
• Tel: +33 (O)1 88 80 36 33
• Email: [email protected]
• Web : www.orwl.fr