Abe Chernin

Vice President

Contact

  • Chicago

Education

Abe Chernin’s primary areas of focus include consumer finance, banking, and real estate. Mr. Chernin has extensive experience with FinTech, asset-backed securities, private equity and venture capital, corporate and asset valuation, and general damages.

Consumer finance and banking

Mr. Chernin has provided expertise for mortgage originators, servicers, and appraisers; credit card companies; student lenders; small dollar lenders; insurers; and retail and consumer banks. Across numerous consulting engagements, Mr. Chernin has analyzed business practices, credit decisions, payment/ACH issues, loss causation, damages, class certification issues, professional liability claims, and regulatory investigations. These projects have required careful evaluation of large datasets, sizable document production, or both.

Real estate

Mr. Chernin consulting on a wide variety of commercial and residential real estate transactions. He has significant experience with equity and debt project financing, real estate investments, and structured asset-backed securities. Mr. Chernin has assessed development projects in the context of industry standards and evaluated damages claims. His work on real estate investment trusts (REITs) includes extensive consulting on cases involving valuation, financial statements, and industry trends.

FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency

Mr. Chernin coheads Cornerstone Research’s FinTech, blockchain, and cryptocurrency practice. He works on matters related to crypto token categorization, cryptocurrency exchanges, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other forms of equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and commercial uses for blockchain technology.

Mr. Chernin has given presentations on the economics of ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges, and coauthored publications on the topic, including “Economic Considerations for ICO Regulation and Litigation” in Bloomberg Securities Law Daily. In addition, he has published research on the regulation of failed banks. His coauthored chapter, “Bank Failures: Regulatory Actions and Litigation,” appears in the fifth edition of Litigation Services Handbook: The Role of the Financial Expert.

Mr. Chernin serves on the governing board of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, a nonprofit focused on bringing economic justice to communities affected by poverty.

Prior to joining Cornerstone Research, Mr. Chernin worked in the capital markets section of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and at Citigroup Asset Management.

Case

De Jaray et al. v. Lattice Semiconductor Corp.

Press Release

SEC Enforcement of Cryptocurrency Reaches a New High

Event

Securities Enforcement Forum Central 2023

Report

Trends in CFTC Virtual Currency Enforcement Actions—Q1 2015-Q2 2023

Report

Trends in CFTC Virtual Currency Enforcement Actions

Article

Tips for Making the Most of Blockchain Analysis

Event

Securities Enforcement Forum West 2023

Event

FinTech Series: Emerging Economic Issues in Cryptocurrency Litigation

  • Cornerstone Research FinTech Series 1: Emerging Economic Issues in Cryptocurrency Litigation, 16 February 2023
  • “Economic Concepts in the Litigation Context,” Pocket MBA 2022: Finance for Lawyers and Other Professionals, 18 November 2022
  • “Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Regulation in 2019: Trends, Developments, and What Lies Ahead,” webinar, 6 August 2019