Legal Documentation
The first step in the legal documentation is the choice of jurisdiction and legal structure (eg if we can issue from the operating company, or whether we need to establish an SPV). This is a complex decision as it depends on the domicile and residence of the issuer, the domicile, residence and status of the targeted investors, and last but not least the structure and economics of the token to be issued. It is also complicated by the fact that this area is still in flux and that the applicable laws and regulations are constantly changing, so we need to not only keep on top of current developments but also make this choice with a view to future changes, and keep some optionality.
Once the choice of the jurisdiction is made we can start with the documentation proper, ie we are drafting the legal documents that support and underly the token issuance. Like in the technology design phase we rely on documentation libraries where we can -- as a general rule, the more we stick to the standard components on the structuring and tech side, the easier and cheaper it will be to draft the associated legal language.
Once the draft consisting of library components and token-specific language is complete it undergoes a thorough review process, typically by one of our in-house experts, and an associate who specialises in the jurisdiction in question. In jurisdictions that are open for this we might also at this stage discuss with relevant regulators to minimise the risk of them not liking the legal terms under which token will be issued.