CMS strengthens Finance practice with digital assets partner appointment
CMS has appointed Katherine Murray as a Partner in its Crypto and Digital Assets team, based in London. Katherine’s appointment, following on the appointment of Professor Sarah Green last month, will further strengthen the firm's position as a market leader in digital assets.
Katherine joins CMS from Avantia Law, a specialist legal and compliance firm she co-founded, which last month exited to Carta, the US unicorn software services company. She brings a rare dual specialisation in institutional asset management and digital assets law, combined with direct regulatory experience across both FCA and MiCA regimes, a combination that is uniquely suited to the growing wave of institutional demand for tokenisation advisory and structuring work.
Having advised across the full lifecycle of digital assets and fintech businesses, Katherine combines private practice experience with senior in-house and business leadership roles. She was previously General Counsel at a crypto exchange, and also led European expansion for a large US digital assets business, including MiCA and VASP regulatory strategy, banking partnerships and cross-border market entry.
Her arrival comes as institutional adoption of tokenisation and digital finance accelerates, and as new UK and EU regulatory frameworks create growing demand for sophisticated legal advice on authorisations, structuring, compliance, custody, governance and cross-border implementation.
Charles Kerrigan, CMS Partner, comments: “The tokenisation of traditional financial instruments is the single most important structural shift in financial markets today. Tokenisation is no longer experimental and is being deployed at scale by the world's largest asset managers and banks. Katherine's appointment materially strengthens our ability to support clients as tokenisation, crypto regulation and digital finance become board-level priorities for financial institutions.”
Katherine Murray comments: “Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of the financial services landscape, as regulated institutions explore tokenisation, digital finance and new market infrastructure at greater scale. That evolution brings complex legal and regulatory questions, and clients need full-service and cross-border legal advice. CMS offers the depth of sector specialism and international footprint needed to support clients through this next phase. I look forward to working with Charlie and the wider team to help clients navigate opportunities with confidence.”
Katherine’s appointment builds on CMS’s continued investment in its Crypto and Digital Assets team, following the hire of Professor Sarah Green in May 2026. Widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading authorities on crypto, digital assets and the digitalisation of legal infrastructure, Sarah brings clients an exceptional combination of market, legislative and policy insight.
As a Consultant in CMS’s Crypto and Digital Assets team, Sarah advises on crypto, tokenisation, NFTs, Web3, DeFi, trade finance and document digitalisation, helping clients navigate the legal frameworks underpinning the digital economy. Her experience draws on her tenure as Law Commissioner at the Law Commission of England and Wales, where she was responsible for landmark reforms including the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, the Arbitration Act 2025 and the Property (Digital Assets etc.) Act 2025, as well as advice to the UK Government on smart contracts, DAOs and intermediated securities.
The CMS Crypto and Digital Assets team advises internationally working for crypto-native organisations, traditional financial institutions, and regulated platforms on the full range of legal, regulatory, and transactional issues arising from digital assets and blockchain technology.
