Carl E. Kennedy

Carl E. Kennedy, head of the commodities and derivatives team in Dechert’s Financial Services Group, guides banks, asset managers, clearinghouses, intermediaries, hedge funds and proprietary trading firms through the commodities and derivatives markets. A former regulator and in-house counsel, he brings clients a practical, business-minded read on the rules that shape their trading and compliance decisions.

Mr. Kennedy pairs government and in-house perspective with a direct, business-minded approach to advising clients on commodities and derivatives regulation. Before reentering private practice, Mr. Kennedy served at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), where he helped draft several rules and played a central role in the agency's adoption of guidelines implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. He later served as senior in-house counsel at a large investment bank and as counsel to a global hedge fund trade association, where he led regulatory and legislative advocacy on over-the-counter derivatives reform.

His extensive regulatory, in-house and trade association experience gives Mr. Kennedy practical insight into how rules take shape and play out for market participants. He advises clients on regulatory compliance, derivatives-related litigation, enforcement actions and investigations, and helps them navigate time-sensitive questions on live trades. He also advocates for industry participants before regulatory agencies on proposed rules and policy objectives, delivering clear, well-reasoned guidance under pressure and responding quickly when clients need it most.

Mr. Kennedy co-leads the CFTC’s alumni association (the CFTC Graduates Society) and has held leadership roles with the American Bar Association's Derivatives and Futures Law Committee and the New York City Bar Association's Futures and Derivatives Committee. He has been recognized in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and The Legal 500 for his derivatives regulatory work.