Dina Ellis Rochkind, J.D.

Dina Ellis Rochkind, J.D. is an American lawyer and lobbyist and a former Capitol Hill staff member with expertise in U.S. financial law and regulation. She is Of Counsel in the law firm of Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C., where her practice areas include virtual currency, financial technology, and payments. She has written about growing governmental pressure to supervise and regulate initial coin offerings, a type of crowdfunding using cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

Dina has held senior positions on the Senate Banking Committee, House Financial Services Committee, and U.S. Treasury Department during two decades in federal public policy roles.

She served in three legislative staff roles on Capitol Hill from 1995 to 1998 before joining the Senate Banking Committee staff in 1999 as counsel to the chairman, Republican Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas. In 2001, she was tapped to serve on the transition team of George W. Bush, then president-elect. She then joined the administration of President George W. Bush as deputy assistant secretary for consumer affairs and community policy in the U.S. Treasury Department Serving in that role from 2001 to 2002, her portfolio included financial literacy and predatory lending.

Returning to Capitol Hill in 2003, she joined the staff of the House Financial Services Committee as senior financial institutions counsel. She moved to the private sector in 2007, joining Chrysler as director of federal affairs at a time of tremendous upheaval in the auto sector. She was one of the lead lobbyists involved in the rescue of Chrysler and other automakers during the financial crisis. She has also worked in federal government relations for Quicken Loans.

In 2011, Dina returned again to Capitol Hill as senior financial services counsel to Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. She joined Paul Hastings in 2017 as a member of the Fintech and Payments practice. During her tenure with Sen. Toomey, she played a key role in drafting the 2012 JOBS Act, designed to help startup businesses. As staff director for the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, she was the committee’s lead staffer on the JOBS Act capital formation issues and conducted oversight of the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act.

She joined Paul Hastings in 2017 as a member of the Fintech and Payments practice. In her current role as a lawyer in private practice, she has represented many initial coin offering providers and blockchain entrepreneurs.

IIn 2012, Dina along with her mother Naava B. Ellis and her sister Audrey Ellis established The Ken Ellis Fund which provides in-home care to ALS patients and their families, and to support the ALS Clinic at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Dina writes the weekly blog PH Money Matters: This Week in Washington. She has also authored SEC Update to the Fiduciary Duty Rule Should Expand Opportunities for Mr. and Mrs. 401k, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain are the Solution, Not the Problem, Most CryptoCurrency Exchanges are Operating Illegally, ICOs — It’s time for the U.S. to lead, The Job Act hits 5 year Anniversary — With a New Administration and SEC Chairman, more can be done, My Next Chapter — Paul Hastings Global Law Firm, My Next Chapter — Living Out My Dad’s Legacy.

Dina earned her J.D. from Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson Law, in 1994 and her B.A. in 1991 from Pennsylvania State University.

Read her LinkedIn and Wikipedia profiles. Follow her Twitter feed. Watch her at Dara Albright Interviews Dina Ellis Rochkind, The Role of Digital Money, and The JOBS Act — Legislative History and Future Opportunities.