Stephen Rutenberg is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Digital Assets and Blockchain Group. His practice sits at the intersection of digital assets, blockchain technology, fintech and special situations investing. Mr. Rutenberg represents asset managers, hedge funds, private equity firms, financial institutions and technology companies in transactions involving tokenized structures, crypto-secured lending, digital-asset trading and claims, and emerging Web3 applications.
Mr. Rutenberg advises clients across the distressed debt and secondary trading markets, including the purchase, sale and financing of loans, digital-asset-related claims and other complex credit instruments. He negotiates total return swaps, credit default swaps and other bespoke structures used for the acquisition or financing of loan and claim portfolios. His work also includes general financings and lending transactions, as well as the formation and structuring of funds and startup ventures.
Active in the digital-asset space since its early formative years, Mr. Rutenberg helped build and co-lead his prior firm’s Chambers-ranked blockchain and cryptocurrency practice. He served as a founder and principal contributor to its BitBlog, a widely consulted resource on digital-asset policy and regulation.
Mr. Rutenberg is admitted to practice in Florida and New York, and as a solicitor in England and Wales. Mr. Rutenberg is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law (J.D., 2001) and Brooklyn College, City University of New York (B.A., 1998).
Admissions
- Florida
- New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
Experience
- Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2025-present
Education
- University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, J.D., 2001
- Brooklyn College, B.S., 1998
Honors and Awards
- Ranked in Chambers FinTech Guide, 2026
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association
- Loan Market Association
- Loan Syndications & Trading Association



