Elizabeth Lan Davis

Liz leads the commodities and derivatives business practice within the firm’s financial services group. With nearly two decades of federal government experience at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and U.S. Department of Justice, Liz has the insights and perspective to effectively advocate on behalf of her clients before the CFTC, DOJ, Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Futures Association, and exchanges such as CME and ICE.

Ranked Band 1 nationwide and globally for derivatives enforcement by Chambers & Partners, Liz represents individuals and corporate entities in financial services examinations, regulatory investigations and litigation, and white-collar matters. Liz also provides regulatory compliance guidance to her clients. Her wide-ranging clients include senior management, traders, financial institutions, proprietary trading firms, agricultural and energy firms, futures commission merchants, fintech firms, digital asset exchanges and firms, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, commodity pools, and commodity trading advisors. Liz’s depth of government experience allows her to handle government investigations and litigation efficiently and resolve civil and criminal matters in a way that significantly reduces penalties sought by the government, while zealously advocating on behalf of her clients. She also works with companies to conduct cost-effective internal investigations and litigation.

At the CFTC, where she served as a chief trial attorney in the Division of Enforcement, Liz led civil regulatory enforcement investigations on wide-ranging matters including fraud and manipulation, disruptive trading practices, digital assets, credit default swap indices, undercapitalization, and swaps reporting.

Before her nine-year tenure at the CFTC, she served as counsel to the deputy assistant attorney general for civil matters within the DOJ Tax Division and was a trial attorney in the Tax Division’s civil trial section. As a trial attorney, Liz tried numerous bench and jury trials to judgment, representing the IRS in federal district and bankruptcy courts.
Liz is the former chair of McGonigle, P.C., where she was a founding member of the firm’s Commodities, Futures & Derivatives practice group. Liz has served on the Executive Committee of the Futures Industry Association Law & Compliance Division and as the Law Firm Board Member of the Commodity Markets Council.

She also previously co-chaired the Global Digital Asset Cryptocurrency Association’s Compliance Community of Practice and is a member of the ABA Derivatives and Futures Law Committee.

Professional Recognition
Named as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” by Chambers USA in Derivatives: Enforcement, 2023-
2025;
Received “Band 1” ranking, 2023-2025
DOJ Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award (2004, 2006, 2007)
Washington Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” (2021)
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington DC Area Pioneer Award (2021)

Education
J.D., Tulane University Law School, 1999
B.A., University of Pennsylvania, 1996
Admitted to Practice
District of Columbia, 1999