Over a span of seventeen years, Jennifer Newton has served as a trusted advisor to clients and businesses of all types, ranging from burgeoning startups to established multinational corporations. Her expertise in navigating the complex regulatory landscapes of various industries, including technology, DeFi and Web3, financial services, healthcare, nonprofit, beauty, and consumer products, has made her an invaluable asset to those seeking to enhance their legal, compliance, governance, and risk management strategies. d services to market. She provides legal and compliance guidance at every stage of a launch, from entity formation and intellectual property protection to marketing compliance, contract negotiation, and international expansion. This forward-thinking approach mitigates risk before problems arise, giving founders and leadership teams the confidence to innovate, scale, and grow sustainably.

A former federal financial services regulator, Jennifer brings a rare combination of deep regulatory knowledge and practical business insight, enabling her to tailor strategies for both domestic and international markets. Her work ensures that her clients’ go-to-market strategies are not only innovative but also legally sound and built on a strong foundation of governance, compliance, and risk management.

But Jennifer’s vision extends beyond her impressive resume. She founded StartSmart Counsel to ensure that startups and small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs), crucial to creating economic inclusion and community stability, are not locked out of receiving sound and high-quality representation due to skyrocketing legal fees. She believes that when these businesses thrive, our community thrives. Under Jennifer’s leadership, StartSmart Counsel has become more than a legal firm. It is a beacon of empowerment for startups, scaleups and SMBs and a champion for innovation, impact, and economic diversity.

As our firm’s Managing Director, Jennifer’s contributions to the community are manifold. She’s the driving force behind the National Association of Black Compliance & Risk Management Professionals (NABCRMP), an organization she both founded and presides over as CEO. NABCRMP, under her guidance, is a testament to her commitment to empowering Black professionals in compliance and risk management. It has burgeoned into a pivotal organization championing diversity, excellence, and inclusivity. Jennifer’s vision ensures NABCRMP continually launches educational campaigns, specialized training programs, and forms crucial industry partnerships to further its mission.

In addition to leading two mission-driven organizations, Jennifer shares her expertise as an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law and lends her voice to national conversations as a frequent speaker at major conferences. Her insights have been featured in top-tier publications such as Compliance Week, Law360, American Banker, The Wall Street Journal, TechTarget and JDSupra. She has been named one of South Florida’s Most Powerful and Influential Black Leaders by Legacy Magazine, and recognized by the National Black Lawyers as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” in Banking and Finance.

Jennifer was also recently appointed to serve on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, where she advises on policies impacting emerging businesses and underserved entrepreneurs. In addition, she sits on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and serves as a Hearing Officer and Arbitrator on the National Arbitration and Mediation’s (NAM) Panel. Her unwavering dedication to building equitable systems—within organizations and across industries—continues to shape her leadership and impact.

She holds a Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and earned her Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Social Science and Sociology, with a concentration in Political Science, as a double major.

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