Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA)

An association for financial services lawyers, regulators, academics, judges
and policy experts to share ideas about financial services law
and regulation and to socialise with peers.

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5 February 2026
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FSLA Essay Competition 2026

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FSLA Essay Competition 2026


The Financial Services Lawyers Association is pleased to announce its annual essay
competition.


The title for this year’s competition is:
“Streamlining regulation for international growth and innovation: a legal perspective.”


The purpose of the essay competition is to provide students, trainees, and pupil barristers with the opportunity to apply their studies to issues that are of particular relevance to the financial services industry and wider society.


Essays should be no longer than 1,500 words, and the deadline for entries is
midnight on 20 March 2026.


Prizes
The Chris Stallard Memorial (First) Prize: £1,500 and a legal internship at the FCA
Second Prize: £750 Third prize: £500


We hope to present the prizes at FSLA’s summer social event.


Eligibility and rules
There is no requirement that entrants be FSLA members; however, free membership
is offered to all students. Please email fslalondon@gmail.com for further details.

The full rules for the competition, including submission details and terms applying to the
prizes, can be found here.

13 January 2026
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FSLA and Fountain Court Event: Individual Accountability: The regulator, the regime and the individual

By | Events, Financial Services Practitioners, Junior Lawyers, Students | No Comments

FSLA and Fountain Court panel discussion at Macfarlanes LLP on Tuesday 10 February 2026 at 6:30pm

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association and Fountain Court, we invite you to attend a panel event which seeks to explore regulators approach to Individual Accountability. The panel discussion will consider recent high-profile regulatory actions pursued against senior managers, the FCA’s long awaited Policy Statement which provides guidance on the Non-Financial Misconduct Rules and explore some of the practical challenges firms (and individuals) might face as we prepare for implementation from September 2026 (for non-banks). Chatham House Rule will apply.

The panel will be chaired by Zeena Saleh of Dentons and include (with more speakers still to be confirmed):

  • Peter Curtis-Valino, Cross-Cutting Policy, FCA. Peter leads the cross-cutting policy team at the FCA responsible for recent publications on non-financial misconduct and the Senior Managers & Certification Regime
  • Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC, Fountain Court – Leigh-Ann appeared on behalf of the FCA to secure a landmark victory in respect of non-financial misconduct in which the Upper Tribunal upheld the FCA’s decision to prohibit and fine the former CEO of Barclays, Jes Staley. Leigh-Ann is a leading silk and arbitrator specialising in insurance & reinsurance, financial services and group litigation.
  • Laura Bridgewater, Macfarlanes LLP– Laura regularly advises both senior executives and financial institutions on contentious matters relating to individual accountability (both financial misconduct and non-financial misconduct) and has particular expertise in parallel employment disputes.

The discussion will be followed by a networking event which is open to all attendees. 

The event will be hosted at Macfarlanes LLP at 20 Cursitor Street, London, EC4A 1LT.

If you would like to attend or if you have any queries or special requirements, please contact us at fslalondon@gmail.com

Timings:

Registration: 6pm

Panel discussion: 6:30pm

Drinks and networking reception: 7:30-9pm

6 January 2026
0

FSLA Event: Growth and Innovation in Capital Markets

By | Events, Financial Services Practitioners, Junior Lawyers, Students | No Comments

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association, we invite you to attend a panel event which explores growth and innovation in capital markets. The Draghi Report underlines a negative prognosis for future growth across all European economies. That makes capital raising options more important than ever. Encouragingly the UK regulators offer a range of pioneering ways forward, including sandboxes, PISCES (platforms for trading private company shares), and scale up units.

Under Chatham House rules a distinguished panel of investment bank, trading platform providers, FCA, and PRA directors will briefly summarise then discuss these initiatives. The discussion will be followed by a networking event which is open to all attendees.

Location: Slaughter and May, One Bunhill Row, London, EC1Y 8YY

Registration: Places to attend this event will be limited to 60, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Date: Thursday 5th February 2026

Timings:

Registration: 6 – 6:30pm

Discussion: 6:30 – 7:30pm

Drinks: 7:30 – 8:30pm


If you would like to attend or you have any queries or special requirements, please contact us at fslalondon@gmail.com

Event access / security: Upon arrival, please check-in with the reception who will direct you to our event space. Please note that all visitors will be required to present government issued photo identification.

Progress Your Career With FSLA

Financial Services Practitioners

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Junior Lawyers

Click here for information about events for junior financial services lawyers.

More about Junior Lawyers

Students

Find out about the annual essay competition and our student focused events.

More about students

“In the end, our financial system only works – our market is only free – when there are clear rules and basic safeguards that prevent abuse, that check excess, that ensure that it is more profitable to play by the rules than to game the system. And that’s what these reforms are designed to achieve – no more, no less. Because that’s how we will ensure that our economy works for consumers, that it works for investors, that it works for financial institutions – that it works for all of us.”

(Barack Obama, at the signing of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)