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Recent Developments and Future Trends in the Regulation of Cryptoassets

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Taking place at DAC Beachcroft LLP, 25 Walbrook, City of London, London EC4N 8AF

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA),  DAC Beachcroft LLP and Outer Temple Chambers would like to invite you to attend our in-person event on Recent Developments and Future Trends in the Regulation of Cryptoassets to be held on Tuesday, 18 February 2025 from 5.45pm to 8pm.

The panel event will feature the following speakers:

  • Victoria McLoughlin, Head of Department – Market Interventions (Digital Assets) at the Financial Conduct Authority;
  • Katie Fry-Paul, Senior Legal Counsel at Coinbase;
  • Justina Stewart, Barrister at Outer Temple Chambers; and 
  • Steve Elam, Partner at Cooke Young & Keidan LLP. 

The 1 hour event will focus on the latest developments, future trends and areas of concern in the fast-evolving and increasingly topical field of cryptoasset regulation. We expect that it will be of interest to all financial services lawyers of all levels of PQE. It will conclude with an audience Q&A session that will finish by 7.30pm and shall be held pursuant to the Chatham House Rule.  


Venue: 25 Walbrook, City of London, London EC4N 8AF


Date:    Tuesday 18 February 2025

Time:    5.45pm – Registration

             6.15pm – Introduction, panel discussion and Q&A

             7.30pm – Drinks 

Please use the link here to register for the event.

If you have any queries ahead of the event, please contact us at events@fsla.org.uk

The FSLA and Blackstone Chambers Trends in Enforcement Seminar

By | Events, Financial Services Practitioners | No Comments

Wednesday, 5th March 2025 from 6pm, hosted at The Royal Society of Arts.

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA) and Blackstone Chambers, we would like to invite you to attend the annual Trends in Enforcement seminar and reception on Wednesday, 5 March 2025 at RSA House, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6EZ.

The seminar will comprise a panel chaired by Javan Herberg KC, Blackstone Chambers, and will feature Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, Financial Conduct Authority, Andrew George KC, Blackstone Chambers, Martyn Hopper, Partner, Linklaters and Scott Corrigan, Global Head of Disputes & Government Investigations, Legal, Standard Chartered Bank.

Registration will open at 6pm, with the panel starting at 6.30pm, followed by drinks and canapés at 8pm.

During the 90 minute seminar, the speakers will discuss the latest thinking on how to tackle some of the most difficult enforcement issues facing those working in the financial services sector, followed by a Q&A.

Members of Blackstone Chambers and FSLA ExCo would be pleased if you would join them and the panellists for a drinks reception following the seminar.

Please note that attendance at this event is strictly for FSLA Members. If you wish to become a member of FSLA in order to attend, please contact fslalondon@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you on 5th March 2025.

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Breakfast roundtable: FCA Transparency of Enforcement Investigations

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A FSLA in-person roundtable to discuss the FCA’s amended proposals for greater transparency of enforcement investigations (CP24/2 Part 2) on Wednesday 22nd January 2025 from 8am to 10am hosted by Mishcon de Reya.

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association, we would like to invite you to attend an in-person roundtable event on the FCA’s amended proposals to “Greater Transparency of our Enforcement investigations” (CP24/2 Part 2), as published on 28 November 2024.

Therese Chambers, joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, has stated: “We have heard the strength of feedback to our original proposals, and we are making changes as a result”. This roundtable will examine the FCA’s amended proposals in more detail and explore the case studies outlined by the consultation paper.

The session will be hosted by Mishcon de Reya and chaired by Javan Herberg KC of Blackstone Chambers (with further speakers to be confirmed in due course).

This is an in-person event only. The event will be hosted at Mishcon de Reya’s London office at Africa House, 70 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6AH. Registration will open at 8am with refreshments with the roundtable commencing at 8:30am.

If you have any queries ahead of the event, please contact us at events@fsla.org.uk.

If you would like to attend the event, please register here. Please note this is a small event and we may therefore need to limit attendance to one representative per firm/chambers.

We look forward to seeing you on 22nd January 2025.

Modernising the Redress System – A FSLA and Ashurst Event

By | Events, Financial Services Practitioners | No Comments

A FSLA and Ashurst in-person roundtable to discuss the FOS/FCA Call for Input on Wednesday 8th January 2025 from 8.30 to 10am at Ashurst

On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association and Ashurst we would like to invite you to attend our forthcoming event on Modernising the Redress System.

The roundtable will discuss the challenges that the Financial Ombudsman Service regime creates and explore the potential solutions sought under the recent Call for Input.

The roundtable discussions will be facilitated by four panellists:

  • Nathan Willmott, Partner at Ashurst
  • Saima Hanif KC, of 3 Verulam Buildings
  • Katharine Harle, Partner at Dentons
  • Gregory Brandman, Partner at Eversheds Sutherland

This is an in-person event, which will be taking place at Ashurst, Fruit & Wool Exchange, 1 Duval Square, London, E1 6PW. Registration will open at 8.30am, with refreshments, with the roundtable commencing at 9am.

If you have any queries ahead of the event, please contact us at events@fsla.org.uk.

Please note this is a small event and we may need to run a waiting list.

We look forward to seeing you on 8 January 2025.

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Winners of the FSLA Essay Competition 2024

By | Junior Lawyers, Students | No Comments

We are delighted to announce the winners of the FSLA Essay Competition 2024.  The title for this year’s competition was: “With the rise of so-called “finfluencers”, how can the FCA and its international counterparts effectively protect younger consumers from high-risk investments such as cryptoassets and contracts for difference?

Congratulations to Daniel Feltham, our first placed essayist and winner of the Chris Stallard Memorial Prize, and to second-placed Sessi Hundeyin and third-placed Charlie Lam.

We are grateful to our esteemed judging panel, (Professor Eva Lomnicka KC (hon), Travers Smith partner Phil Bartram, and Tracey McDermott, CBE (Group Head of Conduct, Financial Crime and Compliance at Standard Chartered)), who were impressed with the standard of entries across the board. 

FSLA is grateful to all of the individuals who entered their work.

The top three essays are available to read at the link below, with thanks to our winners who allowed us to share them.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z2V-v7H3PVTovBg57Ee2jBNYZz4tgO8-?usp=sharing

FSLA Christmas Party 2024

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Christmas Drinks Party, Tuesday 10th December, 6.30pm-9pm

The Board and ExCo of FSLA invite all members to our annual Christmas Drinks Party, which this year is taking place on the Piazza Terrace, 5th Floor, Royal Opera House, Bow Street, London, WC2E 9DD.

The Piazza Terrace of the Royal Opera House is a roof top location overlooking Covent Garden. The occasion presents an opportunity to socialise with fellow FSLA members and enjoy a generous raffle. The winners of the 2024 FSLA Essay Competition will also be announced.

Nearest tube stations: Covent Garden (3 mins), Holborn (10 mins) Leicester Square (10 mins), Temple (10 mins). For a map see https://www.rbo.org.uk/eat-and-drink/piazza

If you are able to attend the drinks, please register below.

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Upcoming FSLA Academy events

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On behalf of the Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA) and Brown Rudnick, we invite you to attend a FSLA Academy series of training sessions on “FCA enforcement: misconduct and lack of fitness and propriety”.

The series will provide a detailed but practical guide to the FCA’s powers to investigate and impose sanctions on individuals in relation to misconduct and lack of fitness and propriety. It will deal with issues that may be faced by firms and individuals following the identification of a potentially significant regulatory issue all the way through to an FCA decision to impose a sanction and the options then available.

The series will consist of three sessions:

  1. Misconduct and lack of fitness and propriety – the scope and meaning of the terms and the circumstances in which the FCA can take action in relation to them
  2. The pre-FCA investigation stage – how a firm should go about investigating a potentially significant regulatory issue and the consequences of that for an individual
  3. The FCA enforcement process – an overview covering the opening of an investigation through to the conclusion of any enforcement proceedings

The sessions will be led by Ian Weinstein and Chloë Kealey of Brown Rudnick’s Contentious Financial Services Team and build upon the contents of their recently published book on the subject. Ian and Chloë will be joined by a different barrister or in-house practitioner for each session.

The series is open to all but specifically targeted at practitioners with fewer than seven years dedicated contentious regulatory experience. It is therefore also suitable for those practitioners who are more than seven years PQE / call but who do not exclusively focus on contentious regulatory work.

Each session will be followed by drinks and canapés, providing an opportunity to network.

Location

The sessions will take place at Brown Rudnick’s offices (8 Clifford St, London W1S 2LQ).

Dates

  1. Tuesday 24 September – Session 1: Misconduct and lack of fitness and propriety
  2. Tuesday 15 October – Session 2: The pre-FCA investigation stage
  3. Tuesday 5 November – Session 3: The FCA enforcement process


Timings

For each session, registration will be open from 6.00pm and the session will start at 6:30pm, followed by drinks and canapés.
 
If you wish to attend one or more of the sessions, please register here. Please note that, by submitting this form, you are registering your interest in attending the FSLA Academy training sessions. This is not an acceptance or confirmation of any place.

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

The FCA in the High Court – The FSLA & 3VB Seminar 2024

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3VB & FSLA are pleased to present a panel discussion on FCA involvement in High Court litigation, including its pursuit of restitution and other orders under FSMA, its business interruption claim in FCA v Arch [2021] UKSC 1, and the FCA as a defendant in claims for judicial review.

Chaired by Saima Hanif KC, who will be joined by panellists:

  • Lauren Rafter – Head of Department in the Enforcement and Market Oversight Division of the Financial Conduct Authority
  • Sarah McNally – Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills
  • Caroline Hunter-Yeats – Partner at Simmons & Simmons
  • Adam Temple – Barrister at 3VB

Date:   Thursday 19th September 2024
Time:   
6:00pm: Registration
6:30pm – 7:30pm: Seminar
7:30pm – 9:00pm: Drinks Reception
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Inner Temple, Crown Office Row, London, EC4Y 7HL
RSVP:
Click here to register for a virtual place
Click here to register for an in-person place

If you have any queries or special requirements, please email at fslalondon@gmail.com

FSLA Essay Competition 2024

By | Events, Junior Lawyers, Students | No Comments

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

The title for this year’s competition is: “With the rise of so-called “finfluencers”, how can the FCA and its international counterparts effectively protect younger consumers from high-risk investments such as cryptoassets and contracts for difference?”

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 Friday 11 October 2024.

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 winter social event.  In any case, winners will be notified by the end of 2024.

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.

FSLA responds to the FCA’s Consultation Paper CP24/2

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FSLA has submitted a response to the FCA’s Consultation Paper CP24/2 titled “Our Enforcement Guide and publicising enforcement investigations – a new approach”.  FSLA considers that the FCA’s proposal to identify investigation subjects (whether firms or individuals) at the commencement of an enforcement investigation where it is in the public interest to do so, may not deliver on the FCA’s stated objectives namely: to build trust and show the public that the FCA is “on the case”; to educate and deter by being clearer about the types of misconduct which will warrant a formal investigation; and to improve accountability of the FCA by shining a light on the efficiency and pace of its investigations. Our response examines the significant legal and practical challenges which the FCA may face as a result of such a fundamental policy shift and explores some alternative approaches which could enable the FCA to achieve its aims in a proportionate manner which balances the public interest and consumer protection with the irreparable harm which could be caused to investigation subjects (especially where over 60% of investigations are closed with no enforcement action being taken).

Please note: The response as submitted on behalf of FSLA and is intended to capture the overall weight of contributions received from its membership, but the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this response belong to the individual authors of this paper (and not for example the author’s employer, chambers, organisation, committee or other group or individual members of FSLA). For the avoidance of doubt, this paper does not contain the views of or purport to make any representations on behalf of any FSLA members who are employed by the FCA, the Bank of England (including the Prudential Regulatory Authority) or any other regulatory bodies.