FS Regulatory Lawyer in London

We are working with a firm whose financial services regulatory team advises asset managers, private equity and credit fund managers, and hedge fund managers on authorisations, change-in-control applications, perimeter questions, governance and the regulatory side of corporate and banking deals. The team is looking for one or possibly two lawyers at 2–6PQE.

Mainly buy-side work. The practice is focused on the buy side, so the role suits someone whose regulatory experience has mainly been with investment managers and funds. Some sell-side experience would help, but it isn’t the core of the job.

A good part of the work comes from the firm’s corporate and banking teams. When a client is buying or investing in a regulated business, you would run the regulatory due diligence, write the report, comment on the regulatory provisions in the SPA or BSA, and then take the change-in-control application through with the regulator. Alongside that, there are perimeter questions to answer. Does a particular activity need authorisation? How do MiFID II and the RAO interact for a client’s business model? How should client money be handled? There are also authorisations, variations of permission and waiver applications to manage, and advice on governance, systems and controls, including how the SM&CR works in practice inside a firm rather than on paper. Some contentious work comes up too, such as s166 reviews, enforcement matters and internal investigations.

The team is three partners, a head of ESG, a senior counsel, a senior knowledge lawyer, seven senior associates and six associates. Associates work closely with the partners and the senior counsel, run their own client files, and handle more straightforward matters with a lighter level of supervision as they progress. The role also includes supervising trainees and junior lawyers, and helping with pitches, presentations and marketing.

Who we’d like to hear from: If you are a buy-side regulatory lawyer in private practice with a solid grounding in MiFID II, AIFMD and MAR, you are the profile the team most wants to see. The firm is open to candidates from a range of private practice backgrounds, not just a small group of firms, so your experience matters more than where you trained. If you are working in the legal function of a financial services firm and have relevant regulatory experience there, the firm will consider you too. At 5–6PQE you would join as a senior associate, and below 5PQE as an associate. The firm has no preference between the two levels.

What the team is looking for: The essentials are buy-side regulatory experience, in-depth knowledge of MiFID II, AIFMD and MAR, and experience across some mix of regulatory due diligence, perimeter advice, applications to the regulator and governance work. You should be comfortable running client matters, juggling several at once and supervising junior colleagues. Strong academics and good written and spoken communication matter, as does a clear interest in financial regulation.

Several things would be a plus but are not essential: knowledge of CRR and EMIR, sell-side experience, contentious work such as s166 reviews, enforcement or investigations, and retail experience including the Consumer Duty. It is less likely to suit lawyers whose regulatory experience has been mostly sell-side, or whose work hasn’t involved the core buy-side rules.