Lawyer - Enforcement Legal - Regulatory Reform

Lawyer – Enforcement Legal – Regulatory Reform Division – Legal Division

Salary - National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £68,900 to £103,200 and London £75,700 to £113,500 per annum (Salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

About the FCA

The FCA regulates the conduct of 45,000 firms in the UK to ensure our financial markets are honest, fair and competitive.

Law, Policy and International provides legal and policy advice on Enforcement matters and international investigations. In the domestic context, the department ensures that the FCA has the appropriate powers and public policies to tackle harm and respond to misconduct. This typically involves negotiating legislative reforms with HM Treasury and other government departments, as well as delivering updates to the Decision Procedure and Penalties Manual (DEPP) and the Enforcement Guide.

The Enforcement SRF team focuses primarily on legislative reforms connected to the repeal and replacement of assimilated law (previously termed Retained EU law), which has been a key pillar of HMT’s Smarter Regulatory Framework (SRF) Programme. Legislation on which the team has advised includes:

• Part 5A FSMA (inserted by FSMA 2023 to create the Designated Activities Regime);
• the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024;
• the Securitisation Regulations 2024;
• the Consumer Composite Regulations 2024;
• the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Designated Activities) (Supervision and Enforcement) Regulations 2025;
• the Short Selling Regulations 2025.

What will you be doing?

• Shaping the future legal framework in which FCA Enforcement will operate
• Collaborating with colleagues of all levels across the Legal Division, EMO and SPC in particular
• Analysing currently available supervisory, investigative and enforcement powers and articulating gaps in those powers
• Building evidence-based arguments for why those gaps matter, by reference to case precedents, as well as the FCA’s and HMT’s strategic priorities
• Negotiating desired legislative changes with HMT
• Developing and drafting changes to DEPP and the Enforcement Guide, ensuring compliance with relevant statutory duties and FCA governance processes
• Delivering through less senior colleagues, providing steers and support as appropriate

What will you get from the role?

• Sharing responsibility for delivering for the FCA further and improved tools for tackling harm and deterring misconduct
• Accelerated development of your technical legal skills through working on primary legislation, secondary legislation and Handbook drafting
• Deepened appreciation for the policy design and delivery processes, both within government and at the FCA
• Exposure to a broad spectrum of financial services regulation, i.e. markets-based and consumer-focused regimes
• A rich and balanced portfolio of work, the overall mix including non-SRF workstreams and potentially assisting with Enforcement-related matters where international partners are engaged

Which skills are required?

• Minimum Qualified lawyer, able to practise in the UK
• Minimum 5 years PQE (Post-qualification experience) in any of the following areas: contentious financial services or other regulatory investigations or proceedings; financial markets; investigations involving serious fraud or other complex financial crime; complex litigation or disputes
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to analyse information quickly and identify key issues clearly
• Strong technical legal skills, with the ability to conduct complex legal research and apply legal analysis to often novel factual situations in order to develop imaginative, practical and legally sound solutions
• Strong communication skills, capable of communicating clearly, concisely and effectively to a variety of audiences, including senior staff at the FCA and other senior stakeholders both orally and in writing
• Ability to form and maintain effective working relationships with peers, management, internal and external stakeholders across the organisation and external agencies at a senior level
• A self-starter with the ability to act on their own initiative and deliver excellent outcomes with appropriate supervision, often under pressure and to challenging deadlines
• A pragmatic approach to delivery that involves and empowers less senior colleagues where possible

Our Values & Diversity

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and our ambition is to cultivate a culture for all employees that respects their individual strengths, views, and experiences. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation.

Benefits of working at the FCA

• 25 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working (work from home up to 60% of your time)
• Private healthcare with Bupa
• A non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month (there are several contribution levels that increase depending on your age – up to 12% a month once you reach age 35)
• Life assurance of eight times your basic salary
• Income protection
• We also have a competitive flexible benefits scheme which gives you the opportunity to create a personalised benefits package, tailored to suit your lifestyle.

Application Support

We are dedicated to removing barriers and ensuring our application process is accessible to everyone. We offer a range of adjustments to make your application experience as comfortable and straightforward as possible.

Useful Information and Timeline

This role is graded as Lead Associate, Practising Legal

Advert Closing Date: 8th July

CV Review/Shortlist: 10th July

Interviews: W/C 14th July