Robert acts for financial services firms, individuals and regulatory bodies seeking advice on a wide range of regulatory issues. Examples of the kind of issues on which Robert is instructed include: all aspects of EC Financial Services legislation, including insurance, reinsurance, banking and investment business directives and regulations; the scope and content of regulation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, including Collective Investment Schemes, deposit taking, investment activities and insurance business (on the latter, Robert has advised the FSA Enforcement Division, product providers and product distributors); the scope and content of the FSA regime for the regulation of mortgage business; the scope and content of the FSA’s Principles for Business as they apply to regulated firms; the scope and content of the FSA regime for Approved Persons; FSA corporate governance and systems and controls issues in relation to financial services business including banks; compliance with the UK implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), including in relation to investment research, best execution, client classification, communications with clients and client money; the interpretation and application of FSA prudential requirements applicable to insurance and reinsurance firms and the valuation of insurance and reinsurance exposures for prudential purposes; the location of reinsurance business under UK law; the interpretation and application of FSA rules restricting the business of regulated insurance firms to insurance business and connected business; money laundering issues under FSA rules and money laundering regulations, including in relation to safe deposit businesses; conduct of business issues under FSA rules, including issues relating to ‘treating customers fairly’ and specialist advice on claims against financial advisers and others for breach of statutory duty under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; civil liability issues relevant to the obligation of the FSCS to compensate customers of failed firms; the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (for the FSA); FSA Discussion Paper 08/2 on Transparency, disclosure and conflicts of interest in the commercial insurance market (for the FSA); the powers of a UK-recognised investment exchange in relation to a ‘mis-trade’; regularly instructed by the Financial Services Authority in relation to applications for the sanction by the High Court of transfers of insurance business, under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act; instructed by the Financial Services Authority in relation to an application for the sanction of a Scheme of Arrangement in respect of insurance business, under the Companies Act 2006; instructed by insurance and other firms to advise on the structure and operation of insurance business transfer schemes under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; general commercial work, for example, claims in contract and tort, particularly in relation to financial services contracts.
Attorney South Africa 1990; solicitor England 1994; legal adviser General Counsel’s Division of the FSA 1999; chief counsel, insurance and prudential policy at the FSA 2003-07; called to the Bar 2007. Edits chapters on the definition of contracts of insurance and on the conflict of laws in ‘Clarke’s Law of Insurance Contracts’; deputy editor ‘Blair, Walker, Financial Services Law’ (2nd edition OUP).
COMBAR; British Insurance Law Association; member of the advisory panel to the Law Commission’s project on the reform of insurance contract law.
Cape Town (1984 BA; 1986 LLB; 1990 BCom Hons financial management); Cambridge (1988 LLM; 2000 PhD).