Linklaters LLP

Peter is Global Head of Linklaters’ Financial Regulation Group and is one of the firm’s global Investment Managers sector leaders. Peter has developed close working relationships with the firm’s banking and investment management clients. His practice includes all aspects of financial markets regulatory advice for broker-dealers and investment banks. Peter advises investment managers, private banks, hedge funds and private equity funds on regulatory issues affecting them. He also advises clients on regulatory investigations into areas such as market conduct, client money compliance and transaction reporting failures. Peter has particular experience of new product development and marketing, trading issues such as market abuse and regulatory structuring advice. Earlier in his career, Peter was seconded to both Bankers Trust and Nomura, advising and assisting with the establishment of their respective securities financing businesses.Work highlights:Peter has developed a wide-ranging financial regulatory practice. The breadth of his practice includes, advising on, amongst others: Regulatory change: advising numerous banks and investment firms on the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID2) and other regulatory reform initiatives New structures: advising on the creation and structuring of trading and clearing platforms, both internal crossing systems operated by firms and new market entrants including Turquoise (an equities trading platform created by nine major investment banks) and ForexClear, an FX clearing platform operated by LCH.Clearnet (acting for a consortium of clearing banks) Cross-border work: advising international banks on their European structures, to comply with regularly changing European regulations affecting financial institutions, including Brexit Contentious regulatory: advising clients on both LIBOR and FX manipulation investigations, and before that leading the team advising Citi in the first multi-jurisdictional manipulation case, involving Euro sovereign bond trading, which involved negotiating with eight different regulators Financial sector corporate activity: advising RBS on its ongoing structural reorganisation that has involved sales of businesses, including Worldpay, and the ring-fencing of its investment and retail banking operations 

Martyn advises financial institutions on regulatory matters. Prior to returning to private practice in 2004 he spent over nine years working as a senior lawyer at the UK Financial Services Authority, latterly as Head of Department in the Enforcement Division. He has extensive experience advising investment banks, retail banks, insurers, asset managers and listed companies on regulatory compliance problems. He has advised on “crisis management” on discovery of major compliance failures,  conducted numerous internal investigations and represented clients in regulatory investigations, enforcement actions and related civil litigation across the financial services sector. His client work has included some of the highest profile cases brought by the regulators over the past decade and has involved him regularly representing clients before regulators, tribunals and the higher courts (including applications for judicial review of regulators). He has extensive experience of managing multi-jurisdictional regulatory issues and investigations  touching Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. Martyn also regularly advises clients on compliance risk management issues. His areas of particular interest and experience include insider dealing and market manipulation, unauthorised trading incidents, corporate disclosure issues, governance and risk control in financial institutions, senior management responsibilities, management of conflicts of interest, suitability of financial products and portfolio management, financial promotions, fair treatment of customers and other conduct of business standards in respect of investment, banking and insurance products. Martyn’s recent clients have included UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, Santander, Bradford & Bingley, Zurich, Prudential, Capita Financial and a number of asset management firms.  Recent significant client matters on which he worked have included advising and representing UBS in relation to the Adoboli US$2.3billion unauthorised trading incident, representing UBS in the FSA’s Upper Tribunal proceedings against senior manager John Pottage and acting for the applicant in the judicial review of the FSA in R v FSA on the application of C. He has had a significant role advising clients on most of the major regulatory investigations and inquiries resulting from the banking crisis.

Nik is a partner in the Financial Regulation Group in London.  He has extensive experience of advising banks, broker-dealers, insurers, asset managers, wealth management firms and listed companies on regulatory and compliance matters, with a particular focus on contentious regulatory and compliance risk management issues.  Nik’s contentious regulatory experience includes conducting internal investigations and reviews following the discovery of suspected compliance failures; assisting clients in managing section 166 skilled persons’ reviews; advising clients in relation to managing communications with regulators; representing clients in FSA/FCA investigations and enforcement proceedings (including representing clients before the Regulatory Decisions Committee, in the Upper Tribunal and in the higher courts); advising clients in relation to the development and implementation of past business reviews and redress/remediation programmes; and assisting clients in managing civil litigation risks arising out of regulatory failings. Nik also regularly advises clients on compliance risk management issues, including advice on the practical implications of regulation for their business practices and governance arrangements, and strategies for mitigating and managing regulatory and conduct risks.  Nik’s work in this area covers a diverse range of topics, from senior management responsibility, governance and risk management frameworks to conflicts of interest, insider dealing, market abuse, client money, fair treatment of customers, complaint handling and other conduct of business issues. Nik also regularly advises listed companies, corporate brokers and sponsors in relation to the disclosure and control of inside information, the LR8 sponsor regime and other Listing Rule/DTR compliance matters.

Harry has long-standing expertise in financial markets regulation, and regularly advises banks, broker-dealers, investment managers and other financial services institutions on all issues related to their regulated status. In addition, he offers guidance on perimeter issues, such as authorisation requirements, market abuse and market conduct requirements, as well as wholesale market infrastructure. Recently, Harry has been advising on MiFID II and Brexit issues for a broad range of financial service institutions as well as industry bodies. Harry is a market-leading expert on clearing platforms, advising both banks and Central Clearing Counterparties (CCPs) on a number of projects involving the structure of clearing arrangements across a wide range of product types, including credit default swaps (CDSs), IRS, commodities and foreign exchange (FX) products. Harry has leveraged his regulatory and market expertise over the years in relation to FinTech, advising BrokerTec and SwapsWire on the establishment of electronic trading and post-trade platforms. Harry continues to be a leader in this field, currently advising a consortium of banks on FinTech issues and being a regular speaker at FinTech events. Harry spent more than four years with a major investment bank, covering equity derivatives, advising on the structuring and distribution of derivative products. This experience gave Harry particular insight into the way in which financial institutions operate and a deep understanding of complex financial instruments.Work highlights: Harry has an extensive financial regulatory practice. The breadth of his practice includes advising, among others: Regulatory change: advising on the implications of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID2). Other recent matters have included advising on market conduct, the foreign exchange (FX) remediation programme, the senior managers regime (SMR), the impact of the senior management arrangements, systems and controls (SYSC) regime and Client Assets and Money (CASS) implementation New structures: advising on the creation and structuring of trading and clearing platforms, including NASDAQ, OTCDeriv and a consortium in the process of setting up a precious metals exchange and clearing platform Pre-contentious regulatory: advising on various FX reviews and remediation and market conduct investigations, including advising major banks on their policies and procedures to comply with the senior managers function (SMF) Contentious regulatory: advising a number of major banks on FX manipulation investigations and market abuse and conduct reviews, as well as carrying out “Shadow S166” reviews alongside regulators Financial sector corporate activity: advising on the financial regulatory aspects of IPOs and other corporate transactions