Overview
James is a Counsel in the Financial Regulation Group in London, having trained at Linklaters.
James has expertise advising banks, proprietary traders, asset managers, FMIs and fintechs across a range of financial regulatory topics. He focusses focus on wholesale markets, fintech/cryptoassets and ESG/sustainable finance regulation, but has broad experience across a wider range of regulatory topics.
His experience includes advising clients on their response to significant regulatory changes such as the implementation of MiFID II, Brexit, the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and on ESG topics such as the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
James regularly advises on fintech and digital assets matters. His experience includes advising a consortium of banks on their project to establish a private virtual currency using blockchain technology, advising on successful cryptoasset registrations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and advising a prominent cryptoasset derivatives trading firm on obtaining Part 4A authorisation from the FCA.
His broader advisory expertise covers a range of other areas including the application of the UK and EU Market Abuse Regulation (in both transactional and non-transactional contexts), the FCA’s Consumer Duty, the Benchmarks Regulation, AIFMD, CRD VI, the Short Selling Regulation, M&A transactions related to regulated businesses, intragroup reorganisations of regulated businesses, analysis of complex UK regulatory perimeter issues and cross-border licensing advice.
James has previously been seconded to the regulatory reform legal team at Goldman Sachs, focussing on matters relating to MiFID II implementation. As a Managing Associate James also spent time on secondment in Linklaters’ Financial Regulation Group in Hong Kong.
James is recognised as a Leading Associate in the non-contentious financial regulatory space in Legal 500.
Work Highlights
- Advising a significant cryptoasset proprietary trader and liquidity provider on one of the first successful UK cryptoasset firm registrations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and on obtaining Part 4a authorisation for cryptoassets derivative trading
- Advising a large global asset manager on its SFDR implementation project, and on other ESG topics including CSRD, the UK FCA’s SDR regime and TCFD reporting
- Advising on multiple complex reorganisations of an EU investment banking group
- Advising a private credit manager on cross-border licensing considerations associated with lending business in Europe
- Ongoing advice on the cross-border licensing implications and other regulatory issues associated with offering a capital markets workflow management tool into the UK and a number of other non-UK jurisdictions
- Assisting several investment banks, FMIs and asset managers on their Brexit implementation projects
- MiFID II implementation projects for a number of global investment banks, asset managers and FMIs
Admissions