Sophia Le Vesconte

Counsel (Knowledge), Fintech, Paris

“I help clients and internal lawyers understand how complex areas of law and regulation apply to innovative arrangements in the financial sector.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Sophia is a senior knowledge lawyer with around fifteen years’ experience in financial structuring and regulation. In recent years, her focus has been on fintech, i.e. the use of novel technologies in financial arrangements. This comprises a wide and evolving range of product areas. Examples include new markets in native cryptoassets (such as bitcoin); the development of other “digital” or “tokenised” asset classes (such as securities, cash or other value that is represented or constituted using blockchain or distributed ledger technologies); and innovations in retail payments infrastructure and business models.

Within this area, Sophia writes briefings and thought-leadership, delivers internal and external training and develops advice and documentation on complex areas of law. She is also heavily engaged in efforts to shape related law and policy and support market development. She participates, for example, in various industry working groups, including within the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA), the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) and TheCityUK. She has also co-authored pieces published in the Capital Markets Law Journal, the Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law and Artificial Intelligence Law and Regulation (Edward Edgar Publishing). 

Examples of recent work include:

  • Supporting ISDA with the development of its whitepaper (Dec 2021) and contractual standards (Jan 2023) for digital asset derivatives, as well as other digitalisation initiatives.
  • Contribution to successive drafts of the UKJT Legal Statement on Digital Securities (Feb 2023) and Linklaters’ thought leadership on the topic.
  • Engaging with market participants to develop consultation responses to the Law Commission’s various consultations on smart contracts, electronic trade documents and digital assets and related thought leadership. 
  • Developing various training and thought leadership around the evolving regulatory landscape for digital assets.

Professional experience

Sophia is based in Paris, but is qualified in England and Wales and performs a global role.

Education and qualifications

Sophia studied law at University College London and then at the College of Law, London.