has put regulation at the heart of its strategy as it rolls out its contentious and non-contentious practice across the globe.
Litigation and regulatory partner Simon Davis said: “We’ve taken the decision to offer a seamless cross-border regulatory service wherever possible – the full Monty.”
Financial regulatory partner Tim Plews said: “It is a strategic necessity to have a leading global regulatory practice from West to East, spanning the US, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia. Only a handful of firms focus on this on a global level.”
Last week www.thelawyer. com (18 October) revealed that the magic circle firm had hired Allen & Overy funds partner Simon Gleeson on the basis of his experience in financial regulatory matters, particularly on retail structured products. Gleeson has also worked on creating a new regulatory regime for the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Gleeson’s arrival represents a rare lateral hire for the financial regulatory side. Clifford Chance global head of banking Mark Campbell told The Lawyer: “Our natural tendency is to make partners organically, but when there is an area such as financial services regulation, where the number of suitable people is quite limited, if someone really exceptional comes along we will look outside the firm if we need to.”
News of Gleeson’s hire came in the same week that Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham went to 11 Downing Street as the only lawyer on the Chancellor’s High Level Group, which he founded to consult representatives of the City financial industry about the future of City and EU regulation. Popham is also the only lawyer on the City’s EU advisory group, which comprises 20 bankers and regulators.
