‘The team pulls advice from around its international network and processes it into a consistently useful package, looking beyond the legal issues and considering what the practical implications are for our business.’

‘Monica Sah brings in-house experience that not many partners have and so she is also a good sounding board for practical matters and how to apply the law in a business setting. Laura Douglas is deeply knowledgeable and able to translate this into advice we can digest and use.’

‘Monica Sah and Diego Ballon Ossio have outstanding expertise in UK regulations and in particular consumer lending. Their experience in advising clients with a cross border element makes them not only experts in the field but also very practical and knowledgeable about market practice. Their strength lies with their expertise which compares to no others in the market.’

‘Monica Sah brings in her previous in-house experience which makes her an outstanding adviser for any regulatory questions impacting private banks and their clients. Diego Ballon Ossio has extensive knowledge of the regulations and how they came about and therefore can provide a very pertinent interpretation of the rules.’

‘Strength in depth; commercial expertise; context-sensitive advice.’

‘Michael Kent – excellent judgement, excellent risk-based adviser.’

‘Super responsive and commercial. Time taken to really understand the client structure and operating model.’

‘We primarily work with Michael Kent, whose knowledge and experience is invaluable. He is technically sharp and quickly grasps complex topics, and he advises in a way that is understandable, practical and makes commercial sense. He is also an absolute pleasure to work with.’

‘Latham and Watkins is the best practice I have worked with during my career, they set high standards internally and operate with excellence every day. They are reliable and provide quality advice but the key thing that sets them apart is the importance they place on their clients.’

‘David Berman is by far the best partner I have worked with and has helped us create a strong compliance program and keep abreast of regulatory developments in a practical manner. His advice and responsiveness is exceptional and he is always focused on providing a pragmatic and commercial response.’

‘Rob Moulton and Nicola Higgs are the two standout UK regulatory partners within a very high performing team and firm.’

‘The team is an excellent blend of senior lawyers and very capable junior lawyers. They have consistently provided very good and practical advice.’

‘I work closely with David Berman and he gives very practical advice. He cuts through the regulations and tells us what we need to focus on and how best to ensure we’re ahead of peers to ensure we’re best-in-class from a regulatory perspective. He is also available 24/7 on the end of a phone line which is invaluable and has never let me down in that regard.’

‘The L&W team are absolutely outstanding. There is real strength and breadth across the team and they are industry experts.’

‘Rob Moulton and David Berman are truly excellent and provide top regulatory advice on a range of issues in the financial services sector. They are our “go to” regulatory advisers and provide thoughtful, clear advice and are never afraid to give a view and don’t hide behind options. They are our trusted advisers on a range of issues.’

‘Deep knowledge of fintech, digital assets, and blockchain technology from regulatory and legal perspectives (related to UK and Europe, based on our experience). NRF collaborate with many different stakeholders in blockchain technology and that matters in this industry.’

‘Attentive partners and associates who want to build relationships, not just billable hours. Hannah Meakin, Albert Weatherill – the people, the long-standing relationships, make all of the difference.’

‘Depth of market knowledge; connections; pragmatism and responsiveness.’

‘Jonathan Herbst – incredible breadth of knowledge and experience, manner that is attractive to all and incredible pragmatism – real value add.’

‘Hannah Meakin – FS regulatory partner whose wide-ranging expertise has supported us on several matters, she is willing to engage with innovative propositions and provide comprehensive and pragmatic advice tailored to our particular context.’

‘Albert Weatherill – an expert in the crypto space whose deep understanding of the context has been invaluable in helping us understand the risks of accepting cryptocurrency donations and the mitigations available to help us reduce the potential risks.’

‘Our firm has needed a lot of help in delivering a SWDP. That has needed a lot of interaction with our regulators, and innovation to develop ways of working that are new to the regulator as well as the firm. The NRF team has given us first-rate support through that process of innovation as well as ensuring compliance through the implementation of our SWDP.’

‘Jonathan Herbst has been an excellent lead for our team. He has been able supported by Matthew Gregory. The stand out for us has been the way difficult concepts are explained clearly so that we can make the right business decisions. The level of team work is excellent, and that means we get the benefit of the whole team’s expertise.’

‘The Slaughter & May team have a rare combination of technical excellence, market knowledge, strong negotiating capabilities and great people skills. They are a pleasure to work with and even in the most stressful time pressured environments always approach their work with complete professionalism and good humour.’

‘Nick Bonsall and the team truly stand out. What differentiates them from competitors is their innate ability to understand and analyse our business goals/needs and construct a way of realistic way to achieve them in a compliant and beneficial way for our customers, our business and our shareholders. They do this quickly and are able to always keep pace with what has been a challenging market and regulatory backdrop.’

‘An ability to focus a number of very able and committed individuals on the matter at hand, and scale up and down teams as required. This is something uniquely well down by Slaughter and May in my experience.’

‘Nick Bonsall is exceptionally friendly and approachable; very strong on regulatory matters. The firm has a wide experience of working on cutting edge and tricky issues across industry sectors and brings this to be bear in its advice and approach.’

‘Kristina Locmele is a fantastic senior counsel who works with our team on complex regulatory and product matters. She is a trusted pair of hands who is able to engage with the real-world challenges faced by our business.’

‘The team provide a depth of experience and expertise with knowledgable and credible individuals supported by experienced partners who work together to provide good coverage in a number of evolving areas.’

‘Tim Fosh at Slaughter & May demonstrated depth of knowledge and understanding of evolving businesses applied to existing regulatory frameworks. Built his understanding of our business and leveraged the team at S&M to provide cohesive and coherent advice and guidance.’

‘Excellent team, highly regarded in the industry.’

‘Stephanie Biggs and Danny Riding provide excellent regulatory support and advice.’

‘The team has broad experience within areas of regulatory matters which singles them out in the market and are always easily accessible.’

‘Phil Bartram is very easy to work with and seems to always be on top of things.’

‘Professional and cordial sums it and that is really what one is looking for.’

‘I thoroughly enjoy working with Tim Lewis (partner) and Henriika Hara (senior counsel). They not only provide tailored, bespoke advice as they know us so well, but are also extremely efficient and collaborative. They are both excellent technical specialists who help translate unclear legislation into meaningful, practical guidance, which is invaluable as an in-house lawyer. A complete pleasure to work with them both.’

‘Stellar client list, ensuring advice is market tested. Technically strong. Good at all levels, not just partner level.’

‘Michael Raymond is very strong technically. He is clearly very focused on delivering the best possible service for his clients, and he achieves that time after time.’

‘Great work with AG consulting. They’ve been very supportive to me and obviously the team are at the top of their game in the regulatory space.’

‘Rosanna Bryant and the team are very client centric, commercial and accommodating.’

‘Steven Francis is a standout.’

‘The team is extremely responsive and versatile. BCLP is able to help us navigate uncertainties from regulatory reporting to outsourcing to regulatory horizon scanning. The team is willing to go above and beyond to better understand our business model and provide bespoke advice.’

‘Daniel Csefalvay and Joanna Munro work very hard to meet our high expectations and are generous with their time. Their high-quality work is much appreciated.’

‘Matthew Baker – Matt has the ability to provide detailed technical regulatory analysis to non specialists in a way that provides confidence and is easily accessible.’

‘On matters that cross various disciplines, BCLP partners from different areas work together to ensure complete advice and coverage.’

‘Daniel Csefalvay provides practical advice which is essential in the regulatory environment.’

‘Very strong regulatory understanding in terms of the FCA. I have worked with Polly James and her team over many years in the insurance sector. They are extremely responsive, and the work is always of a high quality. They have access to a wide range of specialisms within the firm which has been a great help on several occasions. Overall they are a pleasure to work with in addition to the above.’

‘Highly responsive. Organised and proactive. Succinct.’

‘Polly James and Joanna Munro both stand out.’

‘Excellent international expertise in very specialized areas (regulation of securities exchanges and clearinghouses). Communication is excellent and they meet deadlines without fail.’

‘Michael Thomas, relationship partner. He is highly responsive and ensures that we have complete transparency in billing.’

‘Lisa Cawley and Adam Skinner are recommended.’

‘The team provides a stellar legal service across the board: responsive, polished and, above all, always pragmatic. No matter how large or complex the matter or how compressed the timeframe, I have confidence that K&E will deliver. K&E has seamlessly handled any cross-border aspects of our matters (of which there are many), either through its own offices or via its network of local counsel contacts.’

‘Prem Mohan makes the complexities of UK and EU financial services regulation perfectly navigable. He is incredibly responsive and gives total commitment to any mandate.’

‘Highly pragmatic and approachable. Ability to take a very international view. Drawing on deep and broad range of transaction experience.’

‘Barney Reynolds and the team go the extra mile to be there when needed.’

‘Excellent lawyers at every level.’

‘Barney Reynolds and Thomas Donegan have broad experience across financial services sectors. Are personable, easy to work with and responsive. Their engagement provides confidence that the best and most experienced professionals are partnering with you.’

‘This team is incredibly driven and efficient. They provide a complete and cohesive service for any investigator carrying out an investigation. Their technical data management and digital abilities are second to none.’

‘Richard Frase (partner) has an unparalleled knowledge and deep understanding of the intricacies of financial legislation and regulation. He can always be relied upon for a thoughtful and correct identification and analysis of the relevant statutory provisions.’

‘Karen Stretch has an impressive mastery of the topics she covers and presents convincingly.’

‘It just works, makes detangling some thorny complex queries easier and their collaboration with colleagues in other practice areas and jurisdictions makes for a smooth experience for us as a client.’

‘Dechert are our relationship firm for financial regulatory work. Over the past year, they have advised across a variety of different matters. Some of those were routine, others linked to regulatory changes.’

‘Richard Frase is an extremely knowledgeable and hard-working lawyer. He is an incredibly impressive individual.’

‘The team are well resourced and highly skilled. They take the time to understand our industry and requirements.’

‘Chris Chapman and his team have a good understanding of regulatory developments including in relation to remuneration and nomination topics.’

‘Chris Chapman is excellent. He understands very quickly what we need and then delivers it. He is a pleasure to work with.’

‘A strong team with increasing depth.’

‘Chris Chapman is brilliant – he is always across the detail and has great judgment.’

‘The team at Mayer Brown is excellent, very responsive, diligent and practical. They are very client focused, and able to give very sensible pragmatic advice to clients.’

‘Chris Chapman is very good, he is provides excellent mixture of technical legal analysis coupled with real world pragmatism and is very good at thinking through solutions and next steps.’

‘Chris Chapman is brilliant – he immediately hones in on the key issues and then provides thoughtful solutions to financial regulatory issues. His calmness under pressure also makes him fantastic to work with. I can unreservedly recommend him.’

‘I have been working closely with Chris Chapman, Musonda Kapotwe on a challenging international regulatory matter, involving complex legal issues, and difficult strategic questions. The team is outstanding – focused, innovative, very well organised, and dedicated to obtaining the best outcome possible for the client. Couldn’t really ask for more!’

‘The Paul Hastings Regulatory team are key to the success of my own team. They are so good at what they do that we regard them as an extension of our own regulatory team. Arun Srivastava leads the PH team and he is an absolute star.’

‘We have used many different law firms in the FS regulatory space but Arun and his team are the best. They are commercial thinkers – always being solution focused. They are also proactive – sending constant updates on new laws impacting my business.’

‘Arun Srivastava – phenomenal. He is incredible to work with. Takes a commercial view. So proactive in his support of us that I see him as a true partner – not just a third party adviser. His understanding of legal matters is unmatched in my opinion. No weaknesses I have identified.’

‘The team provided depth of experience in the topic which is an emerging area of regulation in the financial markets. We have history working with the team on other topics and on this particular recent engagement their strong handle of the regulation made them our trusted partner.’

‘The individual on the day to day was extremely diligent, providing pragmatic opinion to address how our firm needed to implement the regulatory recommendations and mandatory disclosures.’

‘Collectively, the Paul Hastings team is a perfect blend of professionalism, knowledge and optimal client service. Their speed on execution, while maintaining the highest professional standards and industry knowledge is clearly remarkable.’

‘We have worked with the cross border regulatory team for several years and they understand our requirements and combine legal expertise with commercial awareness. They are great to work with, very practical and good at helping us find solutions.’

‘Arun Srivastava and Konstantin Burkov. Very experienced, practical, easy to work with and great at helping us form risk based decisions.’

‘They are good with UK financial regulatory advice, and have a broad enough network of offices to know many other relevant jurisdiction’s law allowing for “one-stop shopping” for advice. High quality firm.’

‘Rachpal Thind is amazing, getting all the facts to find ways to minimize regulatory burdens relating to our UK financial services investments. She also does a good job of “quarterbacking” regulatory counsel teams in different jurisdictions to get the investing client the right results.’

‘The firm’s practice culture is particularly impressive. We have frequently found Akin Gump are able to mobilise a highly-skilled team of cross-specialism advisers to grapple with various unforeseen and particularly knotted issues, often under exigent circumstances. Akin Gump also partner well with our other advisers and they have demonstrated a flare for galvanising and providing leadership across large transaction groups, even where party interests are sharply divergent.’

‘From a regulatory perspective, our key stakeholder and point of contact has been Joe Hewton. Across a very complicated and challenging restructuring transaction, Joe has provided leadership and stewardship to a large and internationalised group of internal stakeholders and our other local legal advisers in connection with a variety of complex deliverables. Joe has shown significant determination and resolve in bringing a fraught and difficult restructuring process to an effective close, for which we are very grateful.’

‘The firm has a deep knowledge and understanding of financial services and regulation. It is my go-to firm due to its deep pockets of experience, which make it stand out against larger firms, particularly in the crypto space and areas of trading and markets.’

‘William Garner combines unparalleled knowledge in the space with strong commercial awareness which other firms struggle to bridge. His professionalism and ability to navigate and overcome challenges in the complex world of regulation is outstanding.’

‘Good experience in supporting fintech businesses given their Kemp Little origins. Great support on payment services regulations.’

‘Chris Hill is always sensible, helpful and commercial and able to bring his experience to bear on problems.’

‘Responsive to the needs of a fast-moving start-up, deep understanding of fintech.’

‘Jake Ghanty had exceptional understanding of the nuanced regulatory considerations facing fast-moving fintech – in our case covering both payments and insurtech. His guidance was key in the launch of our start-up.’

‘They punch above their weight in derivatives, which is generally an area dominated by very large firms. A very strong financial services regulatory practice.’

‘Great mix of people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Uniquely client-friendly and down-to-earth, which are qualities consistent among their staff. They really treat the issue that you are dealing with as if it was their own.’

‘Chris Finney – always available expert.’

‘Chris Finney and his team are responsive, easy to deal with and know their subject area and given clear and commercial advice.’

‘Chris Finney – always makes himself available and has a positive and clear communication style whether with other lawyers or directly with clients.’

‘Great team with strong commercial and technical skills.’

‘Individuals always available.’

‘Both Ian Mason and Sushil Kuner have excellent regulatory knowledge between them and both have invaluable FCA experience. We use Gowlings for advice about the UK’s consumer credit regime, FCA authorisations and financial promotions marketing. Both are highly reliable and equally personable.’

‘Very client focused – advice is not generic – it is always practical and useful to our company.’

‘Helpful, always available and very knowledgeable. Great industry context.’

‘We have been working with Macfarlanes for over a decade. Macfarlanes continues to provide good, reliable and consistent advice to us in the area of real estate financing and regulations.’

‘Alexandra Green has been responsive to us. Her fees and turnaround time are fair.’

‘Commercially practical, good response time.’

‘They understand all issues and questions that we have straight away and provide pragmatic advice and they explain everything in a very clear manner. They are extremely well experienced in the financial services/ regulatory area, so their knowledge is exceptional. The Team is extremely professional and always very helpful.’

‘We work with partner Alexandra Green, and it has been a great pleasure. She is very responsive, helpful, and exceptionally well experienced. She sees the entire picture and is always able to highlight the most important points. Her advice and comments on the contracts are straight to the point (no unnecessary back and forth). She is always ready to help, even with limited time. Each conversation with her is always very useful. One of the best lawyers I have ever worked with.’

‘Excellent depth of team experience across a wide range of areas. Provides business focused results, understanding the underlying drivers of business, enabling activities to be conducted in a compliant manner. In interactions with regulators they have been very effective.’

‘The individuals on the team provide a no nonsense response, in a timely manner. Jacqui Hatfield as a lead partner is excellent. Marco Boldini as our European lead partner is always available and helps drive effective overall service.’

‘A simple approach to legal matters. Making legal matters easy to deal with.’

‘Approachable, dedicated and an extension of our internal team. Always make time.’

‘The team are extremely professional and have a pragmatic approach. They are extremely knowledgeable and able to help promptly and efficiently with our queries.’

‘One of the key characteristics of the individuals is that they listen closely to our requirements. They take time to understand our business and help us achieve the desired outcome whilst ensuring we meet all of our legal and regulatory obligations.’

‘The team has extensive knowledge within financial law.’

‘Katie Fry-Paul has an extensive knowledge within financial law. She delivers excellent advice within agreed time frames.’

‘Taylor Wessing, led by Charlotte Hill, has vast experience in the UK financial services sector, providing high quality work in various areas. The team is very knowledgeable in their specialised subject and very approachable in daily communications.’

‘We have been working closely with partner Charlotte Hill and associate Katie Fry-Paul in recent years to improve the Bank’s internal policies & procedures and relevant customer legal documentation in order to meet fast-changing regulatory requirements. They have provided valuable specific/tailored advice to suit our situation and produced high quality documentation in association with the requirement within schedule.’

‘Incredibly collaborative and responsive – Strategic and pragmatic legal advice – Great regulatory and market insights – Excellent speed of execution.’

‘A very professional and knowledgeable team.’

‘James Green and his team have provided us with pragmatic and expert advice and service for a number of years now, within a financial services organisation.’

‘James Green is a brilliant lawyer, a highly professional and friendly individual, who has gone above and beyond to help and support.  James has always provided us pragmatic and thorough advice as well as excellent service.  I would highly recommend James.’

‘In dealing with them, we have felt that the need to find sensible and pragmatic solutions has been paramount. Ralph Lovesy helped guide us through a somewhat complicated situation, with great clarity.’

‘Ralph Lovesy was excellent in the way that he questioned us as to what we were hoping to achieve from the advice we were seeking, and then providing a clear road map to achieve the outcome we were after.  Whilst there was plenty of attention to the legal detail of the matter, a clear explanation of how we could use the approriate laws properly and to our benefit was paramount.’

‘The team is very responsive, and provides focussed, commercial advice’.

‘Grania Baird, for her breadth of legal knowledge as well as industry awareness. Nandini Sur, for her commercial acumen and willingness to engage with business colleagues directly when advising.’

‘Very responsive and produce very good work.’

‘Very collaborative, hard working, pragmatic and knowledgeable.’

‘gunnercooke have a deep and talented bench of experts that can be called upon to advise on a wide variety of different matters. As a start-up we found their guidance has been invaluable.’

‘Our main partner is James Burnie. James remains a stand-out expert in his field, and he often keeps us informed of legal and regulatory changes that might impact our business before the changes come in to effect.’

‘James Burnie & Edward Black – both are superb. As a start-up crypto fund manager, much of what we are doing is for the first time so they have been very helpful, hand-holding us through the process. Their deep knowledge on esoteric technical aspects of the crypto market re-assured me. They are a great team.’

‘Very good insight and expertise in non-contentious regulatory queries. Excellent experience from prior roles at regulators. Also very good practical/risk based advice.’

‘Key factor that makes their service stand out is the team’s prior experience at other institutions. Where we value them is their ability to provide advice which is actionable and proportionate. In addition team is responsive and very approachable.’

‘The team are very responsive and have great knowledge and experience of financial services regulations in UK, as well as how it applies on a cross-border basis.’

‘Very responsive, commercial in nature and can clearly apply the law to our specific business model in a way that can be used in a practical way.’

‘The team deals with complex and sometimes novel financial services matters for significant clients. I have found them to be knowledgeable, and flexible and commercial in their approach. They look for realistic and workable solutions.’

‘I have enjoyed working closely with Eve Ellis over many years. She is highly knowledgeable. She is very prepared to discuss different aspects and analyses of an issue to reach realistic and workable solutions for her clients. I have also found Eve to be very approachable and pleasant.’

‘Eve Ellis at Ropes, in our opinion, is a truly exceptional regulatory lawyer. She is also extremely accessible, often responding to our requests 24/7 in order to meet our deadlines. Eve has a vast amount of experience and provides concise and highly effective advice. She is most definitely our number one go to for regulatory advice above all other counsel. Eve is a real pleasure to work with.’

‘Make an effort, show respect, deal with the work themselves.’

‘I regularly engage with a range of TLT personnel, who in all instances are professional, friendly and efficient and work collaboratively with me and the company I work for.’

‘My principal contact, Robin Penfold has previously worked within the mortgage industry and is able to use that experience when providing advice, giving a holistic view. He is also widely respected within the sector, working closely with a number of relevant trade bodies.’

‘Robin Penfold. Very personable and unfailingly clear, concise, and commercial in his advice. Always meets urgent deadlines.’

‘This practice’s people are its greatest asset/strength, everyone we have dealt with has of course been professional and knowledgeable but also engaging and willing to do what is required to deliver a good client outcome.’

‘My dealings with TLT have been on a number of projects working with partner Robin Penfold. Robin has always been extremely knowledgeable on the subject matters, been able to provide instant balanced views on any of our queries and will always go that extra mile to assist us when we have queries.’

‘Noline Matemera is very refreshing. She really gets under the brief – challenging/questioning/hypothesising. She also proactively offers our business sessions on evolving topics in order to assist our interpretation and understanding.’

‘Knowledgeable team which understands timeliness and urgency when needed, exceptional and informative with a broad understanding of our industry.’

‘Timeliness, organised and prompt in their dealings.’

‘The team is very efficient and professional. Their engagement and quality of service are exceptional. They will propose the right strategy with realistic timelines for its delivery and assist in every step of the way until its successful execution.’

‘Emma Radmore is a very experienced solicitor who we have had the pleasure to work with.’

‘The firm have real expertise in retail and business banking legal and regulatory matters. Their co-sourcing approach is tremendous and they really do feel like an extension to our legal team.’

‘Jonny Williams: real in-depth banking law and regulatory expert and in-house in his DNA so he thinks like us as a banking client and understands our risk appetite and triggers. A joy to work with and his pragmatic legal advice coupled with impressive industry and regulatory insight is invaluable.’