Arthur Cox

Financial Regulation and ESG

Sarah Thompson is Head of our Financial Regulation Group, and is also Head of our cross-disciplinary ESG Group.

Sarah has experience in advising a broad range of clients on financial regulation matters and is admitted to practice in Northern Ireland, Ireland and England & Wales.

Sarah advises on Central Bank of Ireland authorisation processes, perimeter issues, ongoing compliance with conduct of business and other requirements (with a special focus on ESG matters and on the Individual Accountability Framework and the Senior Executive Accountability Regime, IAF/SEAR), and financial services M&A.

Prior to joining Arthur Cox, Sarah worked in London as a member of the Financial Regulation Group of Linklaters LLP and a partner in the Financial Services Regulatory team of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP.

Relevant Experience

Assisting clients with applications for authorisation as MiFID investment firms and electronic money institutions Advising a number of leading US private equity houses on their obligations under MiFID, SFDR and IFR/IFD Assisting a number of global financial institutions in tracking ESG developments and preparing for compliance (at firm and product levels) Advising the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility (designed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), in collaboration with Afreximbank) on its inaugural repo transaction with Citi Delivering training to client legal and compliance teams on various matters including governance matters, IAF/SEAR and sustainable finance regulation Working with a number of Irish credit institutions to prepare for the introduction of the revised Irish client asset regulations Advising Montagu and Hg on financial services regulatory matters connected to their investments in Waystone Advising Global Shares plc on financial services regulatory matters connected to its acquisition by JP Morgan

Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, 2008, College of Law of England & Wales Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence), 2007, University of Oxford (Brasenose College) (admitted to Master of Arts in 2013) Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales, 2010 Admitted as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, 2021 Admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, 2021