Praised for its ‘unrivalled knowledge and experience of the complexities of regulation for innovative finance companies’, CMS advises across licensing, perimeter analysis, financial promotions, payments, consumer finance, and digital assets regulation. The team supports clients ranging from start-ups to central banks and financial institutions, advising on digital assets, decentralised finance, AI, tokenisation, and embedded finance. Sam Robinson, formerly at the FSA, advises across the financial services spectrum, with recent work covering the establishment of investment platforms, crypto trading exchanges, and advising on security token offerings and acquisitions of FCA-authorised firms. Charles Kerrigan advises on crypto, AI, and digital assets. His experience includes advising over 150 crypto clients and supporting DeFi, tokenisation, and NFT projects, as well as corporate finance transactions exceeding $5bn. Chris Glennie, previously lead payments lawyer at the Bank of England, advises on payment systems, stablecoins, and digital currency frameworks, and has advised on the renewal of the UK’s RTGS system.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Efficient problem solvers, always found them reliable.’
‘Generally excellent team. ’
‘Quick to hit the ground running and always at the end of the phone.’
‘Ability to pivot quickly as advice or situations evolve.’
‘Excellent commercial awareness so that, when legal or regulatory barriers to a product design are identified, the team can understand the motivation of the design and suggest changes to achieve that motivation within the legal and regulatory constraints.’
‘The CMS team has unrivalled knowledge and experience of the complexities of regulation for innovative finance companies. Their direct involvement in the development of regulatory policy gives them a unique and grounded perspective on the realities of regulatory compliance and risks for businesses operating in both emergent and established fintech sectors.’
Key clients
- Coinbase
- CoinCover
- Eunice
- Moonpay
- Payward
- Blockchain.com
- Orbs Ltd
- Copper
- Archax
- EDX Markets
- LMAX Exchange Group Limited
- Zero Fintech
Work highlights
Advising Archax on cutting-edge products including tokenised securities trading and custody arrangements and the creation of a tokenised representation of uranium using the Tezos blockchain.
Advising BPX Markets Ltd on its authorisation application to the Financial Conduct Authority to become a digital securities exchange platform, and to the Bank of England to be admitted to the Digital Securities Sandbox.
Advising Marygold & Co (a US based fintech payments firm) on launching its business in the UK.
Lawyers
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Sam Robinson, Chris Glennie
Other key lawyers
Charles Kerrigan