Charles Russell Speechlys strengthens its Financial Services Regulation offering with the appointment of Charlotte Hill as Partner

Charles Russell Speechlys today announces the appointment of Charlotte Hill as Partner in the Firm’s Financial Services Regulatory team in London.

Charlotte joins from Taylor Wessing, where she has been Partner and Head of the Financial Services Regulation & FinTech Group. During that time, she was one of the founding Partners of the Dublin office, having built and overseen a team of ten. Prior to this, Charlotte held the position of Partner at three other major law firms, and also established and led the legal department at Threadneedle Investment (now Columbia Threadneedle) as General Counsel.

Charlotte joins the Firm at a time when financial services regulation is increasing in its complexity. Charlotte has extensive experience in providing international regulatory advice on both FinTech and other financial services regulation matters. Her client base is broad ranging from international conglomerates to specialist boutiques and include FinTech and crypto firms, online retail marketplaces, investment platforms, investment managers, brokers, banks and more.

She is an expert on the Rules and Regulations of both the FCA and PRA, and EU directives and regulations that affect financial services institutions, such as MiFID and EMIR. She also spent three years within the Enforcement division at the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation (“IMRO”); the predecessor regulator to the FCA.

Recent high-profile and complex matters that Charlotte has advised on include: advising a leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchange on matters relating to FCA authorisation and registration; advising a luxury fashion digital marketplace on whether it could rely on the Commercial Agent Exclusion under FCA rules; and advising the London branch of a US financial services company on a number of MiFID requirements.

David Collins, Partner and Head of the Firms Business Advisory & Transaction Services Division, comments:

As a Firm that is keenly focused on Private Capital, it is critical that we provide our clients with top quality advice on navigating the evolving laws and regulations in financial services – a sector that is becoming ever more complex and affecting an increasingly wide range of clients.

"Charlotte is a significant addition for us, and her arrival will strengthen the capabilities of both our BATS Division and the Firm as a whole. She has extensive experience advising international clients across industry sectors, from traditional wealth management through to the regulation of digital assets and currencies, and will be on a good footing to collaborate with colleagues across the Firm on a variety of matters. We wish her well as she settles into life at the Firm.

Charlotte Hill, Partner, comments:

I am excited to join Charles Russell Speechlys to further grow its Financial Services Regulation offering. The Firm has a strong reputation for not just one type of work, but a range across private client, business advisory, regulatory and contentious. My own practice is similarly broad, and I believe aligns very closely with the Firm’s offering. I look forward to meeting new colleagues from a range of practice areas across the Firm, and collaborating with them on interesting matters to the benefit of all of our clients.

Charlotte’s appointment comes at a busy time of recruitment for the Firm, and the BATS Division in particular. In London, the Firm welcomed James Stewart as Partner to the Corporate Tax team on 21 October, and Dan Pollard as Partner to the Employment team on 5 August.

The BATS Division also continues to grow internationally, with Corporate Partner Amad Anani joining as Head of Capital Markets and Regulation (Middle East) in Qatar on 1 September, and Shirley Fu joining as a Partner (Corporate and Commercial) in Hong Kong in April.