Simon Morris

Simon joined Cameron McKenna in 1980, qualified as a solicitor in 1982 and has been a partner since 1988. He is a member of the firm’s financial services group, advising financial institutions on a broad range of matters.  Simon has represented firms in over 300 regulatory and disciplinary proceedings.

Simon is author of Financial Services: Regulating Investment Business, and is a member of the City of London Law Society Financial Services Sub-Committee. He was named as the Best Regulatory Lawyer of 2008 at Complinet’s Fourth Annual Compliance Awards in January 2008.

Relevant experience: 

Regulatory projects includes advising:

• One of the five main United Kingdom banks on the implementation of MiFID's requirements throughout its business, ranging from life and general insurance to wholesale fund management and derivatives trading. 
• On the introduction of enhanced conflicts management procedures at a substantial private office, an investment bank and a major fund manager.
• On preparation for FSA ARROW and similar visits.

Banks includes advising:

• On establishment in the UK, on reviewing policies to protect against financial crime, on meeting the FSA’s capital adequacy requirements and on documentation of new retail and wholesale products and services.

Insurers includes advising:

• On the hypothecation of a with-profits fund, the fairness of with-profits operations, the design of new with-profits products and the creation of mutual capital. 
• On corporate governance arrangements and the role of non-executive directors

Fund managers includes advising:

• On the establishment of new UK institutional fund managers, obtaining FSA authorisation on favourable terms and providing the full start-up package from documentation to premises.
• On cross-border activities and the re-organisation of overseas operations.
• On the identification and management of multiple conflicts.

Contentious FSA includes representing:

• Firms in over 300 enforcement proceedings brought by the Financial Services Authority, its predecessors and overseas regulators, on issues ranging from market abuse, fraud and handling conflicts through to appointment of a skilled person and retail mis-selling. 
•  Firms whose application for authorisation, or change of control, has been refused by the FSA, or where the FSA is seeking to restrict their activities. 
• Assisting a life insurer in resisting an FSA investigation into its derivatives trading; and assisting another insurer in an FSA investigation into the role of its non-executive directors. 
• The major fund manager and major broker involved in FSA's longest and largest-ever investigation, into split capital investment trusts, which resulted in no findings of regulatory misconduct.

Contentious FOS includes representing:

• Over a dozen firms in major Financial Ombudsman Service "wider implications" cases, including successfully defending the industry lead case on mortgage endowments and successfully challenging the Ombudsman in judicial review proceedings.

Contentious - dispute resolution includes: 

• Working with dispute resolution colleagues in relation to major claims brought against an insurer by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and in relation to numerous intra-firm disputes.