Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has begun to rebuild its London financial services regulatory practice with the hire of Andrew Proctor from Deutsche Bank (DB).
Proctor was the head of the German bank’s compliance, government and regulatory affairs department and will join HSF in June.
Prior to joining DB, Proctor had led the enforcement division at what was the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) and also had spells at the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the Australian Securities Commission.
Jenny Stainsby, a partner in HSF's London office highlighted this multi-jurisdiction experience as a key reason behind the hire: "The three regulators he's worked for are in key jurisdictions for us and our practice, particularly after the merger in Australia - to find someone who can cover off all three of those (Australia, Hong Kong, UK) as well as having dealt with regulators globally in terms of his in-house role is really exciting."
Fellow London partner Karen Anderson highlighted specifically Proctor's FSA experience: "As Head of Enforcement he was involved in establishing the tone when the regulator was first set up, and also in developing the enforcement policy thinking, and while subsequent heads of enforcement have built on that he has an understanding of the policy framework and the policy drivers which you don't lose."
She continued: "With the increased regulatory focus on the responsibilities of senior managers, firms are thinking differently about how they respond to the regulator; how they position their individuals; and how they manage their business. Andrew's experience (at Deutsche Bank) of providing that kind of high level strategic insight and advising at Board level will help differentiate our offering in the market."
The move is part of HSF’s attempt to rebuild its financial services regulatory team in London after some notable departures in the last 18 months. In September 2012 Martyn Hopper left for Linklaters and litigation partner Nikunj Kiri followed him to the magic circle firm in January 2014.
HSF has traditionally been one of the strongest firms in the contentious regulatory space in the UK and the latest hire is an attempt to maintain this reputation.
Sonya Leydecker, HSF's global head of dispute resolution said of the move: "This is a very significant strategic development for us. Having Andrew on board will add a unique level of experience and sophistication to our financial services regulatory capability. Andrew's experience, standing, market insight and energy represent an opportunity for our growing financial services regulatory practice to develop and innovate our client offering in this important market sector."