Financial Services & Insurance

The financial services and insurance markets are characterised by innovation and diversity, constantly evolving to meet regulatory demands and to seize new opportunities. Our Financial Services & Insurance team offers a combination of strategic insight and deep industry expertise ensuring that you are equipped to navigate complexity and capitalise on opportunity.

Clients we work with

Strategic insight, navigating regulation and driving your growth

The Michelmores Financial Services & Insurance team has extensive industry insight which is specific to the sectors in which our clients operate. We bring direct in-house experience to understanding the nuances and solving the challenges faced by our clients.

Michelmores provides strategic legal advice to national and international clients in the financial service and insurance sectors. Our full-service team draws on lawyers from across the firm, including sector experts from our Corporate, Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Banking and Regulatory teams. This combined expertise efficiently guides our clients through day-to-day business as usual issues, transactions, and change projects whilst managing complex legal, regulatory or reputational considerations.

Sector focus areas:

Wealth Management

We support investment management firms (individual funds and model portfolio services (MPS)), financial planning firms including appointed representative (AR) networks, investment platforms, private banks and family offices.

Insurance

Including insurance brokers and advisors, intermediaries (including managing general agents), and insurance distribution platforms.

FinTech

We help FinTech businesses navigate legal, commercial, regulatory and compliance hurdles from start-up/scale up stage through to established businesses. In particular we focus on the integration between a technology product (such as a digital platform) and an FCA regulated product or service.

International Financial Centres

The Michelmores team also advises on the establishment of International Financial Centres, led by Andrew Oldland KC in collaboration with TheCityUK. Key work includes setting up the Astana International Financial Centre in Kazakhstan and ongoing work advising the Vietnamese government on establishing an International Financial Centre, whose purpose are to provide a regulatory and legislative framework that will attract foreign investment and foster economic growth

Andrew Oldland KC is very well informed on financial matters, especially fraud in the context of Europe and Central Asia.
LEGAL 500

Commercial Litigation London Mid Market

Michelmores LLP‘s commercial and regulatory dispute team handles the full gamut of corporate and commercial disputes, often with international and multi-jurisdictional elements. The team has particular expertise in financial services, intellectual property, and private wealth disputes

LEGAL 500 2026

How can Michelmores help?

Corporate support

Michelmores understands the regulatory and reputational sensitivities that shape Corporate strategy within the Financial Services & Insurance sector. We advise on the full range of Corporate activity, including:

M&A transactions and equity funding for both company and sponsors.
Joint ventures and strategic partnerships.
Management buy-outs.
Corporate re-organisation and restructuring.
Private equity, venture capital and family office investments, acting for management teams, portfolio companies and sponsors.
Change in control advice.

Key contact: Adam Kean

Commercial Agreements and Regulatory Advice

Our cross-disciplinary team includes specialists in:

Regulatory advice – focused on investment firms and insurance distributors, we provide regulatory advice addressing the AR regulations, conduct of business (COBS and ICOBS), financial promotions (including crowd funding), product governance (including PROD and Consumer Duty), change of control, mortgages (including MCOBS), UK payment services law, consumer credit, the UK Listing Rules, and the Money Laundering Regulations.
Commercial agreement drafting and negotiation covering – agreements entered into between Financial Services & Insurance firms and other market participants or their clients. Such as investment management agreements, AR and introducer AR agreements, custody and dealing agreements, and distribution agreements.
Data and technology – we steer Financial Services & Insurance clients through critical change and outsourcing projects, material supply contracts, and day-to-day commercial and technology work. Our team applies combined strengths in Financial Services & Insurance regulation with an intimate grasp of technology (and associated intellectual property, data protection and evolving AI law) to solve client needs. Michelmores understands the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the interplay between regulated financial and insurance products and services and technology.

Key contact: Tom Torkar

Dispute Resolution

Michelmores’ financial services, securities and investment disputes team is led by Jonathan Kitchin, Jennifer Morrissey and Andrew Oldland KC. We focus on disputes involving FCA regulated persons or businesses, listed companies and investments. Our expertise includes:

Claims arising from M&A activity in the Financial Services & Insurance sector.
The recovery of losses spawned by alleged misconduct, mismanagement or the misappropriation of investments and fraud.
Regulatory investigations and enforcement action including “s.166” skilled person reviews.
Insurance coverage disputes for policyholders.

Our team also includes senior litigators with complimentary reputation management and insolvency expertise, offering strategic clarity and discretion in complex, sensitive or high-stakes matters

Key contact: Jonathan Kitchin

Banking

Our team of dedicated Banking and Finance lawyers equip clients with the knowledge and mechanisms they need to achieve their ambitions. We support banks, finance houses, alternative funders, funds, development finance institutions and borrowers on complex lending transactions and projects. The firm’s expertise includes:

Alternative credit – private and alternative credit transactions, including advanced overrider, general insurer overrider, profit commission sliders.
Leveraged finance – structuring and executing debt investments in the context of corporate transactions.

Key contact: Karen Williams

Employment

We advise Financial Services & Insurancef corporates on Employment Law and regulatory issues, including senior manager exits (contentious and non-contentious), large-scale redundancies, grievances and disciplinary matters relating to the Senior Managers Regime.

Key contact: Rachael Lloyd

Why Work With Us?

Depth of Expertise

Our Financial Services and Insurance team combines sector insight with technical excellence, delivering tailored solutions across complex regulatory, transactional, and dispute matters for leading businesses and institutions.

Collaborative Culture

We pride ourselves on forging lasting relationships with our clients in the Financial Services & Insurance industry based on collaborative internal and external facing culture, allowing us to deliver across practice areas and functions seamlessly for clients.

Commercial

We understand the context in which regulated Financial Services & Insurance businesses operate, including the intersection of regulatory and commercial change, to structure deals and advice that manages risk and exposure.

Customer fit 'advice'

No-one-size-fits all here. Every agreement (be it a commercial agreement to sell an investment or platform service or a share purchase agreement to acquire a regulated firm) is bespoke and shaped around your specific needs and long-term goals.