(Reuters) – U.S. law firm Morrison & Foerster is bringing its global fintech practice to London with the addition of former Bank of England senior lawyer Sam Riley, the firm said Tuesday.
Riley’s practice spans financial services, banking, digital payments and securities regulation, with a particular focus on digital assets (including stablecoins/crypto), and emerging technology, Morrison Foerster said in a statement.
At the Bank of England, Britain’s central bank, Riley advised the deputy governor of financial stability Sir Jon Cunliffe on his chairmanship of the Committee for Payments and Market Infrastructures at the Bank for International Settlements, the world’s central bank umbrella body, the firm said.
Riley has recently advised on developing regulatory policy for financial markets, setting up of the G20 cross-border payments roadmap, and led the BoE team analysing the impact of Brexit on financial markets, Morrison & Foerster said.
Clients across the technology and financial services sectors are grappling with evolving regulatory fintech, cryptocurrency and digital assets landscapes, Morrison Foerster’s managing partner for Europe, Paul Friedman said in a statement.
Riley said in a statement that she will draw on her public sector and private practice experience to help the firm’s clients navigate the changing fintech environment and anticipate challenges as they seek to innovate.
Riley is San Francisco-founded Morrison Foerster’s first addition to its fintech practice since 2021, and the first in London. The firm added a three-attorney IP team from Brown Rudnik in London in November, just weeks after it announced a combination with prominent IP firm Durie Tangri in California.
A Bank of England spokesperson confirmed Riley’s departure without additional comment.
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