Clare McMullen

Clare is a barrister specialising in contentious financial regulation, having joined Linklaters as counsel from the Enforcement Division of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Her experience includes advising banks, insurance companies and asset managers on FCA and PRA enforcement investigations, the UK senior management and certification regime (SMCR) and anti-money laundering (AML) obligations. Investigations where she has played a leading role have covered a range of subjects including prudential issues, market conduct, treating customers fairly, and systems, controls and governance. Her matters often involve managing the risks associated with parallel proceedings against firms and individuals or in multiple jurisdictions.

She has particular expertise in the conduct of skilled persons reviews under s166 FSMA, leading delivery of such a review and assisting firms with their response to reviews conducted by others.

Prior to joining Linklaters, Clare spent ten years within the Enforcement and Market Oversight Division of the Financial Conduct Authority. During that time she led some of the regulator’s most high profile enforcement investigations, many with an international element. Matters included:

• Corporate governance and senior management responsibilities
• Insider dealing and market abuse
• Fair treatment of customers
• Listing rules breaches
• Parallel investigations into FX misconduct

She has advised on contested applications for authorisation and approval, and has appeared before the FCA’s Regulatory Decisions Committee, the Upper Tribunal and the higher courts.

Work highlights

• Acting for a challenger bank on a joint PRA and FCA investigation involving parallel US litigation
• Acting for a major UK bank and the UK branch of a global bank on enforcement investigations into financial crime and AML systems and controls
• Advising a major UK retail bank on ongoing enforcement investigation of arrears handling 
• Acting for a major London market insurer on a PRA investigation into systems and controls issues
• Assisting issuers and trading firms with their responses to pre-enforcement enquiries into suspected market misconduct in the equity and commodities markets
• Advising an asset manager in its response to an FCA Enforcement investigation closed without public action

Clare studied classics at Magdalen College, Oxford.

Published works

Clare contributes an annual overview of UK Financial Services Enforcement and Investigation to the GIR.