Threshold Conditions

TCT Senior Associate - Lawyer

Background

The FCA's Enforcement function (part of the Enforcement & Market Oversight Division) investigates serious breaches of regulatory standards, including the minimum standards for continued authorisation for firms (the Threshold Conditions) and for individuals (FIT).

As part of the FCA Strategy, we have announced our plans to hire 80 new colleagues to focus on shutting down problem firms, which do not meet basic regulatory standards. Removing those firms will allow us to protect consumers from potential fraud and mistreatment and will create a better market. The Problem Firms Team are building the strategic approach to this crucial work.

The Problem Firms Team sits in Retail 4 within Retail & Regulatory Investigations in Enforcement.

Retail 4 currently consists of five critical FCA teams: Relationship Management and Strategy (overseeing the pipeline of referrals to Retail investigations and being responsible for our engagement strategy with internal and external stakeholders), Interventions (supporting the FCA’s desire to intervene assertively when ongoing harm is detected), two Threshold Conditions Teams, encompassing the Use It or Lose It initiative and the Problem Firms Team.

Threshold Conditions Team (TCT)

The TCT is a centre of expertise in the FCA for taking action against authorised firms which are identified to be failing to meet the minimum standards for continued authorisation.

This role offers you the opportunity to be at the forefront of exciting work to clean up the market and ensure that firms do not inappropriately benefit from a “halo” effect of their permissions. You will have responsibility for leading a variety of fast-paced complex cases, obtain significant RDC, EDM and Tribunal experience, and be involved in supporting a large new team that is developing innovative strategies for identifying and targeting non -compliant firms. Triaging and progressing the cases will require engagement with all areas of the FCA, including the RDC, EDMs and senior stakeholders across the FCA. The volume of referrals will be high and will present novel and challenging legal, factual and evidential issues, which must be dealt with at pace. Due to the high-profile nature of the work the role requires flexibility, initiative, judgment, drive and resilience.

What does the job involve?

Senior Lawyers on TCT are involved at every stage of a Threshold Condition matter including:

- Progressing a portfolio of demanding cases often with competing deadlines without close day to day oversight
- Obtaining evidence through use of appropriate tools and legal powers. Analysing often complex evidence, identifying key risks and making judgements and recommendations.
- Advising on the strategy, scope and risks of a TCT Enforcement action, providing clear and accurate legal advice to the team and ensuring cases are progressed on the correct statutory and legal footing.
- Building and maintaining effective working relationships with colleagues in other areas at all levels within the FCA and with external bodies
- Overseeing the work of others including L8 and L9 Associates where required and escalating issues as necessary.
- Contributing to training, knowledge sharing and being a point of escalation on technical matters.
- An opportunity to work on unique high-profile cases of public importance investigating and tackling the most serious financial services matters.
- A chance to develop and enhance your legal abilities and knowledge through exposure to novel problems and the opportunity to use your legal professional skills in complex situations.
- The opportunity to change behaviour within the financial services industry for the benefit of consumers and the market.

Skills/Experience Required

Minimum
- Qualified lawyer, with a valid practising certificate issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for England and Wales (if a solicitor), or the General Council of the Bar for England and Wales (if a barrister)
- Post qualification experience in any of the following areas: contentious financial services or other regulatory investigations or proceedings; financial markets; investigations involving serious fraud or other complex financial crime; complex litigation or disputes.
- Experience of managing and progressing a challenging and varied caseload involving a range of investigative techniques and legal processes.

Essential criteria
- Ability to analyse complex evidence to make legal judgements, including in novel situations, and provide clear and accurate legal advice to TCT colleagues and others at the FCA (including senior stakeholders).
- Strong communication skills - clear and effective oral presentation of recommendations. Clear and succinct drafting of complex, legal documents.
- Judgment - ability to make timely decisions based on relevant analysis, exercising judgement on the evidence and being able to defend those judgements where appropriate.
- Engagement - st