Understanding their client’s investment strategy will help lawyers defend against insider dealing investigations, say Sarah Wallace & Samantha Leung
- The FCA is determined to investigate and prosecute insider dealing, so defence lawyers need to become better prepared in dealing with these cases.
- Greater understanding of investment strategies can help legal advisers to appreciate the context of their client’s trading.
- Appreciation of how a particular trade fits into a client’s wider investment strategy aids the lawyer in asking the right questions, gathering the relevant facts and drawing a more complete picture of the matter under investigation.
As the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) focuses more of its attention on investigating and prosecuting insider dealing, defence lawyers need to become better prepared in dealing with these cases.
The FCA’s annual report for 2015–16 states: ‘We are dedicated to eliminating market abuse in all of its forms, which includes bringing criminal prosecutions against City professionals that abuse the trust that is placed in them.’ In its last reporting year, the FCA obtained record-breaking sentences and multiple convictions, and it continues to bring investigations
