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Portrait ofSimon Morris

Simon Morris

Partner

CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
Cannon Place
78 Cannon Street
London
EC4N 6AF
United Kingdom
Languages English, Spanish

Simon Morris has been a partner in the firm’s Financial Markets team since 1988, having joined the firm in 1980 and qualified as a solicitor in 1982.

He advises a wide range of UK and overseas financial institutions on regulatory matters including in relation to market conduct, systems and controls, governance, and responding to regulatory concerns.

Simon has represented firms in over 500 regulatory and enforcement proceedings brought by the UK PRA and FCA, their predecessors and overseas regulators.

He has extensive experience in the establishment and operation of international financial centres and is a Commissioner of the Jersey Financial Services Commission and has been a Director of the Ras al Khaimah (UAE) International Corporate Centre.

Simon is a member of the City of London Law Society Regulatory Committee and author of Financial Services Regulation in Practice (Oxford UP 2016). He was named as the Best Regulatory Lawyer of 2008 at Complinet’s Fourth Annual Compliance Awards and was a finalist in the 2016 Legal Business Client Partner of the Year awards. 

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"Simon Morris is a ‘market-leading authority on financial services issues’, and ‘the gold standard’ for contentious work in the industry."

Legal 500

"Standout partner Simon Morris has strength in both contentious and non-contentious work. Clients say: "He is obviously a heavyweight partner. I take great confidence and comfort from his knowledge. He comes across the regulator quite often and seems very in touch with it all." "

Chambers

Relevant experience

  • Governance – advising firms on a wide range of governance issues, including the constitution and composition of boards and committees; reviewing governance and preparing reports for submission to the PRA and the FCA; working with firms to enable them to regain the regulator’s confidence in their governance arrangements.  Advising on the practical application of the SMCR regime regarding governance, allocation of responsibilities, conduct rule breaches and regulatory notifications.  
  • Regulatory interaction – helping firms to manage regulatory interactions such as the requirement to appoint a skilled person; preparation for PRA and FCA interviews and for appearing before independent enquiries; managing the regulator’s response to adverse information; assisting firms to respond to regulatory challenge on systems, controls, capital, conduct, perimeter breaches and other requirements.  Also handling contested firm authorisations, changes in control, and refusals to approve individuals as fit and proper.
  • Enforcement investigations – handling over 500 investigations and similar actions commenced by the PRA, the FCA, their predecessors and overseas regulators on conduct, governance and financial crime.  Also acting for regulators, including prosecuting a conduct case for an overseas regulator, and enforcement actions for a major stock exchange  
  • Financial crime – representing firms in UK and overseas insider dealing and market manipulation investigations and financial crime reviews; advising on market conduct queries and on trading positions; conducting investigations on behalf of clients into potential financial crime. 
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Education

  • BA Law, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
  • PhD History, Birkbeck College London
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Feed

29/02/2024
UK FCA proposals to publicly announce investigations could be detrimental...
With every new director of enforcement and market oversight at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), there is a step change in the way the regulator approaches enforcement cases.Under the FCA's former...
08/02/2024
Future of Finance: regulatory briefings series 2024
Join us as we launch our in-person breakfast seminar series across London and Edinburgh. In these seminars, our Financial Services team will be discussing the latest regulatory developments affecting...
08/01/2024
Switzerland and the UK sign agreement on mutual recognition in financial...
On 21 December 2023, the Swiss Federal Council and HM Treasury in the UK announced the signing of an agreement on mutual recognition in specific areas of financial services between Switzerland and the UK referred to as the Berne Financial Services Agreement (the Agreement). The conclusion of this ground-breaking Agreement is the culmination of more than two years of negotiations following the signing of a Joint Statement on 30 June 2020 aiming at enhancing cooperation in financial services between Switzerland and the UK. 
15/11/2023
Cross Border Financial Regulation
How to keep pace with the ever changing landscape of regulation?
26/06/2023
International Disputes Digest - 2023 Summer Edition
We are pleased to present the summer edition of the International Disputes Digest, our bi-annual publication bringing essential news and analysis on the latest trends in dis­pute-res­ol­u­tion around the world. There are many crises and problems that continue to complicate global business. These include inflation, particularly in the energy sector, as the EU and other regions struggle to wean themselves from Russian natural gas and oil. There is also the US debt crisis, which has weakened international confidence in the economy and distracted Washington from pressing issues, such as its relationship with China and the on-going war in the Ukraine. We hope that the articles in this digest provide readers with the know-how and tools to help them resolve any disputes or setbacks they may face. In this edition, we feature a range of articles from around the world on topics such as ESG litigation, the financial impact of cyber-attacks on businesses, post-merger disputes, the use of arbitration in resolving M&A-related issues, and how disputes can be managed in digital trade transactions. We also explore the reasons behind a wave of class action lawsuits in Portugal, the influence of personal relationships among arbitrators on disclosure, recusal, or appeals, and the 'without prejudice' principle, amongst other matters. We hope that you enjoy reading these articles and please do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss any issues in relation to them.  
14/04/2023
Review of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)
On 30 March 2023, the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) and Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) (the PRA and FCA together being the “Reg­u­lat­ors”) published a joint Discussion Paper (DP1/23)...
14/04/2023
Review of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)
On 30 March 2023, the Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) and Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) (the PRA and FCA together being the “Reg­u­lat­ors”) published a joint Dis­cus­sion Pa­per (DP1/23)...
16/11/2022
Current Issues in Contentious Financial Regulation - Part 2
Apologies, but the wrong registration link was used in the previous invite. If you would like to register for this event, please use the correct link below. Sometimes things don’t go to plan and when...
02/11/2022
Current Issues in Contentious Financial Regulation - Part 1
Apologies, but the wrong registration link was used in the previous invite. If you would like to register for this event, please use the correct link below. Sometimes things don’t go to plan and when...
31/10/2022
Webinar: Current Issues in Contentious Financial Regulation - the FCA’s...
Speakers Simon Morris Partner CMS Simon has been a partner in the firm’s Financial Markets team since 1988, having joined the firm in 1980 and qualified as a solicitor in 1982. He advises a wide range...
16/09/2022
Directors’ responsibility for identifying inside information - Lessons...
This article considers the decision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to fine Sir Christopher Gent the sum of £80,000 for the unlawful disclosure of inside information. The article discusses certain...
22/07/2022
Financial Services & Markets Bill: A new beginning? UK financial services...
On 20 July 2022, the Financial Services and Markets Bill (the Bill) was introduced into Parliament. The Bill is the largest piece of financial services legislation for over two decades and covers a wide...