The Regulatory Enforcement Group is a team of lawyers focused on providing a rapid response to clients in regulatory enforcement situations.  The team includes lawyers specialising in all areas of financial services, including banking, asset management and investment funds, insurance and pensions.  Lawyers practising in company law, competition law, litigation and data protection also support the Group’s work.

Our clients include State Authorities and Regulators, fund managers, investment funds, financial institutions, insurers and reinsurers, public companies and other businesses.  We advise on the full range of regulatory, compliance and enforcement issues.

We have unrivalled experience in advising clients on enforcement actions involving State Authorities including the Financial Regulator, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Financial Services Ombudsman, Data Protection Commissioner,  An Garda Síochána, the Takeover Panel and the Competition Authority.

We have a proven track record of supporting our clients in relation to:

• inspections by the Financial Regulator under MIFID and the UCITS legislation and compliance with post-inspection reports
• breaches of strategic and required solvency margin requirements by insurers and reinsurers
• on-site inspections by the Financial Regulator
• obligations of listed companies and brokers under the Market Abuse Legislation
• inspections by the Director of Corporate Enforcement
• compliance obligations of listed companies under the Transparency Regulations and Listing Rules
• enforcement steps in relation to breaches of consumer credit legislation
• investigations of public companies by the Takeover Panel
• audits and actions by the Data Protection Commissioner
• examinations and inquiries by the Financial Regulator
• the Financial Regulator’s administrative sanctions procedure
• breaches of notification to the Financial Regulator in respect of changes in qualifying holdings
• investigations by the Competition Authority and European Commission

Our team comprises experienced practitioners with complementary skills and specialisations, and a track record of providing a rapid response in helping clients through enforcement situations.

Team

John Larkin
Clients value John Larkin's 'fantastic network – he knows everyone in the business in Ireland and further afield.'
Chambers Europe, 2012

John Larkin is highlighted for his ‘keen understanding of the financial services environment’,
Legal 500 EMEA, 2012 - Insurance

Clients rave about long-standing insurance and reinsurance expert John Larkin, observing that he 'has excellent intuition about the international insurance market, a great deal of experience, and he's highly practical and demonstrative in what he says.'
Chambers Europe, 2011 - Insurance

John Larkin is ‘one of the top two insurance specialists in Ireland’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2010 – Insurance

Orla Brennan
Orla Brennan is highlighted for her 'all-round excellence’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2012 - Banking & Finance

'Sources hail Orla Brennan's dedication to her work and her ability to convey the most complicated legal technicalities in a clear and understandable way.'
Chambers Global 2011 - Banking & Finance

Orla Brennan is ‘particularly good’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2010  - Banking and Finance

Orla Brennan has substantial experience within domestic and international banking and finance.
Chambers Global, 2010 – Banking and Finance

Garrett Breen
Garrett is lauded for his ‘extensive experience’ of the Commercial Division of the High Court. 
Legal 500 EMEA, 2011 - Dispute Resolution

Garrett Breen is recommended as a ‘leading lawyer’ in Dispute Resolution.
European Legal Experts, 2011 - Dispute Resolution

William Fry bolstered its regulatory offering in 2009 through the hire of Garrett Breen, formerly managing partner of Landwell Solicitors.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2010 – Dispute Resolution

Cormac Commins
Cormac Commins 'puts himself out to understand his clients and fits his advice to what we need. He is versatile and will adapt his style to his client'.
Chambers Europe, 2012

Cormac Commins has ‘excellent business acumen’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2012 - Investment Funds

Cormac Commins has a ‘sharp intellect’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2011 - Investment Funds

Cormac Commins is recommended for his ‘ability to work intuitively with in-house counsel’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2010 – Investment Funds

Cormac Commins is praised as being ‘particularly excellent on UCITS, but with a great overall knowledge of the industry’.
Chambers Global, 2010 - Investment Funds/Financial Services

Cormac Commins has been particularly busy in the last year and clients have been impressed by his work. ‘He’s very available and responsive to requests,’ says one.
IFLR1000, 2010 – Investment Funds

John Handoll
John Handoll is ‘an expert in his field’.
Legal 500 EMEA, 2011 - EU & Competition

Sources say that 'he has an incredible understanding of competition law, from both the legal and the commercial perspectives'.
Chambers Europe, 2011 - Competition/European Law

John Handoll is ‘among the best competition law specialists.’
Legal 500 EMEA, 2010 – EU & Competition

Clients find Handoll to be ‘refreshingly pragmatic.’
Chambers Europe, 2010 – Competition/European Law

John is listed in the "International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers" (2010) and the "International Who’s Who of Public Procurement Lawyers" (2010).