Karen is highly experienced in advising clients on UK and EU financial services regulation, providing practical and solutions-driven advice on a broad range of issues including authorisation, marketing, governance, prudential rules, senior mangers regime, conduct, custody, trading, AML, regulatory reporting, clearing, and regulatory change.

Karen’s practice covers a wide range of matters, including assisting clients in developing and implementing compliance strategies that align with regulatory expectations.

She regularly advises funds and fund managers on the requirements under the UK AIFM Regulation and the EU AIFMD. This includes assisting clients in navigating the UK and EU authorisation, marketing regimes (e.g., passporting, pre-marketing and NPPR notification frameworks, as well as UK financial promotion rules) and ESG disclosure requirements under the SFDR and UK SDR. She works with client in interacting with local regulators including the UK Financial Conduct Authority and the EU European Securities and Markets Authority.

Karen brings notable experience in providing regulatory support to clients in context of M&A transactions (including assisting with change in control approvals and conducting regulatory due diligence), capital markets fund raising, cross border regulatory approvals, and derivatives regulations.

Further examples of Karen’s work include:

• Advised a bank on developing an inventory of rules applicable to their various UK financial service businesses from a prudential, governance, systems and controls, and bank resolution and recovery perspective pursuant to UK CRR, UK CRD IV, UK BRRD and UK implementation of Basel 3.1.*
• Assisted clients register with the FCA or HMRC for AML purposes. Drafting AML policies, procedures and controls and providing training to the MLRO and the senior management team.*
• Provided strategic advice to fund managers on cross-border lending activities, cross border marketing (NPPR notifications), authorisation and registration requirements, drafting investor disclosures (FUND 3.2/Article 23 disclosure), and ESG disclosures under the EU SFDR (including drafting pre-contractual disclosures, website disclosures, side letters with investors and periodic disclosures) and UK SDR.*
• Conducting a large-scale review of governance, procedures, and controls for a leading investment fund business. This included identifying applicable laws, updating various policies, procedures and controls and delivering training to employees and senior management.*
• Advising clients on EU and UK OTC derivatives requirements under EMIR, including reporting obligations, risk mitigation techniques and clearing thresholds.

*Matters handled prior to joining the firm.

• Legal 500 UK, Leading Partner, Financial Services: Non-contentious/Regulatory, 2025-2026
• Chambers UK, Financial Services: Non-contentious Regulatory, 2021-2026

Education
MSc, Merit, Birkbeck, University of London, 2012
LPC, BPP Law School, 2001
СPE Law, City University, 2000
MA, Economic and Social History, the University of Edinburgh, 1999

Admissions
England and Wales

Languages
English