Andrew Short - Secondment to the FSA

The first thing that took me by surprise when entering the Canary Wharf offices of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on the first day of my secondment was that I had to put my bag through one of those scanners you see at airports. I then had to negotiate the extremely complicated lift system where you actually have to "book" a lift before finding my way to the "south-east village" on the 4th floor where my "pod" (or area and desk to those that don't use new-age office speak) was situated. At this point I realised that I was to spend my next five months in a very different environment to the one I had only recently become accustomed to.

Having completed my first seat in the Regulatory & Transactional department in the London office, I was seconded to the FSA for five months between April and September of this year. I was to work in a Small Firms team of the Enforcement Division. As this was the first time that a trainee from the firm had been sent to the FSA, I was not too sure what to expect. However I can safely say it was a fantastic five months. The FSA has a number of its own trainees and I was immediately made to feel part of the team and in very safe hands.

The Enforcement Division does exactly what it says on the tin; it enforces the regulations and imposes sanctions (from private warnings and financial penalties to full prohibitions). In essence, firms that have not been complying with the rules are referred to Enforcement by the Supervision section of the FSA, or sometimes by other entities including the police or the OFT. The team I worked in was part of the Small Firms Workstream so we dealt with the smaller firms and individuals. The type of businesses that we worked with ranged from insurance and mortgage brokers to car sales companies that were selling a regulated product such as Payment Protection Insurance attached to their main product. The team was made up of twelve people, half of whom were lawyers of varying backgrounds, both criminal and civil, and the other half forensic investigators, many of whom were ex-police officers. The team would investigate the alleged misconduct by gathering evidence through visits to the firm, compelled release and subsequent analysis of documents and interviewing the subjects and any witnesses.

My role within the team was as a "Legal Investigator" which meant that I took full part in all aspects to the investigations during my time there. As part of the legal half of the team, I also assisted in the drafting of the various statutory documents that are needed. I was able to participate in visits to firms around the country in über glamorous locations such as Hinckley, Diss, Stafford and…wait for it….Coventry, both on an announced and unannounced basis. I was also able to interview the potential subjects of the investigations and any witnesses surrounding them. These interviews were usually taped which provided great experience in contentious interviewing and learning to structure the interviews so that you got the key information required.

I would thoroughly recommend this secondment to other trainees. It has provided me with invaluable experience that I would not have otherwise gained. Working "on the other side" of the regulatory sphere gave me some great insights which I know will enhance my future development as a lawyer.