Duncan Black specialises in contentious financial services matters and FSA
regulatory enforcement. The focus of his practice is
avoiding/resolving regulatory problems, disputes and risk
assessment. Duncan has particular expertise in the financial institutions sector and much of his
experience is in alternative asset management (particularly hedge
funds) often dealing with problems for which there is little or no
precedent.
Coming from a litigation background he is able to project
forward to risk assess the consequences of any particular
structuring or operational decision into the worst case scenario.
He has defended individual and corporate clients in numerous FSA
enquiries covering, for example, market manipulation, insider
dealing, oversight, systems and controls. He handles the UK end of
SEC enquiries.
Duncan is recognised in the independently-researched legal
directories. For example, in the 2011 edition of Legal 500 he is described
as a "a real financial
regulatory expert, particularly in funds work", "a top
class contentious lawyer", and clients say he "relishes
the complexities of regulatory work". He is recommended for
Hedge Funds, Banking Litigation, Derivatives & Structured
Products, Financial Services (contentious as well
as non-contentious regulatory), Investment
Funds and Securitisation.
Work has covered:
- representing a foreign Lehman Brothers affiliate in
English proceedings concerning the interpretation of the FSA's
client money rules
- derivatives
(ISDA) litigation
- litigation and regulatory liability of asset
managers
- liability of non-FSA regulated entities for carrying out regulated activities under
FSMA
- liability of a CDO manager for inclusion of ineligible assets;
civil and regulatory liability of asset managers for ‘error’
trades
- dealing with ‘bad leavers’ (setting up in competition with
their former employers, taking confidential information and passing
off track record and investment strategies as their own)
- contested valuation of a departing fund manager’s equity in the
management company
- FSA enquiries into
market abuse
- internal investigations by
employers into the activities of Approved Persons
- activities of a Regulated
Investment Exchange; and dealing with problems faced by Nomads and
brokers
He is a member of the City of London
Law Society's Litigation sub-committee. He studied law at Lincoln
College, Oxford.