British Financial Regulator Names Brexit Adviser as Legal Chief

Britain’s financial markets regulator has named longtime government lawyer Stephen Braviner Roman as its next general counsel.

Roman starts in February at the Financial Conduct Authority, replacing interim legal lead David Scott, a retired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner, according to a Monday statement by the regulator. Scott will continue to work for the agency part-time during the transition.

Roman was most recently director general of litigation, justice, and security for the Government Legal Department. There, he was responsible for the department’s legal advice to the U.K. government on its exit from the European Union, according to the statement.

The regulator oversees conduct of around 51,000 financial services organizations in the U.K., according to the agency’s website. It has taken recent steps such as halting the British operations of crypto exchange Binance and probing the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and former Barclays Plc CEO Jes Staley.

“This is a crucial period for consumers, financial markets and the FCA,” Roman said in the statement.

Roman joined the GLD as director general in 2014. Before that, he worked for the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Serious Organized Crime Agency, among other government organizations.