Nikki Johnstone
Senior Associate
London

Nikki Johnstone
Senior Associate
London
Contact Details
Nikki Johnstone is a senior associate in the Banking Regulatory & FinTech practice in the firm’s London office.
Nikki is listed as an “Associate to Watch” in the 2020 Chambers FinTech Legal guide, with clients describing her as “’a highly trusted partner and ally,’ as well as having ‘razor-sharp legal expertise’ and ‘great strength and depth in financial regulatory work.’”
With a broad background in UK/EU financial services regulation, her practice focuses on advising digital banks, payment and e-money institutions, technology companies, online marketplaces and virtual currency players on the regulatory framework and contractual structuring of new products, geographical expansion and/or the impact of upcoming legislative change. Her advisory work covers a broad range of FinTech topics, including digital payments, FX, retail banking, consumer protection as well as new technologies including cryptoassets, stablecoins and distributed ledger systems. In addition to her advisory work, she regularly supports the firm’s transactional departments on fundraising and M&A projects for established and growth FinTechs.
Nikki has completed secondments to Apple Europe and the Financial Markets Law Committee. She is also a regular speaker on Fintech and innovation in the UK and across Europe.
News & insights

News: 22 FEBRUARY 2021
Allen & Overy lawyers from across Europe recognised as rising stars
Allen & Overy topped the list of firms with rising star lawyers at the Rising Stars Europe Awards 2020.
Read more
Publications: 09 DECEMBER 2020
Webinar: New EU legislative proposals on digital operational resilience (DORA)
In this webinar we map out the European Commission’s draft Digital Operational Resilience Regulation (DORA) against existing EU rules on digital operational resilience, set out the new obligations…
Read more
Publications: 29 SEPTEMBER 2020
New EU digital finance strategy and proposals – September 2020
The European Commission yesterday adopted a new digital finance package, made up of a digital finance strategy, a retail payments strategy, legislative proposals for an EU regulatory framework on…
Read more
Publications: 24 SEPTEMBER 2020
Fintech M&A: The future of dealmaking post Covid-19 coronavirus
After a run of high-value deals at the start of the year, fintech M&A has dramatically slowed. What will dealmaking look like in the future?
Read more