Sarah Hitchins

She has significant experience of advising on UK and cross-border investigations involving a broad range of issues, including market abuse, insider trading, financial crime, cyber and data security breaches, individual accountability, operational resilience, misselling, systems and controls failures, whistleblowing, cultural issues and non-financial misconduct.

She has also represented a number of clients in regulatory investigations concerning compliance with UK listing and Takeover Code requirements. Sarah frequently represents clients that are involved in regulatory investigations, including investigations by the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where she previously completed a secondment in its Enforcement Division.

In addition to her investigations experience, Sarah has also advised over 75 firms (including banks, building societies, insurers, asset and fund managers) on the implementation of the UK Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR), as well as a variety of post-implementation issues. In particular, Sarah has significant experience advising clients on the individual accountability aspects of investigations, including assessments of fitness and propriety and potential breaches of the FCA and PRA Codes of Conduct.

Sarah was previously selected by Global Investigations Review (GIR) as one of the top 100 women in investigations.