Financial services regulation
He accepts instructions to act both for and against regulatory bodies, including FCA, PRA, AIM, FOS, FRC, FSCS LME, Pensions Regulator, and Takeover Panel. Iain can also take instructions to appear before the FCA’s RDC and in the Upper Tribunal, whether for asset managers, banks, individuals, or the regulator. He also has experience in highly complex commercial crime cases.
Since training in the financial services practice group at Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman), Iain’s expertise has developed from advising ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Barclays, Citadel, Citi Group, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, CQS, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity International, Freetrade, and Société Générale. His hands-on capital markets experience is built on acting as legal counsel on three trading floors including responsibility for complex derivatives. He was also head of legal (EMEA and APAC) for the boutique investment bank Fox-Pitt Kelton.
Instructions have included advising on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) and subsequent legislation, MIFID, DORA, UK operational resilience rules, section 166 FSMA skilled persons’ reviews, and the senior managers regime. His practitioner book ‘Financial Regulation and Technology’ (Elgar Publishing, 2022) is relied on by high court judges, law firms, and regulators.
Technology regulation
In the Technology sector, Iain has advised or represented clients on a variety of cross-border contractual or dispute resolution matters. His expertise encompasses export controls licensing, intellectual property, and the National Security and Investment Act 2021. He has acted on behalf of, against or alongside Accenture, Bloomberg, IBM, Orange Business, Intel, Lenovo, Rockley Group, Thomson Reuters, Verizon Communications and Wall Street Systems.
Further, he has contributed practical articles and chapters to books on innovative technologies for more than two decades on diverse topics ranging from AI, crypto assets, derivatives trading platforms, GPS, and prosecuting fraud over the Internet. His practitioner book ‘Semiconductors: Law, Strategy and Tax’ (Elgar Publishing, 2025) has been endorsed by, among others, Lord Willetts the UK’s former science minister.
Climate-related regulation
Iain frequently serves clients on sustainability-related issues in the contexts of litigation risk and court representation. He can take instructions to appear on behalf of businesses, environmental organisations, local authorities, or the regulators. His expertise includes advising board members of regulated firms on climate change and sustainability requirements such as downstream greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel development.
His climate change knowledge is based on an MPhil in geoscience from Cambridge, the data science elements of which were published by the Royal Society. He also holds the CFA Institute Sustainable Investing certificate. Further, Iain has contributed a chapter entitled ‘Climate Change and Sustainability Litigation in English Courts’ analysing recent Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judgments, in the practitioner book ‘Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Disputes: Litigation and Arbitration’ (Kluwer International, 2025).
International arbitration
Iain spent two years in Vienna growing an international arbitration practice. He has been instructed by both the United Nations and the OECD to teach international arbitration to High Court judges in Lebanon and Ukraine. He is familiar with ICC, LCIA, and VIAC rules, and has acted as a tribunal secretary on a EUR 200m LNG price review arbitration, supporting leading arbitrators, including Christoph Liebscher and Julian Lew. His expertise in financial services and technology make him a rational choice as cross-examining counsel or arbitrator in disputes concerning these areas.
Commercial
Through past legal function responsibility for a private equity division, Iain has extensive experience of fund structure documentation and regulatory risk management. He has worked closely with JC Flowers & Co and the private equity practice groups of international and offshore law firms. His institutional fund management experience derives from working on a global litigation risk review of investment agreements for Fidelity International.
Jurisdictional exposure includes Australia, Austria, Bermuda, BVI, Channel Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, and Luxembourg. He also has negotiated a range of complex, high value joint venture and transfer of technology agreements.
Fully qualified in New South Wales, Iain has experience in both local and federal court matters, including representing parties with actions against large companies such as Qantas.
A fluent Mandarin speaker, Iain has many years of experience dealing with China, especially in the financial services and technology sectors. He trained Lenovo’s legal department at their Beijing headquarters, then attempted to build two China law practices. The first on his own, and the second at the leading law firm Clayton Utz. He has acted on behalf of, against or alongside ABC, BOC, CIC, and CITIC.
In the context of export control regulations, Iain has advised and negotiated with government departments, such as the US Department of Commerce. His advice has covered, among other issues, hardware and software rules in the semiconductor sector.
International taxation
He has been involved in advising businesses on complex, high value decisions, such as corporate tax, transfer pricing, and VAT. His professional tax qualifications awarded by the UK Chartered Institute of Taxation include an advanced diploma in international tax for the jurisdictions of Australia, China, Hong Kong (SAR), and Singapore. His practitioner book ‘Semiconductors: Law, Strategy and Tax’ (Elgar Publishing, 2025) covers multiple intellectual property and tax issues.
MBA – Exeter College, Oxford University.
Financial Services Lawyers Association (FSLA) – Executive committee member
Global Chip Law Association (GCLA) – Chair
Inner Temple Education & Training Department – Volunteer
Mountford Chambers is delighted to welcome Iain Sheridan. Called to the Bar in 1997, Iain began his career at Mountford…