Harvey Knight

Partner | London

Harvey is a partner in the financial services regulatory team.

Harvey is an ex-regulator and heads our UK Financial Services Regulatory and UK White Collar Investigations teams.

For 6 years, Harvey worked in-house with the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA before it was split into the FCA and PRA) and advised the FSA’s Authorisation and Approvals function as well as the FSA and its senior management on reputationally contentious issues.

Since his return to private practice, Harvey has been consistently ranked as a Leading Individual in Chambers and Legal 500 for contentious financial services.

Harvey and our UK Financial Services Regulatory team’s work is centred on regulatory perimeter issues, regulatory permissions and approvals, regulatory supervisory issues and enforcement investigations involving the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), the UK Listing Authority (UKLA), the Takeover Panel, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (IAEW) and the Payments Services Regulator (PSR), as well as civil and criminal cases involving the High Courts, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the National Crime Agency (NCA) and overseas regulators such as the SEC and NY Fed.

In leading our UK White Collar Investigations team, Harvey advises leading individuals, senior executives and owner-managers on how to handle their personal and corporate relationships in internal investigations and externally with other regulated firms and individuals, the regulators and other national and international civil and criminal enforcement agencies as well as any related potential national and international civil and criminal proceedings.

In the last decade Harvey has been responsible for the first successful judicial review of the FCA (which established the principle of joint legal privilege in regulatory investigations) , the first settlement with the PRA for a UK bank’s CEO and this year, the unprecedented overturning of a FCA ban of a senior banker, widely reported in the media.

Full profile

Secretary Mandi Gornall

+44 20 7597 6433
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I have worked with Harvey Knight on two separate occasions and both times he added real value. He was tenacious, detail conscious and sensible. It felt very much as if we worked together and our dialogue was open and pragmatic. I would highly recommend Harvey.

David Postings, Global Chief Executive - Bibby Financial Services Limited
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We have used Harvey to help us with some of our more complex regulatory matters and we have found his approach to be very professional and insightful. We would have no hesitation in recommending Harvey to anyone who needs help within the minefield of information.

Mike Kessler - CEO, Kession Capital
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I spent a year working with Harvey on a complex regulatory case. During that time he provided exemplary expertise and dedication to my case whilst the back up service from the team at Withers was of the highest standard.

Nick Bowyer - retired Financial Marketing Director of Swinton Insurance
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I have worked with Harvey Knight on several occasions in the past many years. Harvey is a lawyer with a rare combination: he consistently exhibits great skill and knowledge with a pragmatic, direct approach that is refreshing. I strongly recommend Harvey.

Max Lami, Chief Executive - Oppenheimer Europe Limited
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I spent a year working with Harvey on a complex regulatory case. During that time he provided exemplary expertise and dedication to my case whilst the back up service from the team at Withers was of the highest standard.

Nick Bowyer, retired financial marketing director - Swinton Insurance
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I have worked with Harvey Knight on several occasions in the past many years. Harvey is a lawyer with a rare combination: he consistently exhibits great skill and knowledge with a pragmatic, direct approach that is refreshing. I strongly recommend Harvey.

Max Lami, Managing Director - CEO - Oppenheimer Europe Ltd
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Withers LLP ‘s team head Harvey Knight spent many years at the FSA before moving into private practice, thereby affording him good insight into the regulatory mindset. Bullish, enthusiastic and not afraid to take on difficult points for his client, Knight is an excellent man to have on your side, particularly if you are a senior executive facing regulatory scrutiny.

Legal 500 UK, 2018
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Good regulatory experience, industry knowledge and a cool commercial head. Harvey Knight is an experienced ex-FSA lawyer and very knowledgeable about regulatory enforcement. A steady hand on the tiller,

Legal 500 UK, 2020
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He is a very knowledgeable guy and has a very thorough and methodical approach. He brings to bear a deep regulatory background and has a proper feel for the attitude of the regulator.

Chambers UK, 2021
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Harvey Knight has extensive experience representing clients before the Upper Tribunal, an area in which many firms are lacking.

Legal 500 UK, 2021

Focus areas

Leaders and senior executives

High-net-worth individuals

Families and family offices

Professional advisers

Financial services

Track record

Admissions

Publications

Memberships

Securing the first successful judicial review of the FSA and one of its own initiated enforcement investigations Ford, R (on the application of) v The Financial Services Authority [2011] EWHC 2583. His client was a Chief Executive against whose firm, Keydata Investment Services Limited the FSA had intervened on an unprecedented scale. Harvey has been involved in numerous subsequent cases involving such FSA/FCA intervention against the corporate entities involved.

Contesting regulatory proceedings to the Upper Tribunal and the Court of Appeal including the successful and unprecedented reversion of a FCA ban of a senior manager (Andrew Tinney v The Financial Conduct Authority [2019] UKUT 0227 (TCC).

Securing favourable settlements for senior executives in FCA and PRA enforcement proceedings as well as numerous successful non-routine FCA approval applications and FCA Supervisory resolutions.

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England & Wales, 1993

‘2022 – The year of regulation of digital assets,’ – April 11, 2022, co-author

‘Market Abuse and Insider Dealing’, Butterworths Corporate Law Service, chapter editor

Financial Services Lawyers Association

Education

Lincoln College, Oxford University, B.A.

Languages

  • English

Dates

Joined

2011
Partner

2011

Recognition

London

20 Old Bailey,

London,

EC4M 7AN

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Insight

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31 March 2020 - Video

Senior executives: Are you involved in an internal investigation?

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