Joanne Stephens is a Senior Associate specialising in FCA insider dealing and market abuse investigations and white collar crime.

Joanne acts for individuals facing investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for suspected insider dealing and market abuse, along with a range of other FCA Enforcement  investigations, including breaches of the FCA principles for business.

Joanne was previously a lawyer in the Enforcement Division at the FCA where she prosecuted one of the most complex insider dealing  cases that the FCA has brought to trial to date, R v Dodgson & Others . Joanne also acted as lead lawyer on a number of  market abuse and regulatory investigations into wholesale financial institutions.

Joanne’s most recent experience was an in-house role in a financial institution where she advised the Capital Markets & Treasury business on key regulatory issues, in particular FCA rules on Systems & Controls (SYSC), Conduct of Business (COBS), Market Abuse (MAR) and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). She also advised on implementation of regulatory changes surrounding Market Abuse and MiFIDII.

Joanne trained in a busy criminal litigation practice and has extensive experience representing individuals at the police station for a wide range of offences. Prior to joining the FCA, Joanne worked as a defence lawyer in a busy Business Crime department in Manchester dealing with a range of serious criminal offences including complex fraud cases being investigated and prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), HM Revenue & Customs and the Fraud Prosecution Service.