Lorna Smith

Overview

Lorna Smith is a Partner in the Irish Financial Services Regulatory team at Maples and Calder, the Maples Group's law firm. Lorna has over 10 years' experience in financial services regulation, and in addition to more traditional industries like banking, insurance and investment services, Lorna’s practice also focuses on growth sectors such as fintech, alternative lending and sustainable finance.

Lorna guides new financial institutions establishing in Ireland, across all industry sectors including MiFID investment firms and fund service providers, banks, insurers, e-money and payment firms, and credit servicing and retail credit firms. She also regularly advises on the transfer of regulated businesses, including regulatory due diligence.

She advises firms on their ongoing regulatory obligations, including remuneration and corporate governance, outsourcing, fitness and probity, anti-money laundering, capital management, and industry-specific conduct of business and investor protection requirements.

Lorna helps clients manage regulatory engagement, both in a supervisory and enforcement context, and implement new requirements and robust compliance frameworks. She has conducted comprehensive gap analyses and assurance reviews to manage regulatory risk, including working on Risk Mitigation Programmes, inspection remediation and industry-wide reviews such as the Tracker Mortgage Examination.

BACKGROUND

Lorna joined the Maples Group as a Partner in 2021, having previously worked at large Irish law and accountancy firms.  Lorna is recommended by IFLR1000 and Chambers FinTech where clients report that "she's absolutely stellar. She is able to combine bank regulatory and payments work. She is very strong and very technical".

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Lorna is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers of Ireland, Irish Funds and the Law Society of Ireland.