Joseph Longo has joined the firm after working at Deutsche Bank for 17 years.
Prior to working at Deutsche Bank, Mr Longo had been a national director of enforcement at ASIC and he had also previously worked at Freehills in Perth and Sydney.
Based now in the firm’s Perth office, he will be advising clients across Australia, Asia and the UK.
In his new role Mr Longo will be focusing on providing insight to clients into the way global banks have been navigating regulatory engagement, managing non-financial risk and financial services investigations.
The firm added he will be using his experience to advise clients on their response to regulatory, prudential and community expectations and how to look ahead for future risk areas.
Luke Hastings, regional head of the dispute regulation practice in Australia, said Mr Longo’s appointment to the financial services regulatory team reflected a growing need for specialist banking expertise in the Australian market.
“With the ever-increasing regulatory focus on financial services institutions in Australia, we continue to look for ways to share with our clients out global experience of responding to these developments,” Mr Hastings said.
Mr Longo’s most recent position at Deutsche Bank before he resigned in March was general counsel in the UK and EMEA. He had also served as the bank’s general counsel in Asia Pacific.
“Joe’s experience speaks for itself. He brings deep global financial services and regulatory insights to the Australian market,” Mr Hastings said.
“He has an intimate understanding of the challenges faced by banks and corporations when addressing cultural and regulatory issues.
“His experience spans several continents in legal advisory, regulatory enforcement and internal legal and commercial matters. He has navigated multijurisdictional investigations and regulatory enforcement activity, and that experience is of particular interest to our clients.”
He added having worked in the global banking sector for around 20 years and having dealt firsthand what the firm’s clients are grappling with, Mr Longo would bring a valuable perspective to the team.
Mr Longo said he was pleased to be returning to the firm.
“I have experience working in private practice, in securities and corporate law and in-house, and I am excited to be able to share that experience with clients,” Mr Longo said.
