Simon Deane-Johns

Experience
About Simon

Experience

Simon is a Senior Legal Consultant admitted as a solicitor in Ireland, specialising in the regulatory and commercial aspects of online financial services, e-commerce, personal data, IT, cryptoassets, smart contracts, AI and related public affairs. Since Brexit, he has helped UK clients re-locating EU-facing operations and getting a new entity authorised or registered in Ireland and the EEA.

After initially practising as a barrister in Sydney for four years, Simon has spent the past 25 years in financial technology in London and New York, working with global players Reuters, GE, Amazon and WorldPay, and co-founding Earthport plc as a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform and Zopa (the world’s first P2P lending platform) as general counsel, before returning to full-time private practice in 2011.

Simon has also advised on the launch of many other innovative services including LinkedFinance (Ireland’s first P2P lending platform) Prodigy Finance (whose loans were funded via a Dublin-listed bond issuer), Abundance Investment, Crowdbank, Proplend, Invest & Fund, Nutmeg, Borro, Yoyo, The Money Platform, Nester, Funding Xchange, RoosterMoney and four Amazon services in Europe.

Simon’s clients include:
• e-money and payment service providers;
• peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms;
• consumer lenders;
• e-retailers and e-marketplaces, including gift cards; and
• IT and data services providers.

Aside from his legal practice, Simon helped establish and advised the UK’s P2P Finance Association, Chaired the Advisory Board of the Society for Computers and Law (fostering a global tech and law community via www.scl.org) where he is now a Fellow; and is a Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab (incubating the people, ideas and movements building a financial system that serves people and the planet at www.financeinnovationlab.org).

Simon also speaks and writes frequently on FinTech legal issues on our “Insights” page and his blog “The Fine Print”. In his spare time, Simon trains for cycling sportives and masters rowing. He is a member of Crabtree Boat Club, Leander Club, the Stewards’ Enclosure of Henley Royal Regatta and Stephen’s Green Club. Simon and Ogier Leman’s Fintech team look forward to supporting their local and global clients’ regulatory and commercial expansion in Ireland and the EEA.

About Simon Deane-Johns

Aside from his legal practice, Simon helped establish and advised the UK’s P2P Finance Association,
Chairs the Advisory Board of the Society for Computers and Law (fostering a global tech and law community via www.scl.org); and is a Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab (incubating the people, ideas and movements building a financial system that serves people and the planet at www.financeinnovationlab.org).

Simon also speaks and writes frequently on FinTech legal and consumer issues on his blogs “Pragmatist” and “The Fine Print”, including a focus on ensuring the lawful and ethical development of Artificial Intelligence and data science, so that humans remain at the heart of technology.

In his spare time, Simon trains for triathlons, cycling sportives and masters rowing. He is a member of Crabtree Boat Club, the Stewards’ Enclosure of Henley Royal Regatta and Wasps Football Club where he is a coach of the U13 rugby squad. He is an enthusiastic and erratic golfer and a member of Meland Golfklubb in Norway.Simon and Leman’s Fintech team look forward to supporting their local and global clients’ regulatory and commercial expansion in Ireland and the EEA.

Practice Areas

  • FinTech

  • Payments

  • Brexit

  • Financial Services Regulation

  • E-retailers and E-marketplaces

  • P2P Lending Platforms

Contact Simon Deane-Johns

Tel +353 1 639 3000

Mob +44 781 841 2764

 

ireland@ogier.com