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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance
Chris Bates

Chris Bates

Special Counsel

Special Counsel
Chris Bates

Chris Bates advises banks, securities firms and other financial institutions on issues associated with the impact of Brexit, regulatory response to the financial crisis, the impact of the EU single market programme, financial services regulation and regulatory capital, as well as advising on securities and derivatives transactions and mergers and acquisitions in the financial sector.

Chris is a Visiting Professorial Fellow in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London.

  • Advises the International Swaps and Derivatives Association on European regulatory issues
  • Advised UKFinance on a number of policy papers on Brexit
  • Advised several leading global banks on Brexit planning
  • Advised many banks on the implementation of EU regulatory reforms, including MiFID2, Benchmark Regulation, EMIR
  • Advises the International Swaps and Derivatives Association on European regulatory issues
  • Advised a number of leading investment banks and other market participants on the impact of EU derivatives reforms
  • Advised a group of global US banks on the international aspects of their recovery and resolution plans

News and client work

View all news and client work featuring Chris Bates

Contact details

Career and qualifications

  • Christ Church, Oxford (BA, Law) 1978
  • Columbia Law School, New York (LLM) 1979
  • Joined Clifford Chance 1980
  • Admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales 1982
  • Partner since 1987-2021
  • Special Counsel, Consultant to Clifford Chance since 2021

Awards and citations

  • The "extremely knowledgeable" Christopher Bates is recognised for his capabilities in non-contentious regulatory matters. He counsels a range of institutions including securities firms and banks on a variety of regulatory issues and is widely regarded as a leading expert on regulatory matters relating to Brexit.
    UK-wide, Financial Services: Non-contentious Regulatory
  • Chris Bates is ranked No 31 in The Chambers 100 Guide, this is a list of the 100 best business lawyers drawn from the top bands in the Chambers UK guide for 2013. The guide lists Communication skills and Industry knowledge as Chris' key strengths. Clients comment that Chris is "immensely smart: one of the best technical lawyers I know, with a huge breadth of legal expertise. He is also immersed in the legal, regulatory and commercial issues facing regulated banks, which means he understands where I am coming from and what my issues are.”
    Chambers UK 2013
  • Christopher Bates is "the top one" in the non-contentious area. He is acknowledged as one of the leading intellects in the field, a position he effortlessly combines with an extraordinary grasp of technical detail.
    Chambers UK 2013