Fiona Hall is a barrister and solicitor specialising in regulatory law, particularly anti-money laundering (AML/CFT), consumer credit and privacy law. After her admission to the bar in 1987, Fiona initially practised general commercial litigation and banking law at large law firms in both Auckland and London, before moving in-house. Her in-house counsel roles covered a number of credit and credit related businesses as well as for a government regulator.

Fiona has extensive practical commercial experience that complements her legal expertise, having acted as the Head of Compliance and both Privacy Officer and AML Compliance Officer in conjunction with her legal roles. In her previous in-house roles, Fiona developed and implemented a number of AML/CFT programmes and now advises reporting entities on their AML/CFT obligations. In more recent years, Fiona’s focus has been on assisting clients manage engagement with, and enforcement responses from, the regulators responsible for enforcing the AML/CFT regime and relevant consumer finance legislation. This work ranges from assisting clients prepare for on-site visits and interviews, through to managing and advocating for clients in respect of enforcement action (compliance advice, warnings, enforceable undertakings and both civil and criminal proceedings). In her AML/CFT work especially, Fiona has advised a wide range of clients that include a major trading bank, legal practices from sole practitioners through to large law firms,  accountancy practices, money remitters, managed investment schemes and more recently virtual currency providers.

Fiona has been invited to speak at multiple conferences including at one of the country’s leading AML/ CFT conferences, the AML Summit, where she has been a return guest speaker each year including running masterclasses at the 2021 and 2022 conferences. She has been the convenor of the Auckland District Law Society (ADLS) AML Committee since 2021 and is ADLS’s preferred provider for AML/CFT advice, including making submissions on its behalf at select committee and providing substantive guidance for written submissions. On behalf of ADLS, Fiona presented a series of eight toolkit lectures for lawyers in preparation for phase two of the AML/CFT regime and subsequently has worked with ADLS to provide lawyers in-person workshops around the country. Fiona has also been on the New Zealand Law Society National Friends Panel since 2018 and is a member of the Ministry of Justice’s industry advisory group regarding the current statutory review of the AML/CFT Act.

Fiona brings the knowledge gained as a member of the leadership teams in the businesses she has advised together with her experience working for a regulator enforcing consumer legislation, to offer comprehensive advice in her areas of expertise. In particular, Fiona recognises the impact and significance that regulatory compliance obligations can have on a business and the need for robust yet commercially sustainable processes to meet them. In addition to advising on how to meet these obligations, Fiona can also advise when businesses are facing regulatory enforcement action.