Philip Clarke

Philip Clarke is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Dubai office and leads the UAE financial regulatory team. Philip offers a uniquely well‑rounded perspective on financial services regulatory matters, shaped by his diverse background working in‑house within major financial institutions, in private practice in both Dubai and London, and within a financial services regulator. This breadth of experience enables him to provide clients with commercially grounded, regulator‑informed and technically robust advice across the full spectrum of financial services regulation. He is ranked in the Chambers and Partners Global 2025 Guide for Regulatory: Financial Services, UAE and recognised as a Next Generation Partner for Banking and Finance: Financial Services Regulation in the Legal 500 EMEA Guide, UAE. Philip advises clients across the full range of financial services regulation, including banking, investment and payment services, licensing matters, outsourcing arrangements, governance, technology‑related risks, ESG requirements, and anti‑money laundering (AML). He has strong experience in applying regulatory rules to new and innovative business models, and has assisted numerous fintech firms and virtual assets service providers in developing their business model and identifying an optimal path to authorisation and operation. He is also frequently engaged to support regulators and public bodies across the region. His contentious experience includes defending regulatory investigations conducted in the UAE's financial freezones as well as 'onshore', and acting on complex cross‑border enforcement matters involving regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Securities & Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, European Commission and Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. He has advised on simultaneous regulatory investigations, past business reviews and related court proceedings, including mandates involving the appointment of skilled persons and the design of new approaches to customer remediation. Philip has also conducted internal investigations for investment and private banks, including those arising from whistleblowing reports and conduct‑related issues. · Baker McKenzie LLP

United Arab EmiratesFinancial Services Regulation, Banking LawEnglish, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Turkish, Russian, Hindi, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Dutch, Cantonese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Catalan, Czech, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Icelandic, Macedonian, Albanian, Montenegrin, Bosnian, Luxembourgish

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About

Philip Clarke is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Dubai office, leading the UAE financial regulatory team. He advises on financial services regulation, including banking, investment, payment services, licensing, outsourcing, governance, technology risks, ESG, and AML. He has experience with fintech and virtual assets firms, and handles contentious matters such as regulatory investigations and cross-border enforcement. He also conducts internal investigations for investment and private banks. Philip was previously a senior legal counsel at the Dubai Financial Services Authority. He is ranked in Chambers and Partners Global 2025 and recognized in Legal 500 EMEA Guide.

Practice areas

Financial Services RegulationBanking LawInvestment LawPayment ServicesLicensing MattersOutsourcing ArrangementsGovernanceTechnology-Related RisksESG RequirementsAnti-Money Laundering (AML)FintechVirtual AssetsRegulatory InvestigationsCross-Border EnforcementInternal InvestigationsWhistleblowingConduct Issues

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United Arab Emirates

Baker McKenzie LLP · Philip Clarke is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Dubai office and leads the UAE financial regulatory team. Philip offers a uniquely well‑rounded perspective on financial services regulatory matters, shaped by his diverse background working in‑house within major financial institutions, in private practice in both Dubai and London, and within a financial services regulator. This breadth of experience enables him to provide clients with commercially grounded, regulator‑informed and technically robust advice across the full spectrum of financial services regulation. He is ranked in the Chambers and Partners Global 2025 Guide for Regulatory: Financial Services, UAE and recognised as a Next Generation Partner for Banking and Finance: Financial Services Regulation in the Legal 500 EMEA Guide, UAE. Philip advises clients across the full range of financial services regulation, including banking, investment and payment services, licensing matters, outsourcing arrangements, governance, technology‑related risks, ESG requirements, and anti‑money laundering (AML). He has strong experience in applying regulatory rules to new and innovative business models, and has assisted numerous fintech firms and virtual assets service providers in developing their business model and identifying an optimal path to authorisation and operation. He is also frequently engaged to support regulators and public bodies across the region. His contentious experience includes defending regulatory investigations conducted in the UAE's financial freezones as well as 'onshore', and acting on complex cross‑border enforcement matters involving regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, Securities & Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, European Commission and Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. He has advised on simultaneous regulatory investigations, past business reviews and related court proceedings, including mandates involving the appointment of skilled persons and the design of new approaches to customer remediation. Philip has also conducted internal investigations for investment and private banks, including those arising from whistleblowing reports and conduct‑related issues.

United Arab Emirates

Expertise

Financial Services RegulationRegulatory InvestigationsCross-Border EnforcementInternal InvestigationsFintech RegulationVirtual Assets RegulationAnti-Money LaunderingESG ComplianceGovernanceOutsourcingLicensingBanking and Finance

Education

University of Law, Graduate Diploma in Law
Queen's University Belfast, BA (Joint Honours) English and Philosophy (2002)

Languages

EnglishFrenchGermanArabicSpanishMandarin ChinesePortugueseJapaneseKoreanItalianTurkishRussianHindiIndonesianThaiVietnamesePolishDutchCantoneseSwedishNorwegianDanishFinnishGreekHebrewRomanianCatalanCzechHungarianUkrainianSlovakSlovenianCroatianSerbianBulgarianEstonianLatvianLithuanianMalteseIcelandicMacedonianAlbanianMontenegrinBosnianLuxembourgish