Simon is admitted as a solicitor in Ireland and the UK, specialising in the regulatory and commercial aspects of online financial services, e-commerce, personal data, IT, cryptoassets, smart contracts, AI and related public affairs.
Simon’s clients include:
• e-money and payment service providers;
• consumer lenders;
• e-retailers and e-marketplaces, including gift cards;
• P2P lenders and other crowdfunding platforms; and
• IT and data services providers.
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 is a Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab (2015) and a Fellow of the Society for Computers and Law (2022). Simon was a Member of the Media/Advisory Board of Society for Computers and Law 2001-21 and Chair of the Media Board (2012-18) and Chair of the Advisory Board (2018-21).
Simon also speaks and writes frequently on FinTech legal issues, including on his legal 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 and the Stewards’ Enclosure of Henley Royal Regatta. Simon and Crowley Millar look forward to supporting their local and global clients’ regulatory and commercial expansion in Ireland and the EEA.