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Kerry Berchem

Practice Development Lawyer

About

Kerry joined the firm in 2023 and is the Practice Development Lawyer for Burges Salmon’s Financial Services sector. She has a wealth of financial services law experience drawn from private practice both in the UK and offshore, from the offshore financial services industry and from in-house at an offshore financial services regulator.

Kerry leads Burges Salmon’s relationships with several significant financial services industry bodies in the retail investment sector, supporting them in their policy and regulatory strategy work in high-priority areas such as operational resilience, AI, Consumer Duty, and governance.

She also forms part of the firm’s AI team and collaborates with this team to deliver AI advice to financial services clients, including regulators, regulator adjacent bodies, and financial services firms.

Kerry’s role spans technical expertise, business development, and strategy. She leads on keeping the financial services sector lawyers and financial services clients ahead in this fast-evolving area by providing timely, authentic, and practical insights on market trends and developments.

Kerry has a particular interest in governance, culture and risk, and the impact that evolving technologies, including AI, will have on the financial services ecosystem, the natural environment, and on wider society.

Experience

In-house advice: (financial services industry regulator) on a wide range of supervisory matters including authorisations queries, regulatory perimeter issues, licensee restructurings and information exchanges with other regulators.
In-house advice: (financial services industry regulator) in relation to financial crime investigations and a jurisdictional FATF assessment.
In-house advice: (financial services industry regulator) on a number of enforcement cases from investigation to final hearing.
In-house advice: (wealth management sector) on day to day regulatory compliance, assertive supervisory measures, client onboarding processes, financial crime obligations, client risk reviews, and governance.
In-house advice: (wealth management sector) on the implementation and completion of regulator imposed risk mitigation programmes.
Private practice experience: in banking and regulatory disputes, and in professional negligence disputes.

Credentials

Admitted as a solicitor: England & Wales (1998)
TISA: Chair, Digital Innovation Policy Council, and Co-Chair, Governance, Conduct and Culture Group
The Payments Association: Working Group Committee Member, ESG, and Chair, D&I Sub-Group
The Platforms Association: Working Group Member AI Workstream, Operational Resilience Workstream, Transfers Workstream and Bereavement Workstream
The Investment Association: Working Group Member, Technology Innovation Policy Forum and AI Steering Group