It is no small irony that when the Financial Services Authority (FSA) finally began flexing its muscles under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) last week, most City law firms remained as baffled by the whole scenario as they were when the new regime was first mooted four years ago.
While the FSA has stated publicly that it does not want law firms to fall in its line of fire unless they are carrying out mainstream investment work, the official spin does not correspond with the reality of the Act.
