City firms discover love for humble regulation lawyers as the FSA gears up for intrusive stance

Has there ever been a better time be a specialist in financial services regulation? For years, such lawyers toiled away little-noticed within a dozen or so major commercial firms, prospering in sizeable numbers in Allen & Overy (A&O), Clifford Chance (CC) and CMS Cameron McKenna. But despite the creation of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) a decade ago, this group was hardly the most visible or loved of its breed, despite in recent years enjoying some of the highest charge-out rates in the City.