Hagen Rooke is a partner in the Singapore office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is a member of the firm’s Financial Regulatory Practice Group and has extensive experience advising global financial institutions and corporates on regulatory matters across their full lifecycle, including financial services licensing, conduct of business, regulatory change projects, and contentious matters relating to regulatory investigations and enforcement. His clients include the world’s leading banks, payment services firms, digital asset exchanges, Web3 projects, capital markets intermediaries, fund managers, exchanges, proprietary trading houses, and commodity groups.
With an extensive track record of engaging with regulators such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC), and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and with an international client base, Hagen draws on a wealth of institutional and multijurisdictional experience. As such, he is uniquely placed to provide strategic advice to clients on their most critical business and risk-management decisions.
Hagen is a sought-after adviser, speaker, and writer on regulatory developments, both in traditional financial services and in emerging industry segments such as blockchain and Web3. He regularly presents at industry events and roundtables of organizations such as the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA), and the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS). Hagen currently sits on the SFA’s Capital Markets Services Subcommittee and was a member of the SFA’s Digital Financing Subcommittee.
Chambers Fintech guide ranks Hagen as a Band 1 lawyer for Singapore FinTech Legal. Clients note that Hagen "is the single best lawyer I have worked with in this space. He is a remarkable lawyer and a great man, and I cannot recommend him enough," and he "…has in-depth and practical experience that a lot of others don't have in the market. He is extremely experienced and has an extensive background in financial regulations." Industry feedback further describes Hagen as being "all-round excellent, highly commercial and incredibly responsive. He goes the extra mile to protect our business's interests and I can always rely on his practical insights."
Hagen received a Doctor of Law with distinction from the Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne Université in 2007 and gained his law qualifications (LPC) from BPP Law School in 2008. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sussex in 2002. Hagen is admitted to practice in England and Wales. He is also able to practice in permitted areas of Singapore Law under Section 36B of the Legal Profession Act. He speaks English, French, and German.
Representative Matters*:
Hagen's experience includes advising:
Regulatory Licensing and Approvals
- Banks, capital markets intermediaries, exchanges, payment services firms, and digital asset exchanges and brokerages on their MAS licensing applications
- Investors on regulatory approval requirements for their acquisition of control of regulated institutions
- Various financial institutions on their appointment of key officers, including directors, chief executive officers and other senior management personnel
Fintech and Digital Offerings
- Various decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms on their regulatory structuring, including their token issuances
- A global insurance group on the setup and licensing of a digital insurance distribution hub
- A major bank on its integration of various third-party payment and e-commerce offerings into its customer-facing systems
- A digital securities exchange on its MAS sandbox application and drafting of its exchange rulebook
Contracts and Documentation
- A global systemically important bank on the drafting and negotiation of its agreement for the provision of middle-office services to a life insurance group
- The Singapore branch of an international private bank on the drafting of its terms of business
- An international private equity group on its global compliance manual
- A major Asian securities brokerage on the drafting of its terms of service
Conduct of Business and Governance
- An international payments group on its individual accountability and conduct framework
- Various digital asset exchanges and brokerages on their asset safeguarding, technology risk management, customer disclosure, and other conduct requirements
- A major commodities producer on its global AML/CFT audit and implementation of risk controls
- Various banks on their bank secrecy, information security, technology risk management, customer disclosure, and other conduct requirements
Contentious Matters
- A major private bank on the regulatory investigation of its execution and disclosure practices in connection with its sale of fixed-income instruments
- A hedge fund on the regulatory investigation of its touchpoints with an illicit digital-asset platform
- Various commercial banks on their collation and disclosure of information in response to court orders and injunctions
- An investment bank on the handling of a regulatory investigation into its customer disclosures and suitability assessments for complex products
* Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.
Capabilities
- Financial Institutions
- Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice
- Anti-Money Laundering
- Capital Markets
- Crisis Management
- Derivatives
- Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
- Financial Regulatory
- Fintech and Digital Assets
- Insurance and Reinsurance
- Investment Funds
- Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Data Innovation
- Private Equity
- Securities Enforcement
- Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance
- Strategic Sourcing and Commercial Transactions
- Tech and Innovation
- Technology Transactions
Credentials
Education:
- BPP Law School - 2008 Legal Practice Course
- Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - 2007 Doctor of Law
- University of Sussex - 2002 Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.)
Admissions:
- England & Wales - Solicitor
- Singapore (Section 36B of the Legal Profession Act)