The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has charged Richard Bloomfield, a former deals lawyer at Goodwin, with five counts of insider dealing.
The charges relate to the acquisition of maternity brand Seraphine in 2023, on which Goodwin advised the purchaser, Mayfair Equity Partners.
The FCA alleges that Bloomfield worked on the deal, and used inside information obtained through his role to deal in securities of Seraphine on five occasions between 28 March 2022 and 10 January 2023.
The FCA said that it was not investigating either Goodwin – which was not named by the regulator – or Seraphine.
In a statement, Goodwin said: ‘We are aware of the charges against our former employee. There are no allegations of wrongdoing by the firm, and we are not a subject of the FCA’s investigation. The firm has cooperated fully with the FCA and will not be commenting further at this time given the pending criminal proceedings.’
Bloomfield previously worked at Bird & Bird and legacy Herbert Smith Freehills, before joining SuLe, a venture legal platform, as its chief legal officer and general counsel two months ago, according to a SuLe LinkedIn post.
This is the second incident involving the misuse of privileged information by former Goodwin lawyers this year. In May, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged 30 individuals in connection with a decade-long insider trading scheme.
DOJ prosecutors alleged that New York lawyer Nicolo Nourafchan, who previously worked at firms including Goodwin as well as Latham & Watkins, was at the heart of the scheme, which saw a network of lawyers access non-public information relating to pending acquisitions and pass it on to traders.
Insider dealing is a criminal offence under Section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. Bloomfield appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court and gave no indication of plea. The case has been sent to Southwark Crown Court, and Bloomfield’s next appearance is set for 5 August 2026.
The FCA told LB that it could not comment further on active criminal proceedings.
