Barclays Strengthens Legal Function With Key Hire

Barclays has reinforced its legal leadership with a senior regulatory appointment, signalling a sharper focus on compliance, capital discipline, and supervisory engagement as pressures on global banks continue to intensify. The move reflects a deliberate effort to align legal strategy more closely with core banking risk frameworks.

Stephanie Avakian, chair of WilmerHale’s securities and financial services practice, will join the bank in May and formally take over as global general counsel in July. She succeeds Stephen Shapiro, whose tenure concludes at the end of June. The timing of the transition is notable, coming as banks face tighter oversight across conduct risk, market integrity, and cross-border regulatory coordination.

Avakian’s background is firmly rooted in financial regulation. As former director of enforcement at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, she led investigations spanning market abuse, disclosure failures, and institutional misconduct. This experience positions her to manage the legal complexities tied to trading operations, investment banking activities, and capital markets exposure, all areas where regulatory scrutiny remains elevated. Her subsequent role advising major financial institutions further deepens her alignment with banking-specific legal risk.

The appointment reflects a structural shift in how banks are defining the role of general counsel. Legal leadership is increasingly embedded within enterprise risk management, interfacing directly with capital allocation decisions, balance sheet oversight, and regulatory capital requirements. For Barclays, strengthening this function is critical as it navigates evolving expectations around stress testing, liquidity buffers, and operational resilience.

Shapiro’s departure closes a period marked by internal adjustments and regulatory engagement, during which the bank worked to stabilise its legal and compliance footing. The incoming leadership suggests a pivot towards more proactive regulatory positioning, particularly in anticipating enforcement trends rather than responding to them.

For Barclays, the decision underscores a broader recalibration within banking, where legal expertise is no longer peripheral but central to safeguarding capital, maintaining market access, and ensuring long-term institutional stability in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.