The Freshfields Podcast

Tax matters: German election – what does the new coalition mean to business?

The coalition negotiations have concluded with the “traffic light” coalition being agreed, and so on 8 December 2021 Olaf Scholz was sworn in as the new German Chancellor in the Bundestag, marking the end of Angela Merkel’s 16 year tenure. Now that the coalition is in place, what will this mean for business?

In our latest podcast, senior knowledge lawyer Alison Dickie speaks to David Issmer, Freshfields’ Head of Public Affairs in Germany, and German tax partners David Beutel, Philipp Redeker and Georg Roderburg to discuss the coalition agreement and what it tells us about the priorities of the “traffic light” coalition, for both global and domestic tax policy as well as for businesses with a Germany presence.

Investing in tech: regulation to disrupt tech deal-making?

2021 is set to be a record year for tech investment fuelled by high valuations, strong competition from a broader pool of investors, and no shortage of funding options for tech companies.

This surge in tech M&A activity has prompted global agencies to reconsider the national security, consumer and competition impact of new technologies and evolve the use of their powers to intervene on tech and data-driven transactions.

In this podcast Rafique Bachour discusses with tech M&A partners Natasha Good and Lars Meyer whether regulatory developments targeting tech companies are set to disrupt a record year of tech deal-making. To request a copy of Freshfields’ interactive global tech regulatory report mentioned in this podcast, please contact techconnect@freshfields.com.

The Big Conversation podcast: Future risks

With Dr Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens' College Cambridge

Few people have the ability to scan the horizon for future risks quite like the world-renowned economist Dr Mohamed El-Erian. We were delighted to welcome Mohamed for the latest episode of our Big Conversation podcast, where Freshfields partners Eric Mahr and Aimen Mir sought Mohamed’s views on the issues every business leader should have on their radar, from US/China relations to the specter of rising inflation.

Spotlight on Africa - The Evolution of our Africa Practice

Senior Associate Maha Osman talks to the Co-Heads of our Africa Practice Gabriel Mpubani and Rob Cant about the progression of our Africa practice and some of the highlights along the way.

We learn about Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s intentional focus on the African continent and get a snapshot of some of the interesting work that has been done there.

Buyer beware: avoiding privacy and cyber hazards in M&A

No purchaser wants to buy a lawsuit… or a five year privacy investigation and mass claims on three continents.

Our privacy and cyber experts look at the key lessons for M&A from recent cyber attacks and major privacy incidents, and how to address these concerns when doing deals.

This podcast was originally recorded for Freshfields’ Asia In-house Counsel Forum in October 2021.

The Big Conversation podcast: the transition to net zero

With Tariq Fancy, former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock and Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group

Welcome to our first Big Conversation podcast, where we bring together leading thinkers from business, politics and academia to explore the forces shaping the world around us.

In this episode, Tim Wilkins, Freshfields’ global partner for client sustainability, and Oliver Dudok van Heel, our head of client sustainability and environment, sit down with Tariq Fancy, former chief investment officer for sustainable investing at BlackRock, and Helen Clarkson, CEO of The Climate Group, to discuss the transition to net zero. Together they look at the impact on business of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, forthcoming climate-related regulatory changes, the challenges of measuring ESG performance – and the future of capitalism itself.

Fintech in focus: why governance matters

As part of our ESG x Fintech focus, the Freshfields fintech team take a look at the “G” in ESG: governance – what is governance, why is it important and what are some of the practical steps fintechs can take.

In this podcast, Claire Harrop, Thomas Clark, Pamela Marcogliese and Kenneth Hui use their perspectives from a range of sectors and jurisdictions to discuss the key governance matters fintechs face today.

Essential Foreign Investment #3: Developments in the US and China

In the second of our new quarterly series, partner Alastair Mordaunt is joined by US CFIUS expert and partner Aimen Mir and China partner Hazel Yin to discuss developments in foreign investment.

Together they look at recent foreign investment screening activity levels across the key jurisdictions, discuss the latest policy changes and what they mean for regional attitudes to foreign investment generally, and make some predictions for activity levels and developments in 2022.

Tax matters: Digital taxes and trade wars – will the OECD/G20 agreement bring tax peace?

Following the recent OECD/G20 agreement on the two pillars, the US has agreed with various countries to terminate its trade actions against them in return for the withdrawal of their digital services taxes (DSTs).

In this latest episode of our Tax Matters podcast Joshua Critchlow interviews Lorand Bartels, Katharina Kubik and Brin Rajathurai about the implications of these recent agreements and what trade law challenges may remain in relation to DSTs. The team also discuss tax developments on the horizon that will need to be monitored from a trade perspective and explore challenges around getting the OECD agreement implemented in the US. 

Essential Antitrust Asia #5: Update with Gilbert + Tobin on proposals to reform Australia’s merger regime

This episode features Alastair Mordaunt, partner and co-head of our Asia competition practice and Elizabeth Avery, a senior partner at Australian law firm Gilbert + Tobin and leader of its competition and regulation group.

Merger control and antitrust regulation are on the rise across the region and Australia is high on the list of jurisdictions to watch out for in terms of competition enforcement.

In this episode, our experts will discuss:

•  An overview of the Australian merger regime as it currently operates today
• The proposed overhaul of the regime and why the ACCC thinks reforms are necessary
• Next steps and when we might see reforms come into force