The Freshfields Podcast

Essential Antitrust #12: Merger control: are we witnessing a paradigm shift?

In the US, there are sweeping proposals in Congress for stricter merger control laws. In the EU, the European Commission is encouraging referral requests from Member States, even where transactions fall below merger control thresholds. In the UK, the revised Merger Assessment Guidelines seek to give the CMA more flexibility to find competition issues. All the while, different regulators are on record calling for tougher overall enforcement against consolidation.  Intensified merger control around the globe will mean more – and less predictable – merger filings, making deal-making more complex.

In our 12^th episode, Jenn Mellott speaks with Alastair Chapman, Meghan Rissmiller and Sascha Schubert about how companies can navigate the increasingly daunting merger control landscape.

Ransomware: what boards need to know about the Colonial Pipeline attack

When the Darkside group launched a cyber attack on Colonial Pipeline, it took the business offline and starved much of the US East Coast of fuel.

In our latest podcast (featuring Boris Feldman, Kimberly Zelnick, Giles Pratt, Nabeel Yousef, Lauren Honeyben, Shannon McGovern and the latest recruit in our cyber and data practice, Brock Dahl, former deputy GC at the National Security Agency) we explore what’s known about the shadowy hacking collective, explain the risks board members face from ransomware strikes - and reveal the questions directors should be asking to protect themselves and their companies.

The EU’s AI Regulation #1: Understanding the draft rules

The European Union has finally released its plan to regulate AI. In the first of a mini-series exploring the implications of the proposed rules, Natalie Pettinger-Kearney, Andrew Austin and Christoph Werkmeister discuss what use cases are banned, what sanctions are on the table – and why it’s not too late for businesses to have their say.

Essential Foreign Investment #1: CFIUS, China and Europe’s new screening regime

In the first of a new quarterly series, partner Alastair Mordaunt is joined by CFIUS advisor Colin Costello and EU FDI practitioners Ermelinda Spinelli and Rocío de Troya to discuss developments in foreign investment review. How will national security deal screening evolve under President Biden? How is the EU’s new FDI regime being applied on the ground? And how should businesses respond to this fast-changing environment?

Arbitration top trends: are investment treaties the answer to big tech’s problems?

They’ve long been used by oil companies to protect against foreign governments seizing their assets. But could bilateral investment treaties also insulate big tech from punitive tax charges, hastily introduced regulations – and even cyber attacks? Elliott Friedman and Tom Walsh in New York, and Annie Pan in London, explain all to Freshfields’ head of US tech, Boris Feldman

Further resources: You can view the US model BIT here; explore every current BIT in place around the world here; find information on US trade agreements, many of which include investment chapters that provide for arbitration, here; discover more about structuring your investments to achieve treaty protection here; and read a related blog here.

The rise of ESG disputes against financial institutions: 2021 update

In this podcast, Anthea Bowater, David Livshiz, Tim Mak, Simon Orton and Anne-Laure Vincent revisit the topic of ESG disputes in the context of the financial services sector following their webinar and blog post in December. They provide updates from around the world on the developing political and regulatory landscape, diversity and climate commitment litigation, further moves to create international standards for ESG reporting and allegations of greenwashing against funds.

Fintech in focus: is open banking here?

In a digital world, open data is paramount for driving innovation and delivering positive social and economic transformation. In the banking context, this has been in planning for a number of years under the guise of 'open banking'. But, what is open banking?

In this podcast, Matt O’Callaghan (Head of Financial Services Asia), Natalie Pettinger Kearney (Deputy Head of EU Regulatory and Public Affairs) and Claire Harrop (Senior Associate) provide an update on where we are with open banking, and how different regulators around the globe are approaching this topic. We explore open banking from different perspectives (consumers, incumbent banks, fintechs) and look at the potential expansion into open finance, which extends the principles of open banking.

Essential Antitrust #11: Deal disputes: preparing for a more litigious environment

In 2021, evolving market conditions, including heightened regulatory risk, emergence of new theories of harm, and the continuing economic impact of COVID-19 could alter transaction dynamics and contribute to more – and more contentious – transaction-related antitrust litigation, both with authorities and between merging parties.

In our 11^th episode, Jenn Mellott speaks with Linda Martin, Martin Klusmann and Nicholas Frey about how companies can mitigate litigation risk in their transactions with the right transactional toolkit.

Tax matters: UK Spring Budget 2021

The UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his second Budget in extraordinary circumstances as the UK continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic while also establishing itself outside the EU following the end of the Brexit transition period.

This Budget comes at a time when there are calls for both further economic support measures and a clear fiscal plan to repair the significant deficit in public finances. How has the Chancellor dealt with these competing demands and what tax measures have been announced that businesses need to be aware of?

In this podcast, Josh Critchlow interviews three of our Partners in the London Tax team, Helen Buchanan, Paul Davison and May Smith, on the business tax measures they found the most noteworthy in the Spring Budget 2021, including:

• an increase in the UK’s headline corporation tax rate from 19% to 25% in April 2023;
• the new 130% “super-deduction” aimed at encouraging investment;
• a temporary extension to the carry back rules for trading losses;
• a consultation reviewing the UK’s R&D relief regimes;
• the repeal of the UK’s domestic provisions implementing the EU Interest and Royalties Directive;
• the introduction of reporting rules for digital platforms based on OECD recommendations; and
• reflections on what was missing.

Essential Antitrust #10: Competition law: a bridge or a barrier to sustainability?

2020 has demonstrated that governments and policymakers are seeking to implement ambitious sustainability goals.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear that corporate action and industry-wide collaboration will be indispensable to tackling environmental and other sustainability challenges on a global basis. In our tenth episode, Jenn Mellott speaks with Ninette Dodoo, Paul van den Berg and Maria Dreher about the role that competition law and policy can and should play in helping companies pursue sustainability initiatives.