The Freshfields Podcast

Globalisation of antitrust mass claims

Julie Elmer, Natalia Gomez, Roman Mallmann and Mark Sansom focus on the mechanisms for controlling mass claims including class certification from our recent webinar on “Globalisation of antitrust mass claims”, which is part of our global webinar series on class and mass claims challenges.

FS market conduct #3: a look at market manipulation enforcement in the US, Hong Kong and Germany

In this podcast in our series on market conduct topics intended for a financial services audience, Tim Mak in Hong Kong, Kim Zelnick in New York and Daniel Travers in Dusseldorf discuss recent developments in market manipulation enforcement, common themes and differences between jurisdictions and the regulatory approach to market abuse more generally. 

WorkLife 2.0 – employee activism and the new world of labour relations

Employee activism has been making headlines since 2018, when the employees of a large tech company in the US staged a walkout from their employer in a protest at claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and racism. What has now become a trend in tech is impacting other industries and changing the classic labour relations landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped it, although it has slightly changed its focus. In this session, Boris Dzida, David Mendel, Olivia Radin, Sarah Solum and Caroline Stroud discuss the reputational and financial risks for businesses, and explore how employers might best manage employee activism.

 

Essential Antitrust #7: new EU framework on screening of foreign direct investments fully applicable

The EU framework for the screening of FDI is now fully applicable. Jenn Mellott discusses the political background and practical implications of the new framework with Frank Röhling and Amaryllis Müller.

When structuring transactions and planning deal timetables, deal makers must now consider the impact of increased levels of cooperation between EU member states and the European Commission on investments in certain critical sectors.

Mass claims - the European perspective: recent developments and future implications for businesses

Nathalie Colin, Dimitri Lecat, Sabine Prossinger, Patrick Schroeder and Jeroen van Hezewijk summarise our recent webinar on mass claims in Europe, which is part of our global webinar series on class and mass claims challenges, and answer questions we didn't have time to cover during the event.

What every startup should know about corporate governance

Done well it’s the key to a successful IPO, but done poorly it can lead to a founder losing control of their business or being unable to attract new investors. Corporate governance is one of the most important considerations for a fast-growing startup, but often isn’t addressed until it’s too late. Kate Cooper in London is joined by fellow partners Sarah Solum and Pamela Marcogliese in Silicon Valley, who explain what founders the world over can learn from the West Coast experience.

View from the Valley #3: the human capital edition

In the latest update from Menlo Park, our Silicon Valley founding partners Boris Feldman, Pamela Marcogliese, Maj Vaseghi and Doru Gavril are joined by Alice Greenwell in London to talk people issues. They look at California’s new board diversity legislation and ask whether more states might follow suit, take a deeper dive into the merits of recent diversity-related litigation – and ponder whether the trend towards home working could drive down pay.

The IP mistakes founders make

Can you trademark software? Will a patent in one jurisdiction protect your idea elsewhere? And what rights can you assert over data? Nothing’s more important than safeguarding what’s valuable in an innovative company, yet it’s surprising how many mis-steps founders make. Here, Partner Richard Bird, principal associate Theresa Ehlen and special counsel Peter Jaffe discuss the most common errors.

Fintech in focus: digital identity

There’s never been a better time to shape the debate on digital identity. As the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation for all, digital identity is high on the agenda at a government level, an international level and regulator level. Done properly, digital identity systems could unlock the potential for greater financial inclusion, enable frictionless payments and mitigate the disruptive effects of COVID-19.

In this podcast, part of our 'Fintech in focus' series, Matt O’Callaghan (Head of financial services Asia and co-head of Asia fintech), Cyrus Pocha (Co-head of global fintech) and Theresa Ehlen (Principal Associate specialising in the TMT sector) look at what digital identity could mean for businesses and consumers that are crossing borders, discuss the danger of bias, highlight the importance of data privacy and protection, and consider what firms can do now to make sure new AML systems and regulations strike the right balance.

Emerging risks and strategic considerations for financial services firms

In this podcast Georgia Dawson, Meredith Kotler, Tom Clark and Elisabeth Weber comment on a few trends in US securities class actions of importance to financial institutions around the world, discuss the impact of regulator-led redress and ADR on mass claims (using the UK as an example), and set out some considerations when using technology to help manage mass claims. These points were covered in our recent webinar on emerging risks and strategic considerations for financial services firms, which is part of our global webinar series on class and mass claims challenges.