The Freshfields Podcast

In this podcast, Simon Duncombe, Doru Gavril, Linda Martin and Anne-Laure Vincent discuss and compare mass claims risks between US and European mechanisms from our recent webinar on ‘Mass claims across the pond - comparing and contrasting risks’, which is part of our global webinar series on class and mass claims challenges.

The next in our series of Essential Antitrust Asia podcasts with our StrongerTogether partner firms in the region, focusses on South Korea. This episode features Freshfields partner Alastair Mordaunt and attorneys from South Korean law firm Kim & Chang, Youngjin Jung, Co-Chair of Kim & Chang's antitrust and competition law practice and Jung Won Hyun who specialises in antitrust investigations and merger notifications to both foreign and domestic firms in Korea.

In this session, our experts cover:

[01:16] – An overview of the merger control regime in South Korea

[09:35] – Enforcement stance and trends of the Korean Fair-Trade Commission (KFTC)

[18:56] – Practical tips for clients on navigating Korea’s merger control regime

[24:00] – Concluding remarks

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.

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. 

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.