The Freshfields Podcast

Taking an early-stage stake in a fast-growing tech company can be a route to big returns. But with so much risk involved, what do investors need to look out for? Nigel Gleeson, who advises financial investors and corporates on their tech investments across Asia, explains how to get the most out of founder-led businesses, protect voting rights through multiple fundraising rounds – and negotiate an exit once it’s time to step away. 

In this podcast, partners Caroline Stroud, Ben Morgan and Simon Priddis explore the Freshfields casebook to reveal the behavioural drivers behind some of the most significant corporate investigations - and explain how businesses can manages these risks.

In the first of a podcast mini-series on the potential consequences of a hard Brexit, competition law experts Martin McElwee, Thomas Wessely and Angeline Woods assess the impact on merger control, investigations and state aid.

When you discover a cyber attack your first call might not be to your legal counsel. But there’s plenty they can do to help. Our experts discuss the role a lawyer should play in cyber security – from regulatory notifications to freezing stolen funds.

In this inaugural episode, Global Investigations Partners Matthew Bruce, Geoff Nicholas and Adam Siegel discuss the factors behind some of the difficult early judgment calls that need to be made – including how much investigation to do upfront, whether to engage with the authorities and how to deal with the potential for individual liability.

Partners Mark Austin and Lars Meyer assess the market for European tech IPOs, discuss how to prepare for a successful flotation – and reveal some of the unexpected surprises companies often face when they go public.

How should US technology companies approach EU regulators?

Partners Natasha Good, Eric Mahr, Thomas Janssens and James Aitken, and Senior Associate Jennifer Mellott, discuss messages delivered by Nick Banasevic, European Commission, during the FT – Freshfields briefing that took place in Silicon Valley on the approach US tech companies should have towards EU regulators.

Resilience has come to be expected of companies, especially in the wake of a cyber-attack – being prepared has never been so important.   

Litigation and Investigations partner Rhodri Thomas reflects on our participation at the Cyber Security Summit and Expo and a speech made there by the FCA on operational resilience and cyber security.  

The most sophisticated firewall in the world is no defence against the threat from within. Our specialists discuss how to counter the human factor in data breaches, explore examples of the behaviours that hackers exploit - and give practical tips on how to ensure those phishing attacks don’t get a bite.

For companies losing market share but lacking the insight to work out why, rethinking their use of technology and data analytics might help to uncover where things are going wrong. But before jumping into a big transformation project, organisations should start by looking outside for inspiration.

Drawing on her experience as digital leader at IBM, author and inventor Lindsay Herbert reveals her thoughts on best practice when it comes to digital transformation, including her five-stage plan for success.