The Freshfields Podcast

Essential Antitrust #35: Gender Inclusive Antitrust Toolkit: a new lens for policy and enforcement

In September 2023, the OECD and Canadian Competition Bureau published the Gender Inclusive Antitrust Toolkit. Designed to help competition authorities apply a gender lens to enforcement, the toolkit features key conclusions on how gender can be factored into merger review, evaluation of competitive effects in conduct investigations, detection of cartels and broader public interest considerations. 

Our host Jenn Mellott unpacks these important and timely findings in this episode of Essential Antitrust, joined by Nicholas French, partner in London, Vanessa van Weelden, principal associate in Brussels and Morag Elwis, associate in Silicon Valley. Together, they offer insights on how the toolkit may impact competition authorities and private companies.

Tax Matters: Autumn Statement 2023 – tax cuts in the NIC of time?

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has delivered the Autumn Statement 2023.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) reports that the UK economy has proved to be more resilient to the shocks of the pandemic and energy crisis than anticipated, but with growth forecasts for the next two years reduced and the UK inflation rate expected to be more persistently high, the Chancellor had only modest fiscal firepower at his disposal.  That headroom was used to send a political message about the Conservative Party’s priorities, with tax cuts for both businesses and workers announced.

In our latest podcast, London Tax partners Peter Clements and May Smith and London Tax senior associates Josh Critchlow and Chris Gotch discuss some of the business tax measures they found the most noteworthy in the Autumn Statement 2023, including:

• Making full expensing capital allowance rules permanent, giving companies a 100% first-year allowance for capital expenditure on main rate assets;
• Further changes to the research and development (R&D) tax relief regime, including merging the existing R&D expenditure credit and SME R&D tax relief schemes, and expanding the scope of the previously-announced additional relief for loss-making R&D-intensive SMEs;
• Various steps aimed at supporting the energy transition and encouraging oil and gas investment, including introducing an exemption from the Electricity Generator Levy for new projects or extensions, confirmation the Energy Profits Levy will end in 2028 (or earlier if energy prices fall below levels set by the Energy Security Investment Mechanism), and bringing forward new measures to incentivise carbon capture, utilisation and storage;
• Reductions to various classes of NICs, benefitting both employed and self-employed workers;
• Announcements relating to the UK’s implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax reforms, including that the Under-Taxed Profits Rule (UTPR) will apply from January 2025 and the Offshore Receipts in respect of Intangible Property (ORIP) rules will be abolished from that date; and
• On stamp duty/SDRT, the expansion of the growth market exemption, and an update on the government’s proposal to legislate to ensure the higher rate charge on the issue and certain transfers of UK shares and securities into clearance services or depositary receipt systems is not reintroduced from January 2024.

How secondaries have become primary to GPs and LPs

With Tim Clark, Global Head of Private Funds and Secondaries at Freshfields, and Pablo Caló, Managing Partner of Fairview Capital.

Join industry leaders Tim Clark and Pablo Caló as they discuss the evolution of the secondary market and share insights from their experiences.

In this episode, Tim and Pablo delve into Pablo’s career arc, detailing how he ventured into secondary transactions and founded Fairview Capital. They explore the transformations in the secondary market over their careers and highlight the essential elements of successful GP-led transactions.

Discover the nuances of managing potential friction with LPs and LPACs, especially regarding conflicts and expenses in GP-led deals. Tim and Pablo provide valuable advice on minimising investor franchise risk and optimising deal approval.

The conversation also explores the rise of single asset continuation vehicles, addressing the shift from traditional exit tools and the significance of secondary buyers contributing dry powder for future growth.

Tim and Pablo navigate the complexities of the secondary marketplace, discussing the impact of artificial intelligence, drivers behind LP-led sale transactions, and the emerging trends in regions like Asia Pacific and Latin America.

From chaos to control: making the case for legal project managers

Olivia Wyld and Johanna Nerona speak at Legal Geek, a legal tech conference, about how we use legal project management and empathetic leadership to support the management of matters and to go from chaos to control.

Essential Antitrust #34: Olivier Guersent on competition enforcement: current trends

Nearly four years into his mandate as Director-General for Competition, Olivier Guersent joins us to reflect on this and on his 30-year career at the European Commission. 

Olivier speaks with our podcast hosts Jenn Mellott and Laurent Garzaniti to debate the most significant enforcement milestones and challenges faced by DG Competition in recent years. These range from the state of EU antitrust policy and the growing divergence in global antitrust enforcement to the implementation of the EU’s new Digital Markets Act and Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

In this latest episode of our Essential Antitrust podcast, Olivier Guersent shares his observations on these challenges and aspirations for antitrust enforcement in the future.

Essential Antitrust #33: Antitrust insights in Asia: navigating complex regulations and investment challenges

Over the past few years, competition law regimes in Asia have been undergoing dynamic changes and there has been a noticeable uptick in enforcement since the end of the pandemic. In our latest episode of our Essential Antitrust podcast, we provide a bird’s eye view of the intricate world of antitrust and foreign investments screening in this rapidly evolving region.

Join our host Jenn Mellott, as she engages in a thought-provoking discussion with a panel including Kaori Yamada, head of our Asia antitrust practice in Tokyo, Ninette Dodoo, partner in Beijing, Laurent Bougard, counsel in Hong Kong, and Hazel Yin, partner from RuiMin Law Firm in Beijing. Together, they provide unique insights into the complexities and challenges facing business in the region. From the fast-paced changes in competition law enforcement, to the impact of geopolitical tensions on merger control and foreign investment, this episode covers it all. Tune in to stay ahead in the dynamic world of antitrust and foreign investment in Asia.

MedTech Across Borders – Recent Developments in Japan and the US

Join partners Takeshi Nakao (Tokyo) and Vinita Kailasanath (Silicon Valley) for the latest episode of the Freshfields MedTech podcast. With a focus on Japan and the US, they discuss trends and innovations in MedTech, and potential risk and regulation that companies with MedTech products and services face.

Introduction (English translation): Hello everyone. My name is Takeshi, Managing Partner of Freshfields Tokyo Office. In today's podcast, we will discuss MedTech. MedTech is the word combining “medical” and “technology”, referring to using  IOT and other technologies in healthcare. I will ask the speaker about this area, starting with the definition, which I am sure many of you have heard recently. Technology developments have led to many innovations in the field of healthcare, making it one of the growth areas and an area of high interest. Today I would like to bring you together with an expert in this field from the United States, Vinita Kailasanath. Vinita is the head of Freshfields' MedTech practice and has extensive experience in the field, particularly where both life sciences and technology are concerned. She has been involved in transactions that are strategically very important to our clients in the MedTech and digital health sectors. She provides advice in licensing transactions, research and development, and those kinds of areas. In fact, before becoming a lawyer, Vinita was doing research in the field of neuroendocrinology at the graduate level, which is a word I looked up in the dictionary. She also has experience providing marketing and sales support to pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Outro (English translation): This time, we started with a high-level conversation with the theme of MedTech, explaining recent trends in regulations. Vinita is an expert in the field of MedTech, and we would like to send you another podcast when we hear about new developments as new trends emerge, etc.. Thank you for listening.

MedTech x Creating System Change – Reducing clinician burnout, effectively using AI and more

In this episode of our MedTech podcast series, Freshfields partner Vinita Kailasanath and Subha Airan-Javia, MD, Founder and CEO of CareAlign, discuss Subha’s career path, how she’s addressing clinician burnout and where AI fits into the landscape.

Essential Antitrust #32: New US HSR Rules and Merger Guidelines: key takeaways

The US FTC and DOJ recently released long-awaited updates to the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Form and Merger Guidelines for assessment of mergers.

The proposals entail much higher costs to notify transactions to the agencies, and we explore the substantive implications, including for industries such as tech, life sciences, and private equity.

In this episode of the Essential Antitrust podcast, our host Jenn Mellott is joined by Washington-based colleagues Bruce McCulloch and Laura Onken.

For more information, turn to our A Fresh Take blog posts on the HSR changes and the draft Merger Guidelines.

Managing risk in Asia #7: Managing licensing and collaboration risks in the life sciences arena in Asia

With the continued growth of the life sciences sector in Asia, companies are increasingly entering into licensing and collaboration arrangements to drive innovation and manage risk.

Understanding the risks involved in licensing and collaboration agreements is crucial for companies looking to tap into the thriving Asian market and establish successful partnerships. In this episode of our two-part series focusing on life sciences, podcast host Ninette Dodoo is joined by Kristen Riemenschneider, Mary Lehner, Richard Bird, and Xin Liu to discuss the complex regulatory landscape associated with licensing and collaboration arrangements. This includes anti-bribery, sanctions and export control risks, unique IP ownership challenges, data sharing issues and antitrust considerations concerns, which can make or break these deals.