Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Podcasts

Jacqueline Wootton, Christine Wong and Christopher Hicks discuss the intersection between corporate criminal responsibility and ESG in a Third Wheel X Investigate 360 collaboration episode exploring governance, social licence to operate and the regulation of ESG issues under criminal standards. The serious risks associated with criminal matters are underlined, from corporate penalties and investig...

In our first Podcast on the work of the Treasury Taskforce, Stephanie Panayi and Andrew North delved into the merger reform proposals that were under consideration by the Treasury Taskforce preceding today’s Government announcement. Leveraging Andrew's extensive knowledge of the UK and EU merger regimes, we dissect several key aspects of the Treasury’s consultation including: 🔹 why the ACCC consi...

How can companies prepare for the assurance requirements when they’re still a moving target in and of themselves…? In this episode, we talk about the current proposal from the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) for phased assurance (with consultation open until 3 May 2024). We also talk through some practical steps that companies can be taking now to prepare for assurance of...

The process to test and verify the integrity of climate-related information will be critical in ensuring public disclosures match internal practices, and that claims can be substantiated if challenged. As well as being a baseline expectation of the board, a thorough verification process will be important to substantiate claims and underpin assurance. In this episode, we talk about verification app...

The new regime will require unprecedented levels of forward-looking information to be included in corporate reporting, as well as dependencies on estimation and third-party data with respect to Scope 3 emissions. Directors will also be asked to declare their reporting is compliant with the ASRS. The modified liability has been reshaped various times throughout Australia’s journey towards mandatory...

Climate-related metrics and targets are already a key area of focus for stakeholders, but under the new regime there will be more granularity than has been disclosed in the past. The ASRS metrics & targets pillar requires companies to take the leap towards granular quantitative disclosures (including in relation to Scope 3 emissions). In this episode, we talk about the need for a deep understandin...

Climate-related risk is probably one of the better understood concepts under ASRS, however, how will companies expand that framework to include disclosure of their management (i.e. identification, assessment, prioritisation and monitoring) of climate-related opportunities as well? The ASRS risk management pillar requires companies to deep dive into their risk management framework (processes, polic...

Disclosure under this pillar is not just headline statements and overarching direction. These mandatory climate-related disclosures will mean that a company’s “strategy” will need to include comprehensive disclosure of how climate considerations are integrated into decision-making. The ASRS strategy pillar requires companies to focus not just on its transition plan and overarching strategic pathwa...

Board and management oversight of climate issues is not a new concept, but deciphering and disclosing how this occurs in practice is often a challenge. The ASRS governance pillar requires quite granular disclosures of the board and management’s role in overseeing climate-related risks and opportunities. In this episode, we talk about how to articulate accountabilities and reporting ‘flows’ within...

The shift from voluntary (or no) climate-related reporting to full compliance with the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) will require differing degrees of uplift for each company, but it is difficult to know where to start. Conducting a gaps analysis can help to identify priority areas for uplift and areas where underlying processes and procedures need to be strengthened. In thi...

The new reporting regime will be a prompt for companies to critically assess whether existing governance arrangements are ‘fit for purpose’ (and disclosure) in respect of climate impacts, risks and opportunities. In this episode, we talk about how companies are stress-testing their governance arrangements, reconsidering the division of responsibility, board and management skill sets, and updating...

Many Australian companies with overseas parent companies, operations, assets or subsidiaries will likely be required to comply with, and report against, multiple reporting regimes. Translation of global standards into local law has meant that the different reporting regimes worldwide each come with their own nuances and thresholds for application. In this episode, we talk through some of the key r...

Given the scale of the exercise to report against the new climate reporting regime, what sort of foundational steps should companies be considering now? In this episode, we share our insights into common pain points and suggested focus areas to help identify aspects of reporting for front loading, ahead of the new regime commencing.

Now legislation for Australia’s new climate reporting regime has finally been introduced into Parliament, what impact will it have for corporates?... (and when?). The new climate reporting regime is likely to require a significant uplift in corporate reporting – and will require considerable resources and effort over the next 12-18 months. This episode talks about how the regime will phase in, and...

UK Employment Law changes in force from 6 April It is estimated that 55% of the UK workforce is planning on requesting flexible working hours once some significant changes to Employment Law, including to the flexible work request regime, come into effect from Saturday 6 April. https://hsfnotes.com/employment/2024/03/29/uk-april-2024-hr-checklist/ Employers need to be aware of these changes, which...

This is Episode 3 of Cross Examining Cyber, where we cross examine Bill Siegel, CEO & Co-Founder of Coveware. We could have talked to Bill for hours, so we have broken this podcast in two. Part 1 covers a range of issues including the establishment of Coveware, the value of good data, cyber extortion payment trends, cyber extortion “business models” and the challenging geopolitics we all face. Her...

The basics of redundancy processes in the UK have been unchanged for some time, so the forthcoming changes from 6 April could be a trap for the unwary, if usually confident managers are not careful. Speakers: Nick Wright, Partner, London and Anna Henderson, Professional Support Consultant, London

In this episode, join Partner Peter Jones, Regional Head of Emerging Technology (APAC) Susannah Wilkinson, Senior Associate Anjelica Balis and Solicitor Nayan Bhathela as they explore the impact of quantum computing on the financial services sector.

Isabella Kelly fires up the crystal ball and invites Tim Stutt and Mel Debenham to share their ESG predictions for 2024. Mel discusses the timing tightrope for decarbonisation projects, Commonwealth environmental legislative reform and a very different approach to regulation. Tim queries if there is an elastic start date for mandatory climate reporting, whilst the required corporate uplift crystal...

In this episode associate Mark Peters and partner Toby Eggleston discuss the potentially huge changes to the stamp duty regime in Victoria for commercial property. While it initially sounds straightforward, there are a number of nuances and potential issues for future transactions. More details can be found in our tax insights: https://hsfnotes.com/taxaustralia/2024/03/22/commercial-and-industrial...

Under the new offence of failure to prevent fraud, companies can incur liability as a result of acts by their "associated persons". In this episode Elizabeth Head, Rob Hunt and Shannan Casey-Black discuss the types of third parties that can be "associated persons" for this purpose, consider how this compares with similar concepts under the Bribery Act 2010 and the Criminal Finances Act 2017, and p...

In this 23rd episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts, we look at the government's plans for the litigation funding industry, and a consultation on proposals regarding public access to court documents. We also consider two recent cases on costs – more specifically costs against non-parties and security for costs – and a recent privilege decision from the Court of Appeal. This...

Hot-on-the-heels of our inaugural podcast, we now bring you Cross Examining Cyber, Episode 2, the cross examination of Hamish Hansford (Part 2). We take the time to speak to Hamish about the SOCI Act, whether we are winning the war on cyber and the role of lawyers in the crisis room. +++ Cyber Risk Survey 2024 now live! Following the success of our inaugural Cyber Risk Survey in 2023, we are once...

In this episode of our shareholder activism podcast series, we look at activism in the context of M&A. We discuss how shareholders can: • encourage M&A, by pushing companies to pursue a transaction; • influence M&A, for example by agitating for a higher price from the bidder on a takeover offer; or • threaten M&A, by seeking to block a transaction. We also discuss what parties can do to prepare fo...

In this series, we will explore all things cyber, including the legal, regulatory and policy developments that impact corporate Australia. We will do this by speaking to those people who are shaping the Australian legal and regulatory environment. Those who are on the front line of protecting Australian companies from cyber incidents. In our inaugural podcast, we are joined by Hamish Hansford, Dep...