The Freshfields Podcast

In this podcast series, the Freshfields People & Reward team discusses key topics in the executive reward space for publicly listed and private companies in 2024, including considerations for remuneration committees, transatlantic regulatory concerns, and the structure of specific incentive arrangements. In the first episode of this series, Being prepared for the (not so) unexpected: planning...

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has delivered the Spring Budget 2024. In a rowdy House of Commons, the Chancellor delivered what will be his last Spring Budget before a UK general election widely expected to take place in autumn this year.  Further details on some of these measures are expected to follow on Tax Administration and Maintenance Day 2024 – confirmed as taking place on...

The first episode of our new restructuring podcast series, No Worse Off, which provides legal and commercial insights, and practical tips, on the world of restructuring. Podcast hosts  Lindsay Hingston , and Emma Gateaud , in our London office, cover recent trends including the looming wall of debt maturities, liability management, contested restructuring plans and the increasing use of parallel/i...

In January 2024, China implemented significant changes to its merger control thresholds – marking the first revisions in 16 years.  Coupled with last year's amendments to the Anti-Monopoly Law, they represent a comprehensive revamp of China’s merger control regime.  In this episode of our Essential Antitrust podcast, host  Jenn Mellott  is joined by Freshfields’  Ninette Dodoo  and  Laurent Bougar...

Listen to the latest episode of the Freshfields MedTech podcast as partner Vinita Kailasanath and Managing Director of Ivy Tree Advisors , Jonathan Olsen, discuss key MedTech hot topics coming out of this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.

In our first Essential Antitrust podcast of 2024, host Jenn Mellott is joined by Alastair Chapman , Ninette Dodoo and Mark Sansom to explore some of the themes highlighted in “ Global antitrust in 2024: 10 key themes ”, our recent report on the biggest trends in antitrust for the year ahead. With insights from the US, UK, EU and Asia, we predict how antitrust will continue to be used as a wide-ran...

Boris Feldman , Freshfields Partner, interviews two of the most prominent pioneers of technology - Vinton G. Cerf, one of the ‘fathers of the internet’ and Whitfield Diffie, a leading inventor of public-key cryptography. Listen in for a fascinating discussion on the origin of technologies that have changed the course of history, and predictions for how technology will continue to change our future...

In this episode in our Essential Antitrust Asia, Laurent Bougard speaks to Bilal Anwari and Gustaaf Reerink from ABNR Law in Indonesia, which is part of Freshfields’ StrongerTogether network. Together, they explore the evolving landscape of Indonesia's updated merger control regime, highlighting opportunities and potential pitfalls for foreign investors. This discussion will shed light on enforcem...

President Biden’s Executive Order 14105 on outbound investment restrictions is expected to take effect in 2024. While this policy may not be the sweeping “reverse CFIUS” regime that many in industry anticipated and feared, it nonetheless represents a disruptive shift in investment dynamics for Asian and US investors. In this podcast, Ninette Dodoo is joined by Arun Balasubramanian, Aimen Mir, Alan...

Back in October, the global Freshfields Tax team published the Tax investigations and disputes across borders guide which, among other things, provided an overview of current trends in corporate tax disputes and gave some predictions for the future. In our latest podcast, London Tax partner Sarah Bond , Düsseldorf Tax partner Philipp Redeker and London Tax knowledge lawyer Laura Western explore th...

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will introduce the most significant reforms to UK competition and consumer laws since the CMA was established in 2014. The Bill is on track to take effect next year and is making its way through the UK Parliament.  But its passage has been far from smooth sailing and fundamental questions about the Bill remain. In this episode of our Essential An...

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. ...

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...

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 fou...

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.

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 antitr...

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...

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...

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.

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 hos...

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 s...

Regulators across the globe are keeping a close eye on the rising influence of generative AI. In a few short months, generative AI has proven to be a potent tool and global sensation. With perspectives from the United States, Europe and China, we dive into how regulators are responding to generative AI, focusing particularly on the MedTech space. In this MedTech-centered episode of the Essential A...

The Biden Administration antitrust agencies have viewed merger remedies in the US with strong skepticism. The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division’s attempt to block ASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ Hardware and Home Improvement division was a case in point, until the trial concluded due to a rare settlement in May 2023, opening the door for the transaction to proceed subject to...

Antitrust authorities are taking tougher and more interventionist approaches to merger reviews, deploying novel theories of harm and more forward-looking approaches to assessing nascent markets and technologies. These challenges are on full display in the Microsoft/Activision deal, which was recently blocked by the UK Competition and Markets Authority whilst receiving clearances from the European...

In this episode of our MedTech podcast series, Freshfields Partners Vinita Kailasanath and Timothy Howard and Principal Associate Philipp Roos discuss what is top of mind for clients in terms of health data considerations, including with respect to AI usage, in both the US and EU. Other topics include GDPR and EU digital strategy; HIPAA and the Dobbs decision as it relates to reproductive health d...