In the first episode of the podcast, hosted by Steve Bell and Nerida Jessup, we focus on a contemporary issue for Australian workplaces - psychosocial health and safety. Traditionally centred on physical risks, there has been a significant shift over the past five years towards managing non-physical risks such as bullying and sexual harassment. Thi…

In this episode of the Talking Shop podcast, we delve into the role of Intellectual Property (IP) as a tool for sustainability. We explore how technology and IP can be leveraged to reduce waste while simultaneously increasing value for a brand, and the balance between innovation, sustainability, and IP protection.…

Artificial intelligence is upon us, but are schemes ready? Like it or not, members are already turning to AI to guide their pension decisions. In the first of two episodes, we focus on the opportunities and challenges for trustees. Thomas Joy, from comms consultants Quietroom, joins to discuss with pensions partner Michael Aherne. Subscribe to the …

Our M&A and Trade experts from the UK (Alex Kay), Europe (Morris Schonberg), Asia (Nanda Lau) and Australia (Andrew Rich) discuss the current economic and geopolitical headwinds impacting M&A activity in the consumer sector, reflect on the biggest transactions from the past year and make predictions for deal activity in the next 12 months.…

In our first episode of The Third Wheel for 2025, Tim Stutt, Anna Coroneo and Suzannah Hewson explore the key themes and latest trends in climate and sustainability reporting both globally and in Australia. They offer practical advice for companies preparing for new regulatory requirements and conducting climate reporting readiness initiatives, inc…

As part of Government's relentless drive to grow the economy, regulators have been challenged on how they can support the growth agenda. In Episode 5 of the FSR Brief, Jon Ford and Michael Tan are joined by Jenny Stainsby and Tim Parkes to discuss how this is playing out in Financial Services, and how regulators are responding. At the same time as …

In this Easter edition of the public law podcast, Jasveer Randhawa is joined by HSF partners Nusrat Zar and James Wood. Together, they discuss the application and availability of public law in a contractual context. They then delve into the cases of Sarcp and Clifford to consider the duty to consult and the Gunning principles. To conclude, they exp…

Reforms to the ‘tipping off’ offence under section 123 of the Australian Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) came into force from the 31st of March. The revised offence differs significantly from the former regime and will have significant implications for the day-to-day practices of many Australian businesses. In t…

In this episode, we cross examine Mark Rigotti, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), technically the largest director institute in the world with 53,000 members. Mark has had a remarkable career, including as Global CEO at Herbert Smith Freehills for two terms over 2014-2020 (based i…

In this episode we discuss "bear hugs", that is where a potential bidder for a target goes public about its possible offer without the target board's consent and appeals directly to the target's shareholders.We talk about: why a bear hug might be used by a bidder; where we have seen them used in recent months; and why we are seeing more of them.…

Join our experts as they discuss how to approach legal professional privilege in the context of collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and WhatsApp, particularly in light of possible requirements to produce documents to regulators, discovery obligations and other litigation processes.…

Recorded 31 March 2025 This election special of Inside IR looks at the upcoming 2025 Australian Federal Election through an industrial relations and employment lens. Given the vast amount of reform over the last 3 years, what does the next term of federal politics look like? Our team explores how the major parties are approaching their election cam…

In this edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills Public Law Podcast, Andrew Lidbetter and Hannah Lau explore the issue of transparency in driven decision-making which involves AI public bodies and regulators. With AI being used increasingly to inform regulatory and public body decisions, we discuss the challenge that a potential lack of transparency …

In this latest episode of Insurance Bites, partners Greig Anderson and Antonia Pegden and associate Meena Mariadassou explore the insurance implications of the motor finance broker commission cases (Johnson v FirstRand Bank; Wrench v FirstRand Bank; Hopcraft v Close Brothers).The Supreme Court hearing of this case begins this morning, and could hav…

Given the recent commencement of criminal wage thefts laws, increase in the maximum civil penalties that can be awarded for wage non-compliance, and focus of the Fair Work Ombudsman on prosecuting wage non-compliance, it is more important than ever to get wage compliance right. But there is a feature of our industrial relations system that can some…

In our second episode on DC consolidation, we look overseas. The Government has held up Australia as a role model. We discuss the rise of the Australian "supers", and the way in which they invest. What are the lessons for the UK consolidation journey? From our Sydney office, leading financial services lawyer Maged Girgis shares his thoughts. Subscr…

This episode brings together our CC&I and ESG teams to consider supply chain risks, both in the context of failure to prevent fraud and of broader sustainability issues. Elizabeth Head, Kate Meakin and Rebecca Chin discuss whether suppliers are associated persons for the purposes of failure to prevent fraud, increased international expectations and…

In this 30th episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts, we will discuss some recent decisions on privilege, a couple of high-profile cases on aspects of insolvency litigation, and some interesting cases on assignment and remedies. This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team, w…

The Adverb that Changed Everything: Arbitration, State Immunity and the case of General Dynamics v Libya Join Liz Kantor, Vanessa Naish, and guest, Andrew Cannon, as they explore the fascinating intersection of arbitration and state immunity in the Court of Appeal's decision in General Dynamics v Libya. They unravel how the addition of a single adv…

In this episode we talk about the Primary Market Bulletin 54 published by the FCA on the leaking of inside information on M&A transactions.We discuss:•the issues that the FCA identifies;•how the leaking of information may be unlawful disclosure under the UK Market Abuse Regulation; and•the warnings the FCA is giving to individuals, issuers and advi…

The Regulator has wide-ranging powers of investigation. Among other things, it can issue a "section 72 notice" – a demand for documents and information. In this episode, we discuss when the Regulator can come knocking, and how trustees or employers should respond. As a firm, we have supported various clients faced with Regulator demands. Associate …

On the inaugural episode of the Inside Employment podcast series, hosts Anthony Wood, Partner, and Lucy Boyd, Executive Counsel, welcomed Katie Bull, Senior Associate, for a discussion on their top 5 predictions for major issues and developments which are likely to affect Australian employers in 2025, including: 1.The continued prominence of underp…

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced its decision to drop its controversial proposals published last year to name firms it is investigating at an early stage and before any findings of misconduct have been made (sometimes referred to as 'name and shame'). In this episode of the FSR Brief, Jon Ford and Michael Tan discuss the annou…

In this SPECIAL EDITION of our banking litigation podcast, we consider a key risk area for financial institutions handling client payments – the so-called Quincecare duty of care. This episode is hosted by John Corrie, who is joined by Ceri Morgan and special guests Jenny Stainsby and Scott Warin.The English courts continue to grapple with payment …

The Government's megafund proposals have sparked plenty of debate. This episode focuses on the investment piece. Are schemes under-invested in the UK? If so, what are the relevant obstacles and opportunities? And will consolidation really move the dial, as the Government contends? Funds specialist Krishna Shorewala joins to discuss.Subscribe to the…

In this episode of our public M&A podcast series, we talk about the themes and trends we saw in public M&A activity in 2024. In the episode, we discuss: activity levels generally; trends we saw in public M&A; and the outlook for 2025.โดย Herbert Smith Freehills Podcasts

Veronica Roberts (UK Head of Competition, Regulation and Trade), Peter Rowland (Of Counsel) and Ruth Allen (Knowledge Lawyer) share their insights into navigating competition law and FDI regulation in the pharmaceutical sector. Looking ahead to 2025, they highlight some key risks to be aware of and offer practical tips on pro-active steps that comp…

In the second episode of our Toolbox Podcast series, C&I Disputes Partner Dan Dragovic, and Senior Associate Stewart McWilliam, discuss current contracting trends in the construction and infrastructure market, and what those trends will mean for 2025 and beyond. With private equity and public spending increasingly driving the energy transition, and…

In this third episode of the HSF FSR Brief, Jon Ford, Hywel Jenkins, Michael Tan and Elizabeth Stephens explore the FCA and FOS' recent Call for Input (CFI) on 'Modernising the Redress System'. They discuss the key aims of the CFI, current issues seen within the redress framework and suggest potential areas of reform to ensure the redress system wo…

Following the Federal Court’s significant judgment in ASIC v Noumi Ltd in 2024, the Full Court has now made orders allowing the appeals and finding that Noumi did not waive privilege in the PwC report by disclosing it to ASIC under a voluntary disclosure agreement. While the Full Court’s decision confirms that VDA arrangements can be an effective w…

Scheme mergers are common enough – but not like this one. The Arcadia case involved a merger of schemes in winding-up, with an overfunded scheme effectively bailing out a scheme in deficit. Why did the Court give its blessing? And what does this tell us about trustee powers and duties? Pensions Counsel Rob Klepka joins to discuss. Subscribe to the …

Following the publication of the long-awaited Government Guidance on reasonable fraud prevention procedures, this episode seeks to help organisations prepare for failure to prevent fraud, the new offence which will come into effect on 1 September 2025. As part of this episode, Kate Meakin, Elizabeth Head and Alexandra Fitzgerald discuss the Guidanc…

There is a lot of talk at the moment about AI Literacy, with requirements under the EU AI Act having come into force from 2 February 2025. During this espresso pod, Christine Young and Sian McKinley in the Employment team are joined by Morris Schonberg, a partner in the HSF Competition, Regulatory and Trade team in Brussels who is actively involved…

In this 29th episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts, we focus on developments relating to class actions, where there has been a huge amount of activity over the past couple of months. We will discuss cases brought under the CPR 19.8 representative action proceedings, group litigation orders, and the competition collective pr…

Changes to the Code rules on the companies to which the Takeover Code applies now in forceIn this episode of our public M&A podcast series, we talk about the changes to the Takeover Code that came into force on Monday 3 February 2025 and narrow the categories of company to which the Code applies. In the episode, we discuss: the companies to which t…

In this episode, Partner Christine Wong, Senior Associate David Kim and Solicitor Raymond Sun discuss cybersecurity and the impact of AI in financial services.โดย Herbert Smith Freehills Podcasts

It’s the second episode of the HSF FSR Brief and this time the subject is the ongoing motor finance commissions saga. Jon Ford, Michael Tan, and Jack Moore discuss what the FCA has been up to, what is going on with its review into the industry, the links to claims due to be heard in the Supreme Court, and what might happen next. For background on m…

As ESG remains top of the agenda for many regulators in the UK and across Europe, we wanted our first episode in 2025 to bring you up to speed on some of the main ESG developments in the UK in 2024 from a regulatory perspective, and what we expect to see at the intersection between ESG and competition / consumer regulation in the UK this year. Spea…

In this episode we cross examine Alastair MacGibbon, Chief Strategy Officer at CyberCX and one of Australia’s leading cyber security commentators. Alastair works with corporate Australia to advise on cyber risk, respond to incidents and build cyber resilience. Alastair has had a remarkable career, with 15 years in the Australian Federal Police, whe…

We discuss recent Ombudsman rulings on scams and liberation. The rulings send a clear message to scammers. But they're of wider significance: they explain the Ombudsman's thinking as regards trustee protections and personal liability. Senior associate Henry Saunders shares his thoughts.โดย Herbert Smith Freehills Podcasts

Join Vanessa Naish, Liz Kantor and new guest Martin Wallace as they delve into the most significant development of 2024: the rise of anti-suit injunctions. In this episode, they explore the legal arsenal available to practitioners in seeking the support of state courts for arbitration agreements, focusing on high-profile cases from the English and …

In this episode of our public M&A podcast series, we talk about the latest development in the MWB ruling. As we discussed in Episode 26 of our podcast series, the Takeover Panel last year issued an order to members of management in MWB Group to pay compensation to MWB shareholders of up to £33 million (as well as issuing 10 cold-shoulder rulings). …

A summary of the most material developments expected in the next 6-12 months which will be of relevance to UK listed companies.โดย Herbert Smith Freehills Podcasts

The Pensions Ombudsman is overloaded. The determination process can take as long as three years. Now changes are proposed, to cut the backlog and reduce waiting times. Dan Saunders joins us to discuss the changes, and the implications for scheme members and trustees.Subscribe to the HSF Pensions Notes Blog here.…

in the last episode for 2024, Tony Damian and Andrew Rich cover off some of the highlights of their 2025 M&A predictions! Read our predictions here: https://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com/insights/2024-12/top-10-australian-manda-predictions-for-2025โดย Herbert Smith Freehills Podcasts

In this not-to-be-missed final episode of InsideIR for 2024, your favourite IR team has done all the hard work for you, and pulled together a succinct summary of: the top 5 issues that shaped industrial relations in 2024, and our predictions on the top 5 IR issues that you will need to get ahead of for 2025. In this bumper end-of-year edition, Roha…

In the final episode of The Third Wheel for 2024, Tim Stutt and Mel Debenham reflect on the year’s ESG developments and look ahead to 2025. They discuss the recent governmental response to the statutory review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth); the winding path of nature positive reforms in Australia; preparations ahead of the first year of repo…

In this first episode of the FSR Brief, Jon Ford and Michael Tan discuss the latest developments with the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) consultation on transparency in investigations (CP24/2 Part 2). They discuss whether the changes to the FCA's "Public Interest Framework" go far enough to address the significant concerns raised in relation t…

In our latest episode, Camille Puech-Baron is joined by Angeline Woods, Senior Director for Global Antitrust, Artificial Intelligence and EU affairs at Uber, where she talks openly about the fast-paced environment of a tech company and the need to be dynamic and adaptable. Angeline also shares her views on leveraging the challenges and setbacks you…