The Linklaters Podcast

How does the UK’s new foreign investment regime impact financial investors? // Funds and Financial Sponsors

Episode 2: Antitrust and Funds

The second episode in our funds and financial sponsors antitrust and foreign investment podcast focuses on the UK’s proposed new foreign investment regime, with a deep dive into how the National Security & Investment Bill will apply to acquisitions and investments by financial investors.

In this episode, Anna Mitchell, Verity Egerton-Doyle and Jennifer Willis from the AFIG team discuss with Clare Baker from our Investment Funds group the key points investors and funds need to know about the UK's new and extremely wide-ranging foreign investment regime under the National Security & Investment Bill and how investment activity might be caught by the proposed rules. Given the radical change to scrutinising investments in the UK brought about by the Bill and serious penalties for non-compliance with the mandatory regime, make sure you tune in to this episode to get up to speed on what you need to know about the NSI regime when investing in the UK.

Financial sponsors and the expanded scope of parental liability // Funds and Financial Sponsors

Episode 1: Antitrust and Funds

The first podcast in our series focuses on the expanded concept of parental liability for antitrust breaches established in a recent European Court of Justice judgment and the implications this has for financial investors, even those who generally invest via indirect minority stakes.

In this episode, AFIG Partners Jonas Koponen, Annamaria Mangiaracina, Anna Mitchell and Associate Jennifer Willis discuss why this case raised interesting questions about parental liability. They examine the factors that lead the Court to find the financial investor liable for its portfolio company’s infringement, the risk of having personal links between the financial investor and its board nominees and the increased importance of taking a more hands-on approach to antitrust compliance of portfolio companies. 

Recent global developments and trends in anti-money laundering // Business Crime & Investigations

Episode 4: Global Business Crime Outlook

Ben Packer, Kerstin Wilhelm, Doug Davison and Andrew Chung discuss the trends in global anti-money laundering enforcement, while also looking at money -laundering techniques and, in particular, legislative developments in the US, UK, Germany and across Asia.

Sanctions: examining the laws in Asia, UK, US and EU // Business Crime & Investigations

Episode 3: Global Business Crime Outlook

In our third podcast Andrew Chung, Michael Lamson, Eric Liu, Kerstin Wilhelm and Satindar Dogra explore the various sanctions developments around the globe, including US sanctions and the latest trends from the Biden administration, the PRC blocking regulation and sanctions in China. We also cover the EU Blocking Regulation and recent EU sanctions developments with a discussion of the post-Brexit UK sanctions regime and evolution of OFSI.

Key Business Crime developments in Asia, Germany, the UK, the US and France // Business Crime & Investigations

Episode 2: Global Business Crime Outlook

In this second episode of the Global Business Crime Outlook podcast series, Alison Saunders, Andrew Chung, Kerstin Wilhelm, Elly Proudlock, Sean Solomon and Eléonore Hannezo will each discuss key developments and trends taking place this year in their jurisdictions covering the UK, Asia and Europe.

Prosecution under the Money Laundering Regulations: what does it mean in practice? // Business Crime & Investigations

Episode 1: Global Business Crime Outlook

In this first episode of our Global Business Crime podcast series, Ben Packer, Elly Proudlock and Clare McMullen look at how breaching the Money Laundering Regulations can lead to criminal charges, what this means in practice and how criminal prosecution differs from regulatory enforcement.

Transparency and reporting in project financings // ESG

Episode 3: ESG Soundbite Series

In our next podcast focusing on ESG in a project financing context, Rachel Barrett and Iyesogie Igiehon discuss:

• why transparency matters when it comes to environmental and social issues;
• what is usually disclosed and when; 
• ongoing project reporting; and
• the shift towards greater public disclosure.

Digging deeper into E&S due diligence // ESG

Episode 2: ESG Soundbite Series 

In our next podcast focusing on ESG in a project financing context, Iyesogie Igiehon and Aileen Buchanan discuss:

• the role of E&S due diligence in project financings;
• E&S standards requirements;
• the role of E&S consultants; and
• areas/issues that require extra focus such as biodiversity, GHG emissions and indigenous peoples.

Managing E&S risks in project financings // ESG

Episode 1: ESG Soundbite Series

The next focus of our ESG Soundbite Series will be on the importance of ESG in a project financing context.
In this first session Aileen Buchanan, Rachel Barrett and Iyesogie Igiehon talk about E&S risk management in complex project financings.  

They share some quick insights on:

• how soft law standards have driven change in the market;
• the increase in NGO and public scrutiny; and
• what parties can do to efficiently manage E&S risks including practical tips.

The final rules – What we know now // FRG

Episode 4: Operational Resilience

The UK regulators have finalised their operational resilience regimes. Clare McMullen, Verity Kemp and Simon Treacy compare the final rules with the draft rules.

Quote: Clare McMullen, Partner: “How firms treat vulnerable customers fairly is a real priority of the FCA at the moment and so it is not a surprise that they have added express references to vulnerable customers in their guidance on operational resilience.”

 

Backstage at OpRisk Global // FRG

Episode 3: Operational Resilience

Julia Dixon, Pansy Wong and Simon Treacy share their insights from the OpRisk Global conference which took place virtually in March 2021.

Pansy Wong, Partner: “Plenty of people I spoke to were worried about what it means that different standards are developing in different jurisdictions. And even though the overall aim of all these different regimes is the same, the nuances between them will inevitably cause headaches for global firms.”

Back to the future // FRG

Episode 2: Operational Reslience

Pansy Wong, Rebecca Heaysman and Simon Treacy look back on what has changed since the UK regulators released their draft rules on operational resilience in December 2019.

Pansy Wong, Partner: “It would be a real surprise if the outcome of all the policy work that has happened in the background isn’t influenced by the events that have taken place since the consultations were launched… All of that said, Covid-19 has been a really unusual source of disruption.”

The basics of operational resilience // FRG

Episode 1: Operational Resilience

Julia Dixon, Verity Kemp and Simon Treacy introduce the concept of operational resilience and what it means for UK financial services.

Julia Dixon, Partner: “The reforms are really signalling a cultural change, a shift in terms of how firms need to approach resilience and there’s going to be regulatory attention focused right at the top of the house on how you are approaching this subject.”

Innovative Payment Systems (Part II) // Fintech

Episode 7: The Next Year in Payments

Michael Voisin & Richard Hay

In this two-part episode, Michael Voisin and Richard Hay discuss the limitations of legacy systems and drives to improve and replace them. This second part focuses on efforts to create parallel closed loop payment systems that do not rely on existing legacy infrastructure, such as so called “stablecoins” and central bank digital currencies.

Innovative Payment Systems (Part I) // Fintech

Episode 6: The Next Year in Payments

Michael Voisin & Richard Hay

To date, much of the innovation in the payments market has been at the user-interface level – in a sense, “digital lipstick” applied on top of existing legacy systems. But that approach has its limitations. And there is now growing demand for improvements to underlying payment systems to increase the speed and efficiency of value movements. In this two-part episode, Michael Voisin and Richard Hay discuss the limitations of legacy systems and drives to improve and replace them. This first part focuses on existing legacy systems and initiatives to alter and upgrade them.

The view from Asia // Fintech

Episode 5: The Next Year in Payments

Peiying Chua Heikes & Niranjan Arasaratnam

Asia has seen a huge growth in its payments industry over the past few years, spurred on by a young, tech-savvy generation and push for the financial inclusion of the underbanked. Amidst rapid development, regulators are now tasked with overcoming fragmentation in payments ecosystems and ensuring continued financial stability – but at the same time pushing for innovation and change. Peiying Chua and Niranjan Arasaratnam discuss key trends in the Asian payments markets and what the next year is likely to bring.

A European perspective – changes in the Belgian payments market // Fintech

Episode 4: The Next Year in Payments

Etienne Dessy, Jellen Rasquin & Donald Krols

As part of the broader digital payment revolution across Europe, there has been considerable change in the Belgian payments market in recent years. Etienne Dessy, Jellen Rasquin and Donald Krols look ahead to the regulatory priorities for 2020 including PSD2, APIs and AML.

The shift from cash to digital payments // Fintech

Episode 3: The Next Year in Payments

Harry Eddis, Frances Hodgkins & Terry Yiangou 

E-commerce, wallet services and digital payments are transforming the way we interact with money. Looking ahead, innovative payment systems are set to accelerate the global decline in cash use. Harry Eddis, Frances Hodgkins and Terry Yiangou discuss these market changes and the questions they pose about continuing access to cash.

EBA outsourcing guidelines for payment institutions // Fintech

Episode 2: The Next Year in Payments

Jean Price & Arjun Lakhani

An increase in outsourcing in the payments sector has brought with it increased regulatory scrutiny. Now payment institutions in the EU must take into account new outsourcing guidelines from the European Banking Authority. Jean Price and Arjun Lakhani discuss the key points for payment institutions to consider when assessing new and existing outsourcing arrangements.

What happens next for strong customer authentication? // Fintech

Episode 1: The Next Year in Payments

Paul Harris & Olivia Murphy

As payments and banking have moved online, authenticating the identity of customers has become a vital part of the fight against fraud. New PSD2 rules on strong customer authentication were intended to bolster security standards across the market but have effectively been delayed. Paul Harris and Olivia Murphy discuss the background to SCA and what the next year is likely to bring.

Real Estate in Germany: Where are we now? // Real Estate

Episode 3: Real Estate Markets Across The Globe

In this podcast we will focus in particular on the impact on landlords, tenants, borrowers and lenders, and the steps being taken by the German Government in the real estate context to address the issues they are currently facing.

Planning for the Future in the UK: What you need to know // Real Estate

Episode 2: Real Estate Markets Across The Globe

This is part of a series given by Linklaters which looks at the practical implications of the Government’s proposed planning reforms in England, as set out in its 'Planning for the Future' white paper. Other articles in this series will address the proposed planning reforms as they evolve over time and following the end of the consultation on 29 October 2020.

Real Estate in the UK: Where are we now? // Real Estate

Episode 1: Real Estate Markets Across The Globe

In this first podcast we will focus in particular on the impact on landlords, tenants, borrowers and lenders, and the steps being taken by the UK Government in the real estate context to address the issues they are currently facing.

EBA’s draft RTS on non-cash instruments for the purposes of awarding variable remuneration under the IFD // Employment & Incentives

Episode 4: IFD and CRD V Remuneration Developments

In our podcast series, we discuss the latest publications and developments in relation to the upcoming IFD and CRD V remuneration rules and the impact these could have on firms that will be subject to them.

We consider not only the key aspects of these latest publications and developments, but also how they compare with existing rules and some of the challenges firms will be presented with when looking to comply.

EBA’s draft RTS for identifying material risk takers under the IFD // Employment & Incentives

Episode 3: IFD and CRD V Remuneration Developments

In our podcast series, we discuss the latest publications and developments in relation to the upcoming IFD and CRD V remuneration rules and the impact these could have on firms that will be subject to them.

We consider not only the key aspects of these latest publications and developments, but also how they compare with existing rules and some of the challenges firms will be presented with when looking to comply.

PRA and FCA consultations on the CRD V remuneration rules // Employment & Incentives

Episode 2: IFD and CRD V Remuneration Developments

In our podcast series, we discuss the latest publications and developments in relation to the upcoming IFD and CRD V remuneration rules and the impact these could have on firms that will be subject to them.

We consider not only the key aspects of these latest publications and developments, but also how they compare with existing rules and some of the challenges firms will be presented with when looking to comply.

Remuneration Provisions of the IFD // Employment & Incentives

Episode 1: IFD and CRD V Remuneration Developments

In our podcast series, we discuss the latest publications and developments in relation to the upcoming IFD and CRD V remuneration rules and the impact these could have on firms that will be subject to them.

We consider not only the key aspects of these latest publications and developments, but also how they compare with existing rules and some of the challenges firms will be presented with when looking to comply.

The Legal Tech Inflection Point // Technology

Episode 7: Linkubator

An ‘inflection point’ is the point in an industry where the fundamentals are about to change as noted by Andrew Grove, CEO of Intel, in his book ‘Only the Paranoid Survive’. In this special episode, Hamza joins Richard Tromans (Founder and Editor of news platform Artificial Lawyer and Founder of Tromans Consulting) and Paul Lewis (Partner, Global Co-Head of Innovation and Global Head of Finance at Linklaters) in their conversation to discuss whether the legal industry is undergoing such an inflection point and pitches a few questions in to the mix. Their conversation delves into how technology and innovation are changing the business of law and the role that lawyers play, how firms can use tech and data to get closer to clients and what the future lawyer will look like. The discussion also covers the law firm business model and the productisation of legal services, and brings a strong commercial perspective to the debate.

Becoming a Lawyerpreneur // Technology

Episode 6: Linkubator

Having an entrepreneurial mindset in law is becoming ever-increasingly important. In this episode Hamza catches up with Mark Cohen (CEO of Legal Mosaic), who has a history of being a lawyer entrepreneur or, in other words, a “lawyerpreneur”. Their conversation covers topics such as how students and young lawyers can think about bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to law firms, how technology is driving change and Mark’s thoughts on the skills gap in the legal industry. They also discuss the importance of understanding legal operations, whether law schools are making students market-ready on graduation, and why students should maintain their unique traits and interests when starting their careers.

Legal Tech Investments and Consolidation (Nov 2019) // Technology

Episode 5: Linkubator 

With investments in the legal technology space exceeding the billion-dollar mark in both 2018 and 2019 and consolidation heating up in the sector, Hamza speaks to Ben Meyer (Partner at Hg Capital, leading on Legal Tech investments) and Matt Peers (COO at Linklaters) on these developments. They discuss what makes the sector so attractive from an investor perspective, whether the proliferation of legal tech companies and rising investments in the space are creating a bubble, and they delve into Hg’s investments in to legal tech companies Litera Microsystems, Workshare Transact and Doxly. They also discuss new technology platforms, what kind of technologies Linklaters is looking at and the advent of law firms as tech producers. This episode was recorded in November 2019. 

AI Changing the Law Game // Technology

Episode 4: Linkubator

With all of the buzz around AI and machine learning, people can often lose sight of what it is. In this episode, Hamza catches up with Neil Sahota and Christian Storck to discuss what AI is, what its different applications are and can be in the legal industry, and the potential challenges around this. They also debate crucial questions such as to what extent AI will replace or augment the core functions of lawyers, and how aspiring and young lawyers can adapt to this new environment. Neil Sahota is an IBM Master Inventor, United Nations AI Expert, Professor at UC Irvine and Author of ‘Own the AI Revolution: Unlock Your Artificial Intelligence Strategy to Disrupt Your Competition’. Christian Storck is a Partner and Global Co-Head of Innovation at Linklaters

Re-Designing Lawyers to Design Thinking // Technology

Episode 1: Linkubator

With the new premium on innovation and collaboration and changing client expectations, there has been a lot of focus and excitement recently around design thinking in the legal industry. In this first episode, Hamza Zaveri (Trainee at Linklaters) speaks to legal technology innovator and entrepreneur Nicole Bradick (Founder of legal tech design consultancy Theory and Principle) and Shilpa Bhandarkar (Global Head of Innovation at Linklaters). They uncover what design thinking is, how law firms are getting closer to clients through design thinking and how lawyers can start developing a design thinking mindset. Also discussed is the difference between startups and law firms, what law firms can learn from startups when developing products for clients and what innovation really means. The speakers also provide words of encouragement and tips to students and aspiring lawyers.

Analytics and Data in Law // Technology

Episode 2: Linkubator

The use of analytics has permeated into various industries, from baseball to banking, but could analytics be invaluable for lawyers as well? In this episode, Hamza speaks to Richard Mabey (Co-Founder and CEO of Juro) and Ed Chan (Founder of Nakhoda and Partner at Linklaters) to learn more about the uses and applications of analytics in the legal industry and how it differs from AI. They also cover the importance of good data which is a fuel that powers these technologies, and the challenges that arise from the heaps of unstructured data in law. They delve into Richard’s startup, Juro (https://juro.com), and Ed’s brainchild, nakhoda (https://www.nakhoda.ai/), and how both platforms incorporate elements of legal analytics and play a role in tackling the data challenge in law by creating structured data from the outset. 

Juro has also released a free e-book titled “Legal Operations: How to Do It and Why It Matters”. You can download it from this link: https://blog.juro.com/what-is-legal-operations/

 

Fintech with Nivaura // Technology

Episode 3: Linkubator

There has been a lot of disruption and digitisation in how people trade shares and bonds, but such a shift has not yet taken place to the same extent when it comes to how companies initially issue these securities. Nivaura is a startup that is working in this space to help automate the issuing of bonds and has received investment from the likes of Linklaters and the London Stock Exchange. 

In this episode, Hamza sits down with Ricky Cohen (Legal Product Architect and General Counsel at Nivaura), Richard Hay (UK Head of Fintech at Linklaters) and Lisa Chang (M&A Lawyer at Linklaters, focus on Fintech) to discuss fintech and its correlations with the legal sphere. 

The conversation covers topics such as automation in finance, Nivaura’s new GLML platform, how Linklaters’ platform ISDA Create is carrying out automation for financial institutions and how such platforms will change the work of lawyers. They also discuss the role that the FCA’s regulatory sandbox is playing in promoting innovation, the fintech initiatives that Linklaters is working on and how young and aspiring lawyers can get involved in the space.

Background trading floor sound courtesy of touchassembly on https://freesound.org/s/146321/.