The Freshfields Podcast

AI-driven pricing and analytics tools are transforming markets, but they’re also drawing intense scrutiny from antitrust authorities worldwide. In our latest Essential Antitrust episode, Freshfields experts Maria Dreher-Lorje, Nicholas Frey, Heather Lamberg and Jenn Mellott explore how regulators in the US, UK, and EU are responding to algorithmic pricing and what this means for global businesses.   From US litigation concerning algorithmic price fixing to the EU’s case focus and the CMA’s new investigatory powers, the legal landscape is evolving fast. Authorities are not only investigating AI-driven conduct but also deploying AI tools themselves to detect collusion. Uncertainty around enforcement standards—per se vs. rule of reason—makes proactive compliance essential.   Listen now to understand the risks, the questions regulators are asking, and practical steps to protect your business.

As 2025 draws to a close, and sitting on the precipice of a new year, it seems like a good time for us to assess where the second Trump Administration has taken us so far and where we may be headed.  Listen to Tim Clark's interview of Jennifer Loeb, Austin Evers and David Nicolardi regarding what we got right about the second Trump administration; what surprised us; and what to expect from the administration in the coming year. This podcast covers the US legal and regulatory landscape and focuses on the questions and topics that are on the top of our clients’ minds. For additional context and resources related to today’s discussion, visit the referenced Private Capital in 2025: 7 Things You Should Know blog.

To close the year, in this episode of “No Worse Off” hosts Emma Gateaud, Lindsay Hingston and Alex Thomson look back at the key developments in the restructuring market in 2025.  In a monthly run-down they spotlight new trends in liability management and out-of-court solutions, and pivotal court decisions that have reshaped the UK restructuring plan.  The team also highlights headline bankruptcy cases, the Supreme Court’s motor finance ruling and a landmark decision in Wirecard. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off."

In our latest episode of “No Worse Off,” we take a deep dive into one of Europe's most dynamic and distinctive restructuring markets: France. Host Emma Gateaud is joined by Marc Sénéchal a highly respected French court-appointed conciliateur and mandataire ad hoc and Freshfields Paris restructuring partner Guilhem Bremond and counsel Antoine Rueda. Listen in as our panel discusses recent ‘jumbo’ cases and France’s unique two-phase restructuring process, which combines conciliation and sauvegarde accélérée. The discussion highlights how the 2021 reform enhanced the efficiency and predictability of the system, as well as the pivotal role of the court-appointed officer in building stakeholder consensus, ultimately ensuring greater fairness and reducing the risk of challenges. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off."

The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has delivered the Autumn Budget 2025. In her much-anticipated second Budget, the Chancellor announced a broad spectrum of tax measures which she said were designed both to secure public finances and make the UK tax system fairer. After much press speculation, rumours and reported U-turns, there is now some welcome clarity on how the government intends to balance the books, with the largest revenue raising measure being a stealth tax increase through the freezing of income tax thresholds. Outside of the headline grabbing measures, the government has published details on new and ongoing business tax reform measures, a number of which will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill. In our latest podcast, Josh Critchlow speaks to May Smith, Emily Szasz and Sam Withnall from our London tax team about the smorgasbord of business tax measures they found most noteworthy in the Autumn Budget 2025, including: headline tax revenue raising measures including extending the freeze on income tax/NICs thresholds and raising income tax rates on dividend, savings and property income; the introduction of a new ‘UK listing relief’ from SDRT, providing a 3 year exemption from the 0.5% SDRT charge on agreements to transfer securities of newly listed companies on a UK regulated market; confirmation that an ‘Advance Tax Certainty Service’ for major investment projects in the UK will be launched in July 2026; changes to the capital allowances regime, including a new 40% first-year allowance and reduction of writing down allowances for main rate expenditure; broadening an anti-avoidance rule applicable to capital gains rollover relief on share exchanges and reorganisations; an update on proposals to reform behavioural tax penalties; revisions to the UK VAT grouping rules applicable to overseas establishments; confirmation that a permanent revenue-based oil and gas price mechanism will take effect on expiry of the existing Energy Profits Levy; additional measures to tackle tax avoidance; and measures not included in the Budget announcements, including the rumoured ‘partnership NICs’ and exit tax.

In our latest episode of “No Worse Off,” our cross-jurisdictional restructuring and capital solutions team, Nick Fortune, Francesco Lombardo and Valentina Armaroli dive into the innovative capital solutions and restructuring tools reshaping the Italian market. Italy is quickly emerging as a key market, offering a wealth of opportunities for global credit and other investors. Listen in as our team discusses Italy’s efforts to align with international best practices and deploy tools that offer fresh, dynamic ways to deploy money in Italy. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off".

In this episode of the MedTech Podcast, partner Vinita Kailasanath speaks with Stephanie Toney, Chief Business Officer at Diatiro Health, about the company’s mission to transform kidney transplantation. They explore the importance of equity and patient access in MedTech. Stephanie also shares her perspective on emerging trends such as AI, digital health, and precision medicine—and their potential to improve outcomes and expand access for underserved populations.

As retail investor access to Private Credit gains global momentum, stay informed with our latest podcast. Tim Clark, Mary Lavelle (Global Co-Chairs, Private Funds and Secondaries) and Ivet Bell (Private Funds and Secondaries partner) delve into key market and regulatory shifts, including potential US regulatory changes that will facilitate "retail investor” investment in Private Capital investments through 401(k)s.

In the latest episode of “No Worse Off,” the Freshfields restructuring team—Emma Gateaud, Nick Fortune, Madlyn Primoff, and Jamie Murray-Jones—delve into the legal, strategic and market implications of cutting-edge restructuring tactics. From up-tiering strategies to intercreditor agreement debt release mechanics, the episode features insights drawn from the recent Hunkemöller and Selecta transactions. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring in 2025 and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off".

The English Arbitration Act 2025 came into force on 1 August, introducing welcome and long-awaited reforms to the English Arbitration Act 1996.  In this bite-size podcast, the head of Freshfields’ London arbitration team Oliver Marsden, counsel Ashley Jones and associate Rebecca Zard highlight the key reforms — including provisions on summary dismissal, interim relief against third parties, court orders enforcing emergency arbitrator relief, and the law governing arbitration agreements – and discuss how this will benefit disputing parties and ensure that London retains its position as a premier destination for international arbitration.

The Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the sanction of Petrofac’s restructuring plans marked a pivotal moment in restructuring law, with significant implications for how future restructurings will be approached in practice. In the latest episode of our "No Worse Off" podcast series, restructuring team members Lindsay Hingston, Craig Montgomery and Caroline Platt, unpack this landmark decision, providing insights on out-of-the-money creditors, fair allocation of benefits, evidential requirements and the paramount role of robust negotiations. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off".

Keeping you up to date on executive compensation matters. In this podcast series, the Freshfields People & Reward team discusses key topics in the executive reward space for publicly listed and private companies in 2025, including transatlantic considerations, ways to structure executive incentives and the developing trend for democratising equity arrangements. In the fifth episode of this series, Employee Claims, partner David Mendel is joined by Harriet Gaillard, counsel in the London People & Reward team, to discuss the various legal claims that can be brought by employees and former employees under share plan and bonus arrangements. The episode discusses breach of contract, exercise of discretion, discrimination, unfair dismissal, TUPE transfers and restrictive covenants.

In our latest podcast episode of "No Worse Off," Freshfields partners Lindsay Hingston, Ken Baird, and Emma Gateaud, along with senior associate Emilio Salice, come together for an in-depth discussion as the Restructuring Plan (RP) turns five. Drawing on their extensive experience, our speakers share valuable insights into the dynamic landscape of restructuring plans. They delve into the powerful cross-class cram down mechanism, the evolving use of new debt as a cramming class, and a realistic assessment of the rising litigation risk in contentious RP proceedings. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring in 2025, and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off".

In episode four of the Eureka series, Former SEC Director of CorpFin and Freshfields partner Erik Gerding is joined by partners Leza Bieber, Heather Brookfield and Sarah Ghulamhussain who unpack the trends this Proxy Season, including: What we are seeing in terms of shareholder proposals, management proposals and early voting results including trends in ISS and Glass Lewis voting recommendations What’s been going on with Say-on-Pay Trendlines in 14a-8 shareholder proposals Shifts in the balance of power between the different players in the shareholder ecosystem New scrutiny of DEI and ESG issues and reactions to SEC staff interpretations on the dividing line between 13D and 13G filings Concerns around disclosing executive security as a perk following the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, and what the Commission can be doing to modernize its approach to detailed disclosure

In this episode of the Eureka series, partners and former senior SEC officials Melissa Hodgman and Erik Gerding share insider perspectives on what to expect from SEC enforcement, including: Direction of travel for key areas such as crypto, fraud, individual liability, China, ESG and insider trading Insights into personnel and priorities changes at the agency and what this means for enforcement Advice for Boards, executives and in-house counsel on how to manage the swirling currents of the new SEC leadership

The second Trump administration has made numerous announcements on trade and tariffs, but US tax policy is increasingly woven into the discussion on international trade. This includes the possibility of retaliatory US action against “discriminatory or extraterritorial taxes” imposed by other countries. The US House Budget Reconciliation Bill, officially titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act", was recently passed by the House of Representatives and includes retaliatory US tax measures in response to “unfair foreign taxes” - with digital services taxes (DSTs) and the undertaxed profits rule (UTPR) of the Pillar 2 global minimum tax regime expressly identified as falling in this category. In our latest podcast US tax expert Claude Stansbury, UK tax expert Emily Szasz and international trade expert Lorand Bartels join Josh Critchlow to discuss the latest on this intersection of US tax and trade policy, including: details of the measures in new proposed section 899 of the US tax code (including increased withholding tax rates), the impact the measures could have on multinational groups with US operations, the interaction of section 899 with double tax treaties, and when these measures could take effect; a deeper dive into the taxes considered to be "unfair foreign taxes" and which countries may be in-scope of proposed section 899; previous use of US trade measures in response to tax rules imposed by other countries and how the proposed retaliatory tax measures fit into the rapidly evolving international trade landscape; and possible next steps, including: what actions may be taken at an OECD/EU level to address US concerns in respect of the identified "unfair" taxes; and whether proposed section 899 could itself be subject to challenge under trade laws. Note: this podcast was recorded on 30 May 2025 and does not cover developments after this date.

Listen to the latest episode of our MedTech podcast featuring host Vinita Kailasanath and guest Alya Sulaiman, Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer at Datavant. Vinita and Alya discuss Alya’s unique career path, how AI and machine learning will impact the US’ regulatory landscape, deploying AI in healthcare, and MedTech innovations to watch.  

On 8 May 2025, the European Commission launched a public consultation to review the Merger Guidelines. In this episode, our host Jenn Mellott speaks with Daniele Calisti, Head of the Mergers Case Support and Policy Unit at DG Competition, who is leading the consultation process. They are joined by David Foster, Director at Frontier Economics, and fellow antitrust partner Thomas Janssens, to explore what changes may be coming – particularly around efficiencies and innovation. While much of what the Commission sets out in the papers released alongside the consultation appears to formalise existing practice, some elements go further and are more novel (e.g., the effects on labour market, economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and broader societal impact of mergers). If the promises of the Draghi Report on innovation and growth in Europe are to be given some weight, the new guidelines should provide clear and explicit direction – particularly in articulating how they envisage a more open and flexible approach to parties demonstrating procompetitive efficiencies. In the podcast, Daniele Calisti highlights two areas where the Commission is particularly keen to receive feedback—drawing on available economic evidence and real-world experience across industries—on how to assess efficiencies. The first is the idea that efficiencies may be more likely to arise when the merging firms’ activities are complementary. The second relates to the challenge of evaluating asymmetries between alleged harm and claimed efficiencies, including differences in how and when they materialise. For more on the Commission’s evolving thinking you can read our recent blog: Time to catch up: EU reopens the rulebook on mergers and seeks feedback. Please feel free to reach out to your regular Freshfields contacts if you’d like to contribute to the consultation.

Tune in to the latest episode of our EUnpacked podcast series in which we try to untangle the famous or rather infamous ‘Omnibus I’ package unveiled by the European Commission on 26 February this year. The proposal aims to simplify ESG reporting and due diligence obligations, responding to new political and geopolitical imperatives pushing a simplification and burden-reduction drive to boost the EU’s competitiveness. Podcast host and Head of the Freshfields EU Regulatory & Public Affairs Team Natalie Pettinger Kearney is joined by Léa Bareil, ESG lead in the Brussels public affairs team together with Juliane Hilf and Vanessa Jakovich, both partners in the firm’s leading ESG regulatory practice.

In our latest podcast episode of "No Worse Off," Freshfields partners Emma Gateaud and Craig Montgomery are joined by two industry experts for an in-depth discussion on motor finance claims and consumer redress restructuring. Drawing on our extensive experience in recent consumer redress restructurings, we consider the potential impact of the upcoming Supreme Court Judgment on motor finance commissions. Our guests, Sheraz Afzal (Chief Legal Risk & Compliance Officer at Quint Group Ltd) and Jamie Drummond-Smith (Independent director, adjudicator and creditor representative), share their frontline experience in these restructurings, offering valuable insights from recent cases in the consumer finance sector. Stay tuned for more insights into the world of restructuring in 2025, and thank you for listening to "No Worse Off"