Herbert Smith Freehills

We're thrilled to announce the release of our latest report, Rethinking Risk: Inside Class Actions. This comprehensive survey dives deep into the dynamic class action landscape in Australia, offering strategic insights to help businesses navigate and mitigate risk. We uncover the top concerns keeping corporate Australia up at night - from cyber security and financial loss to the broad spectrum of social and governance risks. This is a must-read for any organisation navigating the evolving landscape in Australia. Read our report: https://lnkd.in/gge2XgRS Jason Betts, Melissa Gladstone, Vanessa Leyshon, Brock Elder-Gunthorpe, Natasha R. #ClassActions #Risk #Auslaw #Cyber #ESG

Thank you to everyone who has completed our 2024 Banking Trends Survey – we've had a great response so far. If you haven't had a chance to do so, there's still time to take part. We'd love to hear your views on key factors shaping the future of the industry and how your organisation is adapting. Click the link below to start our five-minute survey - https://lnkd.in/er86Z_T7 #bankingsector #finance #banking

That’s a wrap for this year’s M&A Conference from Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens and King & Wood Mallesons. In the words of The Australian Financial Review today, the conference “provided fantastic insight into the M&A landscape”, and allowed us to hear “rare perspectives from chairmen, bankers, lawyers and even one of the most influential investors in Australian deals”. You can read more about the conference in the AFR’s Chanticleer: https://lnkd.in/gdnpGWCM You can re-watch or catch up on the sessions that you missed via our dedicated website: https://lnkd.in/es65HBCn Each year, the M&A Conference raises money for Black Dog Institute — an independent not-for-profit organisation making a significant difference throughout Australia through mental health research and education. While the conference is over for this year, you can still donate to this worthy cause: https://lnkd.in/gMn6T33x

It’s day two of the 2024 M&A Conference from Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens and King & Wood Mallesons! First up today, we’ll consider deal timelines. It looks like the drivers for long and complex deals are not going away any time soon — and they pose some challenges! In a discussion hosted by HSF partner Nicole Pedler, we have some excellent panellists who will share their own personal experiences as they explore how dealmakers have risen to the challenge. Our conference culminates by taking you inside four multi-billion dollar transactions from the last 18 months. Hear firsthand how these deals got done, and what dealmakers can take away from their success. It’s not too late to join in — you can catch up on day one’s sessions and watch the live broadcast of day two by registering here: https://lnkd.in/eMFkgRvY Each year, the M&A Conference raises money for Black Dog Institute — an independent not-for-profit organisation making a significant difference throughout Australia through mental health research and education. Support Black Dog Institute and find out more about the conference by visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/es65HBCn

How disconnected is your workforce – whether divided by generational or geographical differences? It's a question many employers are grappling with, particularly as the 'right to disconnect' is becoming an increasingly divisive topic. Yet, there are lessons that can be learned from employers in France and Australia where legislation governing the right to disconnect is already in place. What does it mean for existing employment law? How might it impact flexible working and meeting the demands of clients? To answer these – and many more questions – join our London-based partner Christine Young, Paris-based partner and EMEA head of employment, Emma Röhsler, partners Shivchand Jhinku (Shiv Jhinku), Fatim Jumabhoy and Moritz Kunz , covering Australia, Singapore and Germany, and senior associate, Hannah White, who will provide expertise on the UK market. In our next webinar, they will provide regional comparisons and local market knowledge, connecting the dots to help you successfully navigate the right to disconnect.   Click here to register for it: https://lnkd.in/eGX-vypA   #employmentlaw #flexibleworking #righttodisconnect

Today was day one of the 2024 M&A Conference from Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens and King & Wood Mallesons! The M&A Conference opened with a special segment hosted by The Australian Financial Review’s Chanticleer columnists James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald, and was followed by our annual Global Developments panel, which brought us the latest in worldwide M&A. Day one concluded with an exploration of the issues and key considerations that boards have navigated on some recent transactions in the Australian market. You can catch up on today’s sessions and watch the live broadcast of day two by registering here: https://lnkd.in/eMFkgRvY The M&A Conference raises money for Black Dog Institute — an independent not-for-profit organisation making a significant difference throughout Australia through mental health research and education. You can find out more about the conference and support Black Dog Institute by visiting our website: https://lnkd.in/es65HBCn

At the recent Thomson Reuters Australian Regulatory Summit, our Director of Generative AI, Susannah Wilkinson, spoke to the more than 280 delegates on governance in managing risk with AI, emerging technology and innovation.   Joined by Dr Elea Wurth, PhD, Michele Levine and Matthew Field, the panel discussed what is Generative AI (GenAI), why it is significant, the issues businesses need to be aware of and what good governance looks like.   Here are some of the ideas shared by the panel:   - What is Gen AI? GenAI is thinking, augmented; it increases the capability to approach a problem to gain comprehension that will suit your particular needs and derive solutions to the problem. GenAI should be looked at as a supportive colleague or mentor, a collaborative partner with a vast knowledge repository. - Why is it significant? While AI has been around for a long time, GenAI democratises access, allowing anyone with internet access to leverage AI. This shift is significant as it unlocks a wave of automation and efficiency, enabling natural language interactions with machines, fundamentally changing human-machine interactions. - What issues do businesses need to be aware of? GenAI impacts all parts of a business, requiring a rapid engagement approach due to the absence of a playbook. Effective governance and risk management frameworks are essential to harness AI's potential while safeguarding against ethical pitfalls and regulatory breaches. Additionally, maintaining robust data privacy and security measures, ensuring cross-functional collaboration, and fostering transparency and accountability are crucial for building trust and driving innovation. - What does good governance look like? Establishing a robust governance framework that includes clear policies, procedures, and controls across the AI lifecycle, continuous monitoring and updating of AI models to prevent biases and ensure fairness, and advanced anomaly detectors to generate lead indicators of risk. Businesses should prioritise resourcing, strategy, people, process and tech.   On Thursday last week, the government released new mandatory guardrails and voluntary standards on AI – read our article for everything you need to know, https://lnkd.in/gzUaisV3.   Our team are closely tracking the governance frameworks around emerging technologies, you can find more Insights on our website, https://lnkd.in/gJHzUNsS.   #TRRegSummit #EmergingTechnology #AIGovernance

The M&A Conference from Herbert Smith Freehills, Allens and King & Wood Mallesons is back next week, bringing you expert insights and market analysis from top dealmakers. The conference kicks off with a special opening segment hosted by the Australian Financial Review’s Chanticleer columnists, James Thomson and Anthony Macdonald. They will bring their dynamic style to gauge the mood of the market and discuss what it takes to get deals done in the current environment. This will be followed by our highly anticipated Global Developments panel, bringing the latest in worldwide M&A including cross-border dealmaking, sponsor-driven M&A and activism response, as well as how November’s US election might affect dealmaking. This year we have a fantastic lineup of speakers and the conference is fully virtual, so you can join in from wherever you are in Australia! Register for these sessions and more: https://lnkd.in/eMFkgRvY Importantly, the M&A Conference is for a good cause and raises money for Black Dog Institute — an independent not-for-profit organisation that makes a significant difference throughout Australia through mental health research and education. For more information on the conference and our support of charity partner Black Dog Institute, visit The M&A Conference website: https://lnkd.in/es65HBCn

We are pleased to welcome Jay Prasad as a new partner in our Australian tax practice. Based in Sydney, Jay is a transaction tax specialist, experienced in advising corporates, financial institutions, private equity, and other managed funds on a wide range of tax-related matters. His expertise spans corporate mergers and acquisitions, restructures, IPOs, capital management programs and financing transactions. Matthew FitzGerald, Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills’ Corporate Practice in Australia and Asia, said, “Our firm’s point of differentiation is our ability to bring together top tier tax advice that is seamlessly integrated with our market-leading M&A, infrastructure and disputes capability. Jay’s focus and interest in both public and private M&A complements the expertise and experience of our market-leading M&A practice”. In a further boost to our tax capability, HSF alumni Sarah Dunn will be rejoining the firm as a consultant in our Disputes practice this month. Read more about Jay and our growing tax practice here: https://lnkd.in/gSJZ4-Na

Tune in at 4pm (UK time) today (5 September) during your afternoon tea break to hear Dylan Doran Kennett discuss his perspectives on early stage #startups with Sara Jones at Carbon13.   We recently announced our partnership with Carbon13 to help start-ups create high-potential #climatetech ventures and reduce #greenhousegas emissions on a global scale – see here for more: https://lnkd.in/eGxc2c5R   #venturecapital #growthcapital #privatecapital #climatechange