The Allen & Overy Podcast archive

NFTs and IP: Does your business have the necessary protection?

Despite the recent “crypto crisis” and the digital assets slump, it seems likely that non-fungible tokens or NFTs are here to stay.  

What should businesses be doing to ensure that they have the necessary IP protection before entering the world of NFTs? Listen here to a podcast by Beverley Potts, Theresa Castle and Robert Dickens which will discuss some of the IP infringement issues that are starting to emerge following the creation of, and trade in, NFTs.

How to harness the power of generative AI for your business? Meet Harvey.”

In this latest LILLA podcast in collaboration with Allen & Overy Luxembourg, Catherine Di Lorenzo (Head of IP, Data & Tech) and Bénédicte Kurth (Head of Knowledge), share their insights on how generative AI can boost your business with the practical example of Harvey a powerful AI tool that generates legal documents in a few minutes.

Beyond the Hype, The Future of Digital Assets

In the last couple of years, European co-legislators have worked to design a harmonised and comprehensive regime designed to both incentivise an efficient digital transformation within the Union, as well as to ensure market stability and adequate investors protection in the area of digital assets.

In this podcast moderated by Judith Bremer, associate in the financial regulatory team in Frankfurt, Emiliano La Sala, head of domestic capital markets and Fintech group coordinator in Italy, provides an overview on the current situation and the latest regulatory developments in Europe, from the DLT Pilot regime to MiCAR. 

#Employmenttalk: Auskunftsansprüche im Arbeitsverhältnis

In diesem #Employmenttalk möchten wir Ihnen Tipps für den Umgang mit Auskunftsansprüchen an die Hand geben und die Schnittstelle zwischen Arbeitsrecht, Datenschutzrecht und Internal Investigations beleuchten.

Dabei soll es u.a. um folgenden Themen gehen:

• Wie weit reicht der Auskunftsanspruch, bspw. auf internationaler Konzernebene? Können Mitarbeiter:innen nur von ihrem Vertragsarbeitgeber Auskunft verlangen oder auch von internationalen Gruppengesellschaften?
• Kann der Betriebsrat den Auskunftsanspruch für Arbeitnehmer:innen durchsetzen?
• Wie kann der Arbeitgeber eine vollständige und richtige Auskunft in Hinblick auf die vom Betriebsrat verarbeiteten personenbezogenen Daten sicherstellen (§ 79a BetrVG)?
• Wann kann der Arbeitgeber die Auskunft verweigern oder einschränken?

Règlement ELTIF 2.0 : Où en sommes-nous ?

Dans ce podcast, Pascal Molinelli (Collaborateur Senior, Paris) ),expert dans le domaine de la gestion d’actifs, revient sur le Règlement ELTIF II, un sujet particulièrement d’actualité dans la sphère de l’asset management.

Il livre notamment son éclairage sur :

• L’ambition d’ELTIF 2.0 au regard du faible succès du premier Règlement ELTIF
• Les principales innovations apportées par ELTIF 2.0
• L'adaptation du cadre réglementaire français (fonds éligibles et éligibilité en unité de compte) au titre du nouveau Règlement
• Les prochaines étapes clés pour le lancement des ELTIF 2.0

Women in Funds: A Conversation with Heather Henyon, Founding Partner of Mindshift Capital

In the next episode of the Women in Funds series of interviews, funds & asset management partner Zeeshan Ahmedani (Los Angeles) discusses topical diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I) and industry trends with Heather Henyon, Founding Partner of Mindshift Capital, a venture fund based in Dubai that is investing in early stage women-led technology companies in the Middle East and globally.

The conversation explores a number of topics, including market and DE&I trends in gender-lens investing, an investment strategy that takes into consideration gender-based factors throughout the investment process with a view to promoting gender equality.

Women in Funds is a series of video and audio interviews launched in celebration of Women’s History Month where our funds and asset management lawyers speak with senior female professionals in the asset management industry. The series focuses on topical diversity, equity & inclusion issues and the challenges our interviewees have overcome as they have built their successful careers.

About the speaker

Heather Henyon is the Founding Partner of Dubai-based venture fund Mindshift Capital. She is also the founder of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN), the first and largest women’s angel group in the Middle East. Heather has over 100 direct and fund investments in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. She started her career on Wall Street and has almost 20 years of experience in finance, technology and strategy in emerging markets, including as founding CEO of Grameen-Jameel Microfinance Ltd.

Heather is a member of the Investment Committee of US-based Next Wave Impact Fund and is a founding member and former Board and Investment Committee member of Dubai Angel Investors. She serves on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Risk & Audit Committee of the Sekem Holding Group in Egypt and is a Board Member of Sarwa, Little Thinking Minds, NeedsList, and Localized. She is also a member of the Cartier Women’s Initiative MENA Jury.

Scaling up science: how to grow your life sciences venture

How and when do life sciences entrepreneurs decide whether to raise more funds, partner with big pharma, or exit their company? What strategies and tactics do they apply? And what are the key lessons and challenges along the way? In our latest life sciences podcast, Tine Carmeliet and Juno Hautekiet interview two CEOs who have chosen very different routes for growing their biotech ventures.

Tim Knotnerus of Agomab Therapeutics, one of the most promising therapeutics companies in Europe and one of 2022’s “Fierce 15” honorees, shares how to create optionality and how he recently secured a USD 114 million Series B financing. Claudine van der Sande, former founder and CEO of Xinvento, a biotech aiming to improve the lives of those with Congenital Hyperinsulinism, reveals why she instead decided to sell her company and how she managed to do this with the company still in its preclinical development phase.

Join us on this podcast as we explore their motives, priorities and advice for future biotechs.

The Quincecare duty - what does it mean for payment service providers?

In this podcast we discuss the Quincecare duty, first recognised over 30 years ago, discussing what the duty is and how it applies to payment service providers. We explain why payment service providers should be thinking about the duty and how it fits within their existing regulatory and legal obligations.

Topics covered in this podcast include:

• What the Quincecare duty is and why it was established
• How the Quincecare duty fits with a payment service provider’s duty to comply with authorised payment instructions from a customer
• How the courts approach the Quincecare duty and some recent litigation examples
• Which category of customers the Quincecare duty applies to
• Practical implications of the Quincecare duty: what issues should payment service providers should be thinking about, both contractually and in practice?

For further information and some of the most frequently asked questions about the Quincecare duty, read our most recent update.

Selecting your Fund Domicile - Mauritius

In this episode of Selecting your Fund Domicile, A&O Middle East Funds & Asset Management Partner Kamar Jaffer and our guest speaker Bhavna Ramsurun, Partner at BLC Robert & Associates, discuss current legal and regulatory trends in the funds sector in Mauritius. In particular, the discussion focuses around: 

• types of funds that are being set in Mauritius
• types of vehicles that are currently used in the region, including, among others, the Variable Capital Company (VCC)
• key regulatory structuring considerations and requirements applicable to private funds
• the economic substance requirements and the ecosystem in Mauritius
• topical fund finance, ESG and sustainable finance trends.  

Selecting your Fund Domicile is a series of video podcasts that focuses on manager considerations for setting up a fund and choosing the most appropriate domicile. Featuring leading offshore law firms and A&O experts, this Q&A series will explore some of the benefits and legal and regulatory considerations for each offshore location, including the British Virgin Islands, the Channel Islands, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Ireland, Luxembourg and Mauritius. We will also cover FAQs on how to choose a domicile for your fund and why offshore jurisdictions have become a key choice for global alternative investment funds. 

About the speaker

Bhavna Ramsurun is a Partner at BLC Robert and Associates in the Financial Services team.  She is involved in diverse aspects of financial regulatory matters with a special focus on investment funds, capital markets regulation and securities law. Bhavna frequently advises on structuring and establishing funds and alternative private investment vehicles, the establishment of financial services providers and institutions and regulatory compliance. She is also well-honed in securities law and capital market matters including the securities offering, listing of securities on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, takeover regulation and issuers’ regulatory obligations.

Women in Funds: Conversation with Lorna Brown, CEO at Birchwood Real Estate Capital

In the next episode of ‘Women in Funds’, funds & asset management partner Emma Danforth (London) has an insightful discussion with Lorna Brown, CEO at the newly established Birchwood Real Estate Capital, around diversity, equity & inclusion topics, the value of mentorship and sponsorship in her career and how to thrive in a male-dominated industry.   

About the speaker

Lorna Brown is the Chief Executive Officer at Birchwood Real Estate Capital, an alternative lender focussed on providing senior, whole loan and mezzanine financing in the UK and Europe.  

Lorna has over 22 years’ experience across real estate equity and debt. She established Birchwood Real Estate following her role as Head of Capital Markets at Delancey, where she was responsible for raising and deploying their inaugural debt fund as well as sourcing, closing and managing equity transactions and arranging debt for their equity investments.

Prior to this, Lorna held a range of roles including Global Head of Real Estate Debt at Legal & General Investment Management, Managing Director at Blackstone Real Estate and Managing Director at RBS.