London seminar - Freshfields

London 

seminar 

programme 

AUTUMN WINTER 2012-2013

Welcome 

As 

London seminar programme 

A warm welcome to the 

new series of our London 

seminar programme. In 

this series, we’ll continue 

to tackle some of the 

most pressing issues that 

face our clients today. 

companies increasingly look to 

China and emerging markets for 

growth opportunities, we share our 

insight on managing unfamiliar 

cultural, regulatory and political 

landscapes. We’ll also look at how the 

regulatory and enforcement landscape 

is changing on both a domestic and an 

international level. And we’ll consider 

how internal company power relations 

have shifted – under the media 

spotlight – following the rise of the 

activist shareholder. 

Mark 

Rawlinson 


Managing 

Partner 

We’ll look ahead to 2013 and consider what 

the future holds for M&A, where activity 

levels appear to be on the rise – albeit 

modestly. And we’ll review the development 

of competition law in emerging markets, 

and how best to manage the impact 

of antitrust liability on deals. Finally, 

we’ll discuss the commercial and legal 

implications of building a global brand, and 

we’ll give you a practical guide to getting the 

most from modern media. 

In this programme, we are pleased to 

welcome Rupert Bondy of BP, Robert Webb 

of Rolls-Royce, Philip Bramwell of BAE 

Systems and Mark Harding of Barclays. 

These four general counsel will share 

their experiences of handling crises – 

from the inside. 

Ed Byers, of JP Morgan Cazenove, will join 

the panel at our activism seminar. And 

Freshfields partners from our offices in 

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Brussels 

and Washington DC will join the line-up 

alongside our London team. 

We do hope you enjoy this series of the 

programme, and as always, if there’s a 

particular area you’d like to see covered 

in a future seminar, please let us know.

‘The seminar this 

morning was 

excellent – topical, 

clear and well paced. 

It was a first class 

event, thank you.’ 

Michael Herlihy 

General Counsel, Smiths Group 

Programme 


18 Oct The 

interventionist 

regulator 

15 Jan 

Competition, deal 

execution and 

growth markets 

25 Oct 

Activist 

autumn 

24 Jan 

The eye of 

the storm 

08 Nov 

Navigating 

China 

07 Feb 

Developing 

brands for 

global growth 

29 Nov 

The 

globalisation of 

enforcement 

28 Feb 

Getting the 

most from 

modern media 

06 Dec 

M&A auctions, 

takeovers and 

private deals 

07 Mar 

The future 

of finance

Thursday 18 October 2012 

The 

interventionist 

regulator 

The speakers 


Seminar details 

8.15am Registration 

When is legal not 

acceptable 

Companies that operate in the UK 

face a new hurdle in doing business: 

more intervention and a lack of 

certainty. In addition to being legal, a 

deal must also be deemed ‘acceptable’ 

if it is to succeed. But who decides 

And what are the criteria With 

corporate activities firmly in the 

media spotlight, regulators, 

politicians and lobbyists are 

becoming more interventionist. 

A pension refinancing can be fully 

agreed with the pension trustees, 

only for the regulator to object to 

the terms. And a commercial deal 

may be unravelled by a retrospective 

change in tax law or third-party action. 

In this seminar, we survey this new 

landscape, in which intervention 

increasingly holds up corporate 

activity and damages reputations. 

We consider what is driving this 

change, how companies can respond, 

and how general counsel can spot 

risk areas in specialist teams. 

Who should attend 

General counsel and senior in-house 

counsel from companies that operate 

in the UK. 

Helen Buchanan 

Partner, Tax, London 

Charles Magoffin 

Partner, Employment, 

pensions and benefits, 


8.45-9.45am Seminar 

Northcliffe House 

Auditorium 

1 fully accredited CPD point 

Caroline Stroud 



London

Thursday 25 October 2012 

The speakers 


Activist 

autumn 

Barry O’Brien 

Partner, Corporate, 






Auditorium 


Will the shareholder 

spring become an 

activist autumn 

Shareholder revolts against 

executive pay have left many 

companies reeling – and 

wondering whether this is the start 

of a new era characterised by more 

aggressive activism. 

In this seminar, we’ll update you on 

the remuneration debate, and we 

will consider the wider techniques 

aggressive activists use to destabilise 

boards. We’ll also look at what those 

boards can do to defend themselves. 


General counsel and senior 

in-house counsel. 

Simon Evans 




Ed Byers 

Managing Director, J.P. 

Morgan Cazenove

Thursday 8 November 2012 

Navigating 

The speakers 

Teresa Ko 

Partner and China 

Chairman, Corporate, 

Hong Kong 


China 

Jack Wang 


Shanghai 





Auditorium 


Making a 

success of your 

China business 

Opportunities in what is likely to 

become the biggest economy in the 

world are tempting for western 

businesses seeing only limited 

growth in their domestic markets. 

But companies and boards question 

the challenges and practicalities 

of doing business in an unfamiliar 

cultural and increasingly uncertain 

political or regulatory landscape. 

In this seminar, partners from our 

China practice, who have seen the 

changes of the last decades, will 

offer their insight and share their 

experiences on how to navigate China 

successfully. They will address the 

gamut of issues – from dealing with 

domestic boards and management to 

working with different regulators; 

from structuring foreign investments 

and acquisitions of domestic listed 

and non-listed companies and 

enterprises to putting in place 

licensing, data and brand protection 

and other commercial agreements. 



counsel who want to do business in 

China, strategy and planning directors, 

chief operating officers and chief 

financial officers. 

Jenny Connolly 

Partner, Antitrust, 

competition and trade, 

Shanghai 

Mark Parsons 

Partner, Intellectual 

property and 

information 

technology, Hong Kong

Thursday 29 November 2012 

The speakers 


The 

globalisation 

of 

enforcement 

Christopher Pugh 

Global Head, Dispute 

Resolution, London 





Auditorium 


An insider’s guide 

to working with 

regulators 

As authorities around the world 

continue to step up enforcement, 

companies can struggle to cope with 

the raft of regulation. In this seminar, 

we offer practical tips on when 

and how best to approach different 

regulators, including looking at 

deferred prosecution regimes 

and when to push back against a 

document request. Meanwhile, we 

will consider how self-regulation and 

reporting is evolving, and what other 

forms of enforcement and regulation 

businesses should monitor. 


General counsel and senior lawyers 

from all sectors, but particularly 

those in the regulatory spotlight. 

Tim Coleman 

Partner, Dispute 

Resolution, 

Washington DC 

Alan Ryan 


competition and 

trade, Brussels

Thursday 6 December 2012 





Auditorium 


M&A 

takeovers 

auctions, 

and private 

Is that your 

final offer 

deals 

Auctions have been a big part of private M&A 

for many years but have been less common in 

public deals. Following recent changes to the 

UK Takeover Code there has been an explosion 

in the number of public auctions and this 

seems set to continue. We take this opportunity 

to look at the reasons for this trend as well 

as the tactics and dynamics on both the sellside 

and buy-side in public and private M&A 

auctions. We will also focus on some of the key 

dos and don’ts that can help you avoid saying 

something that you might later regret. 


General counsel, heads of M&A, corporate and 

strategic development directors, and anyone 

with an interest or role in M&A. 

The speakers 

Simon Marchant 



Simon Orton 


Resolution, London 

Claire Wills 



Adrian Maguire 

Partner, Private 

Equity, London 

London seminar programme

Tuesday 15 January 2013 

Competition, 

deal 

The speakers 






Auditorium 


Antitrust rules 

bring corporate 

consequences 

execution 

andgrowth 

markets 

As competition enforcement goes 

global, the repercussions are being 

felt in M&A and restructuring 

activity. In addition to merger 

control, M&A activity can itself turn 

up evidence of anti-competitive 

behaviour, which can complicate 

deal execution. And antitrust 

enforcement is no longer confined 

to the UK, Europe and North 

America. Regulators in emerging 

markets are more interventionist 

and cooperation between all 

competition authorities can make 

antitrust a global barrier to getting 

the deal done. Today, businesses 

executing global transactions need 

an international strategy to address 

antitrust issues to avoid falling foul 

of regulators or being subject to 

private damages litigation. 

In this seminar, we consider the 

impact of these developments 

for the business community, and 

we look at how companies can 

prepare, and what they can expect 

from dealing with less experienced 

regulators in emerging markets. 



in-house counsel from all 

international companies. 

Alastair Chapman 



trade, London 

Simon Priddis 




Graham Watson 



Thursday 24 January 2013 

eye 

The 

of 

the storm 

The speakers 

Rupert Bondy 

Group General 

Counsel, BP 


General counsel share their 

experience of handling a crisis 

Crises are by definition 

unpredictable, destabilising 

and stressful. They can wreak 

commercial and reputational 

havoc, exposing a company to 

relentless external scrutiny, in 

a 24-hour news environment. 

A badly managed crisis 

can see share prices falter, 

financial penalties issued and 

stakeholders dissatisfied. Brands 

that took years to build can be 

destroyed in days. 

But robust disaster management 

plans can build crisis resilience 

allowing a company to respond 

quickly and effectively if disaster 

strikes. Handled well, a crisis can 

allow a company to dismantle 

criticism, avert corporate ruin 

and even generate goodwill 

from the most difficult of 

circumstances. 

We invite general counsel to 

share their tales from the front 

line. How did they respond to 

their crises, what were the 

after-effects, and what might 

they have done differently 

with hindsight 


By invitation only. 

Robert Webb 

General Counsel, 

Rolls-Royce 

Philip Bramwell 

Group General 

Counsel, BAE Systems 

Mark Harding 

Group General 

Counsel, Barclays

Thursday 7 February 2013 

Developing 

brands 

for 

global 

growth 

The speakers 

Claire Wills 




Alex Potter 








Auditorium 


What are the 

commercial and 

legal implications 

In our globalised economy, companies are anxious to 

make sure their brand is popular with consumers in 

both traditional and growth markets, while preserving 

and protecting their rights. Brand management and 

development must comply with laws and regulation 

across multiple markets, some of which are less 

transparent than others. 

Pursuing international markets with high growth 

potential and new customer opportunities brings risks 

to a company just as it brings rewards. In this seminar, 

we will discuss building strong brands into enduring 

international operations, while safeguarding a 

company’s intellectual property. 


General counsel and senior in-house counsel 

from all international companies. 

Richard Bird 

Counsel, Intellectual 

property and 

information technology, 

Shanghai and 

Hong Kong 

Avril Martindale 


property and 

information 

technology, London

Thursday 28 February 2013 

The speakers 


Getting 

the 

most from 

modern 

media 

Natasha Good 







Auditorium 


Balancing 

the pros and 

cons for your 

business 

Consumer and business interactions 

are increasingly shaped by modern 

media, a development that has 

brought with it new opportunities – 

and new risks. In this seminar, we cut 

through the jargon and look at how 

companies and their customers really 

use modern media, and we consider 

where related risks lie. 

We will help you handle the legal 

minefield presented by new media, 

which includes everything from 

brand and contractual risk, to data 

loss, to the regulation of Twitter. 

We’ll give you a practical guide 

to controlling risk and avoiding 

common pitfalls, enabling your 

business to get the most out of 

modern media on a commercial 

level. 



counsel from all industries. 

Avril Martindale 


property and 

information 

technology, London 

Paul Lomas 


Resolution, London

Thursday 7 March 2013 

The 

future 

The speakers 


of 

finance 

David Trott 

Partner, Finance, 


The evolution of 

financing structures 

in dislocated markets 

The deleveraging of the banks coupled 

with the dislocation of the financing 

markets over the last five years has 

resulted in the evolution of radically 

new financing techniques. 

And we’ve seen the rise of direct 

intermediation between borrowers 

and institutions, which have been 

traditional buyers of CDOs and 

securitised products. 

Karen Fountain 





The high yield and bond markets 

have both responded opportunistically 

to help fill the void. We have seen 

increasing activity and interest in 

debt funds, not just as players in 

the secondary markets, but also 

as primary lenders. 

In this seminar, a multi-disciplinary 

team will explore the financing 

techniques being developed against 

the backdrop of today’s challenging 

markets. We’ll help explore the 

regulatory environment in which 

new financing models will have to 

grow and we will anticipate where 

the current trends will take us in 

the next five years. 

Gil Strauss 

Partner, Corporate and 

Finance, London 



Auditorium 




in-house counsel. 

Christopher Barratt 

Partner, Finance, 


Furnival St 

‘Hearing the speakers’ 

war stories was 

invaluable. It brought 

the points to life and 

ensured the seminar 

was of practical value 

rather than being 

generic theory.’ 

Phil Hagan 

Director, Group Legal, 

The Phoenix Group 

How to find us 

All seminars will take 

place in Northcliffe House 

Auditorium, as indicated 

on the map 

Freshfields Bruckhaus 

Deringer 


26-28 Tudor Street 

EC4Y 0BQ 

High 

Arundel St 

Temple Place 

Victoria 

Holborn 

Chancery 

Royal Courts 

of Justice 

Chancery Lane 

Temple 

Lane 

Strand 

Fetter Lane 

Inner 

Temple 

Fetter Lane 

Fleet 

Inner Temple 

Gardens 

Embankment 

New Fetter Lane 

River Thames 

Bouverie St 

Temple Ave 

How to register 

To register online go to: 

www.freshfields.com/ 

londonseminars 

or contact 

Bolette Due Andersen 

T +44 20 7785 5539 

E bolette.dueandersen@ 

freshfields.com 

Holborn 

St Andrew’s St 

Street 

Whitefriars St 

Dorset Rise 

Tudor 

Farringdon Rd 

Farringdon St 

Street 

Viaduct Newgate Street 

New Bridge St 

Blackfriars St 

Old 

Bailey 

Ludgate Hill 

City 

Thameslink 

Blackfriars 

St Bartholomews 

Hospital 

National Postal 

Museum 

Warwick 

Lane 

King Edward St 

St Paul’s 

Queen Victoria Street 

Aldersgate St 

St Paul’s 

St Paul’s 

Cathedral 

New Change 

Upper Thames St 

Our offices 

North America 

New York 

Washington 

Europe 

Amsterdam 

Barcelona 

Berlin 

Brussels 

Cologne 

Düsseldorf 

Frankfurt am Main 

Hamburg 


Madrid 

Milan 

Moscow 

Munich 

Paris 

Rome 

Vienna 

Middle East 

Abu Dhabi 

Bahrain 

Dubai 

Asia 

Beijing 

Hanoi 

Ho Chi Minh City 

Hong Kong 

Shanghai 

Singapore 

Tokyo

London seminar - Freshfields

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?