In this Committee podcast, Paul White, a corporate partner at A&L Goodbody in Dublin, interviews Dwayne Lysaght, co-head of M&A EMEA at JP Morgan. The interview focuses on the role of the board of directors of a target company and its advisers. The podcast also assesses what corporate lawyers should consider when advising boards of directors. The discussion explores the period before any takeover approach is received, and then discusses considerations for the board of directors and advisers during a takeover bid.

From being global in a true sense, to witnessing the emergence of protectionist regimes around the world, organisations today are more focused on exploring domestic consolidation, the diversification of supply chains and acquiring/ramping up their digital capabilities, all while responding to macro-economic challenges. This represents a paradigm shift for the global M&A landscape.

This episode – ‘G’ for Guantanamo voices – is dedicated to two powerful people: Mohamedou Ould Slahi and Nancy Hollander, who have both helped to shine a light on the humanitarian and human rights catastrophe that is Guantanamo Bay. 

Europe faces a critical energy security situation in the northern hemisphere’s 2022-2023 winter in the months ahead. How will the continent deal with the cut-off of energy, especially gas, from Russia? Will the continent be able to ‘keep the lights on’ in a manner of speaking? In this episode, German attorney Dr Matthias Lang, a European energy law expert, explores the challenges that lie ahead with Don C Smith, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law. 

Regulatory requirements have become increasingly important in the European deal environment over the last few years. Whilst the M&A community is used to the relevance of antitrust filings, foreign investment control (FIC) is today equally important for deals, especially those involving non-EU investors. 

In this podcast, Petra Linsmeier, Head of Antitrust at Gleiss Lutz in Munich, and Jacob von Andreae, FIC partner at Gleiss Lutz's Dusseldorf office, discuss recent trends and issues relating to antitrust and FIC clearance proceedings and how the players involved deal with the requirements, both from a buyer and from a seller perspective. 

The discussion is moderated by Ralf Morshäuser, Education Officer of the IBA Corporate and M&A Law Committee and a corporate partner at Gleiss Lutz's Munich office.

In this episode, Don C Smith, Editor of the Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law (JERL) and Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Program at the University of Denver (US) Sturm College of Law interviews Alain De Serres, Deputy Director in the Policy Studies Branch of the OECD Economics Department.

Resilience can be seen and learnt from recent legal responses to crisis, such as pandemics and climate breakdown. This podcast discusses how resilience can be understood as a feature of the legal system to sustain in times of disruption. In a wider sense, it is the ability of our social-ecological ecosystems to resist and adapt to disruptions, and to pursue sustainable development and equity in an inclusive and nature-based manner. Resilience is playing an ever-increasing role in managing disruptions in energy, infrastructure and natural resources law, for more sustainable outcomes. The podcast summarises a panel discussion held at the IBA SEERIL Biennial in Milan 2022.

The trend against funding oil and gas projects has grown, causing uncertainties to investment, commodity price volatility and heightened concerns regarding energy supply and security. The volatility and rapidly rising commodity prices have been exacerbated recently by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While there is widely-accepted recognition that energy transition must happen, global unrest and market realities are demonstrating that it also needs to occur in an orderly and properly-paced fashion that is economically and politically sustainable in order to mitigate adverse outcomes.

To launch this podcast series, JERL’s Editor Don C Smith interviews Iñigo del Guayo, professor of administrative law at the University of Almeria Spain.  For nearly 30 years, Professor del Guayo has been a member of JERL's editorial advisory board, thus putting him in a unique position to explain the history of the journal.  In addition, his long history of writing about energy law, particularly as it involves European and international law, makes him especially well-suited to comment on what lies ahead for energy and environmental law, a topic that is explored in this interview.

In this podcast, Harpreet K Sidhu, the IBA Counsel Forum’s Publications Officer and the General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Privacy Officer at Pethealth – A Fairfax Company, interviews Shawn Neylan, a partner at Stikeman Elliot. They discuss the issue of sanctions screening and particularly what in-house counsel need to know about this important topic, with a focus on the Canadian perspective. The podcast was recorded on 29 August 2022.