RiskWatch

Mike Blankenship came back on the show to discuss the IPO underwriting process, the role of due diligence and the state of the IPO market. Mike is a Managing Partner at the Houston office of Winston & Strawn and focuses his practice on corporate finance and securities law, including securities offerings, public company advisory, special purpose company offerings, among others.  You can find a link to Mike's bio and contact information on the Winston & Strawn website here as well as a link to the Underwriting Process presentation that the firm published in May here.

Carrie LeRoy and Charles Walker of the lawfirm Gibson Dunn discuss key takeaways from a bulletin they published on the Gibson Dunn website titled M&A Report: Top Technology Sector-Specific Legal Diligence Concerns in Acquisitions. They discussed the pitfalls that exist for technology acquisitions from intellectual property ownership to cyber security to bribery and corruption risks from third parties. Below is a link to the bulletin as well as links to their bios on the Gibson Dunn website to get in touch.

Gibson Dunn Bulletin

Carrie LeRoy Bio

Charles Walker Bio

Laura Black and Christian Davis of the lawfirm Akin Gump discuss the likelihood and implications of an outbound investment regulation regime to protect US national security interests that would screen and monitor outbound investment from the United States to “countries of concern”.  You can check out recent thought leadership published by the firm here as well as information on how to get in touch.

Kenneth Nunnenkamp is a partner with Morgan Lewis and represents clients in international trade and national security matters. He came on the show to speak about what the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is and its implications for companies and financial institutions going forward.  You can read recent material published by Morgan Lewis on the CTA here.

Clare Connellan, Partner in White & Case’s London office and Head of the firm's Business & Human Rights Interest Group, joins the RiskWatch podcast to share strategies for ensuring compliance with Modern Slavery and Supply Chain regulations, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and the German Supply Chain Act. This conversation covers:

• 00:00 - 00:49 Introduction
• 00:50 - 02:54 An overview of White & Case’s Business & Human Rights Interest Group
• 02:55 - 03:59 Clare’s path to human rights due diligence
• 04:00 - 05:55 Best practices for legal teams 
• 05:56 - 06:51 Starting point for overwhelmed compliance officers
• 06:52 - 09:50 The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
• 09:51 - 13:07 The German Supply Chain Act
• 13:08 - 15:28 Increasing scrutiny of corporate social statements 
• 15:29 - 16:32 Growth of human rights-focused compliance roles
• 16:33 - 17:44 Regulations to watch

Founder of Kaya Advisors and former Tilray EU Alliance Manager, Steven Arthur George, joins the RiskWatch podcast to discuss risk and opportunity in the corporate cannabis space, including recreational legalization in Germany and the evolution of third party relationships. This conversation covers:

00:31 - 00:51 Introduction 

00:52 - 05:50 Steve’s trans-Atlantic cannabis journey

05:51 - 11:30 Comparing the European and US corporate cannabis markets

11:31 - 14:00 Market growth predictions

14:01 - 15:42 The corporate cannabis risk landscape

15:43 - 18:59 The evolution of third party risk in the cannabis industry

19:00 - 22:14 Vetting local partners

22:15 - 27:29 Supply chain struggles and human rights concerns

27:30 - 29:00 Partnership hesitations of traditional industries

29:01 - 32:45 Engaging the cannabis community on social media

Randy Bullard, partner in Morrison Foerster’s Corporate Department and Latin America Desk co-chair, joins the RiskWatch podcast to discuss ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing in Latin America. This conversation covers:

00:46 - 01:49 Randy’s work at Morrison Foerster

01:50 - 02:46 Green energy observations

02:47 - 05:16 Overlooked markets and points of entry for investors

05:17 - 06:41 Due diligence’s role in Randy’s work

06:42 - 07:58 Compliance and reputational risks for ESG investors 

07:59 - 09:02 The COVID-19 Pandemic’s impact on ESG awareness 

09:03 - 11:19 Investor concerns surrounding sustainability-linked and green bonds 

11:20 - 12:57 Monitoring political and regulatory movement 

12:58 - 14:39 Upcoming elections in Colombia, Chile and Brazil

14:40 - 15:48 Regional events to watch

15:59 - 17:16 Resumption of in-person deal making 

17:17 - 19:00 Rising interest in ESG and sustainable investing

19:00 - 20:23 Morrison Foerster’s LATAM and ESG practices

Nancy Jacobson, Counsel, Global Compliance and Ethics at United Airlines, joins Vcheck Global’s Seth Harlan to talk third party risk management (TPRM) and the airline industry. Episode highlights include Nancy’s non-traditional career path, how United recognizes and remediates risk, and compliance challenges facing the airline industry.

This conversation covers:

0:45 - 02:47 Nancy’s non-traditional path to compliance

02:48 - 04:24 United’s third party environment

04:25 - 07:03 United’s third party risks

07:04 - 08:57 TPRM platforms

08:58 - 12:18 Red flag escalation

12:19 - 13:11 United’s remediation process

13:12 - 14:18 Involvement of investigative teams

14:19 - 19:47 Anti-bribery and corruption issues for an international workforce

19:48 - 23:28 TPRM pandemic pivots

23:29 - 26:09 Supply chain issues facing airlines

Tom Stocks, senior investigator with the Organized Crime and Reporting Project joins RiskWatch to discuss the challenges of tracking oligarch assets including industries and locales warranting scrutiny and the ways oligarchs hide their assets.

Learn more at https://vcheckglobal.com/news.

Mike Blankenship, managing partner of Winston & Strawn's Houston office, returns to Vcheck Global's podcast RiskWatch to discuss De-SPAC due diligence priorities, M&A sectors and regions to watch, and risks facing biotech and digital health investors.

Learn more at https://vcheckglobal.com/news.