Done well it’s the key to a successful IPO, but done poorly it can lead to a founder losing control of their business or being unable to attract new investors. Corporate governance is one of the most important considerations for a fast-growing startup, but often isn’t addressed until it’s too late. Kate Cooper in London is joined by fellow partners Sarah Solum and Pamela Marcogliese in Silicon Valley, who explain what founders the world over can learn from the West Coast experience.

In the latest update from Menlo Park, our Silicon Valley founding partners Boris Feldman, Pamela Marcogliese, Maj Vaseghi and Doru Gavril are joined by Alice Greenwell in London to talk people issues. They look at California’s new board diversity legislation and ask whether more states might follow suit, take a deeper dive into the merits of recent diversity-related litigation – and ponder whether the trend towards home working could drive down pay.

Can you trademark software? Will a patent in one jurisdiction protect your idea elsewhere? And what rights can you assert over data? Nothing’s more important than safeguarding what’s valuable in an innovative company, yet it’s surprising how many mis-steps founders make. Here, Partner Richard Bird, principal associate Theresa Ehlen and special counsel Peter Jaffe discuss the most common errors.

There’s never been a better time to shape the debate on digital identity. As the pandemic has accelerated digitalisation for all, digital identity is high on the agenda at a government level, an international level and regulator level. Done properly, digital identity systems could unlock the potential for greater financial inclusion, enable frictionless payments and mitigate the disruptive effects of COVID-19.

In this podcast, part of our 'Fintech in focus' series, Matt O’Callaghan (Head of financial services Asia and co-head of Asia fintech), Cyrus Pocha (Co-head of global fintech) and Theresa Ehlen (Principal Associate specialising in the TMT sector) look at what digital identity could mean for businesses and consumers that are crossing borders, discuss the danger of bias, highlight the importance of data privacy and protection, and consider what firms can do now to make sure new AML systems and regulations strike the right balance.