What Matters: A Paul Hastings Podcast

After female members of the U.S. military helped 43 Afghan women with whom they had worked leave Afghanistan and get to the United States, the next step was to apply for immigration benefits. Renata Parras, Paul Hastings ESG counsel, created a legal task force to navigate their pathway to resettlement in the United States. In this episode, we talk with two members of the U.S. military, who cofounded the organization Sisters of Service and tell the story of working alongside these Afghan women, the bonds they formed, how they helped these women get out of Afghanistan, and their ongoing efforts to support these women and their families. We also talk with Renata to learn how this major pro bono effort evolved and the legal process for these female heroes as they seek to remain in the United States.

Is the SEC trying to regulate cybersecurity and innovative financial products through easy enforcements? And is a leanly-staffed SEC prepared for robust pushback from defendants? Partners Ken Herzinger and Eric Sibbit join host the Wayne Stacey of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology to discuss how federal regulators are addressing technology issues.

The Life Sciences Consulting Group at Paul Hastings is a unique offering from a major law firm. Members of the Group work side by side with the firm's lawyers to provide practical, real world perspectives and operational support in collaboration with the lawyers' strategic risk management advice—a “one-stop shop” solution for clients' compliance needs. In this episode, we talk with Consulting Group Leader BJ D'Avella, along with Laura Skinner and Elaina McEwan, Director and Senior Manager, respectively, in the Consulting Group. They share insights into the Consulting Group's unique value for clients, some client success stories, and their perspectives on the trends and developments life sciences companies should follow in the rest of 2021 and beyond.

In spite of the pandemic and an initial slowdown, 2020 turned out to be a busy year for U.S. IPOs—and 2021 is off to a very strong start. This momentum has been driven in part by a tremendous surge in activity when it comes to special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) IPOs. In this episode, Christopher Austin and Brandon Bortner share their insights on the outlook for IPOs as we continue further into 2021, as well as how the pandemic and the new administration in Washington are impacting the IPO market.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) are the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business. ESG investing presents unique opportunities for asset managers to raise assets, but there are also compliance and regulatory risks that asset managers need to be aware of. In this episode, we’re joined by Vadim Avdeychik, of counsel in the firm’s Investment Management practice, and Runjhun Kudaisya, of counsel in the Private Investment Funds practice. We discuss the critical issues surrounding ESG investing, and what clients need to know today.

The convergence of tech and life sciences creates unique challenges when it comes to protecting IP. In this episode, we hear from Yar Chaikovsky and Bruce Wexler, co-chairs of the firm’s global Intellectual Property practice. They discuss trends in IP litigation in the evolving digital health space, as well as share insights from their years of experience trying major patent cases.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact virtually every aspect of our lives, it’s also dramatically altering the business and economic landscape in which our clients operate. In this episode, we’re joined by Ira Kustin, a partner in the firm’s Investment Management practice, based in New York. We explore how this new environment is impacting hedge funds and other private open-end funds, and what clients need to know today.

Investigations and White Collar Defense partner Michael Spafford joins the podcast to discuss the winners, losers and litigation risks associated with LIBOR transition. We'll explore whether or not it is appropriate to use temporary fallback language on a permanent basis and weigh the risks that come from both existing contracts and LIBOR replacement rates. For more information, visit PaulHastings.com/LIBOR.

Host Heidi Au sits down with Hong Kong-based Corporate partner Jason Kuo to discuss the trends he’s seeing in Asia Capital Markets. We’ll explore which capital markets deal structures have been the most popular in the region over the past year, the rise in Hong Kong IPOs, how to overcome barriers to cross-border market participation, and how regulatory changes could impact capital markets going forward.

Congress recently passed and President Trump signed into law FIRRMA -- the most consequential update to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in 30 years. Scott Flicker, a partner in Paul Hastings’ Global Trade Controls practice discusses what might constitute a “threat to national security” or “foreign control,” what changes FIRRMA will bring to CFIUS, why they might be a good thing, and the most important action to take as not to run afoul of CFIUS when considering a cross-border transaction or foreign investment.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to bring tremendous advances, both for consumers and for the enterprise. But if allowed to go unregulated, AI could generate massive disruption in the workplace – with implications pertaining to employee displacement and the creation of intellectual property. Bradford Newman, chair of Paul Hastings’ International Employee Mobility and Trade Secret practice, shares details about his proposed “Artificial Intelligence Data Protection Act,” its goals of limiting disruption caused by AI-created IP and by AI in the workplace, and why a trial attorney has become the champion for artificial intelligence regulation.

In this episode, partner Cathleen McLaughlin and associate Alex Herman of our Finance and Latin America practices discuss what’s happening in the project bond sector. We’ll hear more about the origin of project bonds, the types of projects that are best suited for them, and what sponsors need to know about them going forward.

In this episode, Corporate partner Meagan Olsen moderates a discussion about the initial coin offering (ICO) market -- specifically what token sales are and why they're on the radar of financial regulators. Meagan is joined by David Hernand, Jeff Hartlin and Mike Zuppone who take on the big question, namely, are tokens securities, commodities or both? And how might regulators treat ICOs going forward? To hear the full ICO series or for more information, visit www.paulhastings.com/ICOs.

Energy Capital Markets lawyer Douglas Getten discusses the renewed interest in Master Limited Partnerships by energy companies, their benefits over a traditional IPO and how MLPs can structure themselves to be more attractive to investors. We’ll also peer into the future at what is in store for MLPs and midstream energy companies more broadly.

In this episode, we’re joined by Lawrence Kaplan of Paul Hastings Fintech and Payments practice. We’ll discuss fintech companies and bank charters, the benefits to ILC vs. OCC charters, what a fintech company with a charter would mean for consumers and the banking industry, and how regulators, banking industry organizations and elected officials might react to the disruption of the traditional banking model. For questions or suggestions of future topics, email us at WhatMatters@paulhastings.com