This is the first in a series of podcasts we will be releasing to mark the launch of the third edition of Class Actions in England and Wales, published by Sweet & Maxwell. In this episode we take stock on how class actions are brought in this jurisdiction, look at the position regarding funding, and discuss the global context for class actions. This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team in London, who is joined by Gregg Rowan, a London disputes partner, and Damian Grave, a disputes partner based in Melbourne. The three of them are the general editors of the book. Episode transcript available here.

In this episode, HSF Kramer partners and co-heads of venture and growth capital, Australia, Elizabeth Henderson and Claire Thompson discuss the ins and outs of a US flip.

There’s a lot of talk in Australia about US flips at the moment. Some founders are being told it's essential. Others are wondering if it's worth the cost, complexity and disruption. The reality is that there isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. A US flip is generally manageable with proper planning, but early engagement with Australian and US legal and tax advisers is essential.

The episode unpacks what a US flip involves, how to time the process, and the practical considerations startup founders and GCs need to have on their radar early on.

In this episode, we take the conversation a step further, moving from the challenges of mobile and messaging-app data to the fast-emerging frontier of social media evidence.

Roisin McCrory, Meghan Ryan, David Shepherd and Uchi Jayawardhena explore how posts, private messages, ephemeral content and platform-specific multimedia are increasingly finding their way into litigation and investigations.

As organisations and their employees communicate across an ever-growing mix of platforms, the speakers examine why collecting, preserving and authenticating social media data is significantly more complex than traditional forms of digital evidence. They discuss the practical challenges created by evolving platforms, restricted access pathways and constantly changing content formats, and what these developments mean for legal teams and investigators.

Through emerging trends and real-world examples, the episode highlights a simple but critical reality: AI cannot analyse what you cannot reliably collect. The discussion offers insights into why social media is becoming one of the next major challenges in digital evidence and how organisations can prepare for what lies ahead.

In this episode of Insurance Bites, Hamish Hunter and Kate Mann, Senior Associates in the Insurance & Professional Risks team, report on the appeal in Liberty Managing Agency Limited v Chedid which considered whether allegations of fraud against directors or officers permit a D&O insurer to withdraw cover, or whether the insurer must wait for independent determination. This is a critical question for an insured policyholder as it may determine whether they have the resources to mount a proper defence to the allegations. Our article on the first instance decision can be seen here on our Insurance Notes blog.

What happens when an employer's own conduct prevents the contractor from meeting the contractual completion date? And what are the consequences when a contract has no effective mechanism to deal with acts of prevention? In the first episode of the Construction Law Shortcast, Xavier Milne and Noe Minamikata tackle two foundational principles of English construction law that anyone involved in construction projects needs to understand: the prevention principle and time at large.

These concepts have significant practical implications for the completion date, liquidated damages regime, and other contractual relief potentially available to the parties. A concise breakdown of two principles that neither employers nor contractors should overlook.

AFSA’s appointment of Professor Lise Bosman as the inaugural president of its International Court was a clear statement of intent. Her career has moved between practice, academia and arbitral institutions: from apartheid-era campus politics at the University of Cape Town, the Iran–US Claims Tribunal in The Hague, practising commercial arbitration at Freshfields, leadership of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and two decades teaching arbitration law at the University of Cape Town (UCT). She also serves as senior counsel to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. When she sat down with Jonathan Ripley-Evans, partner in the Johannesburg office at HSF Kramer, the conversation ranged across the current state of South African arbitration, how the AFSA International Court works, and how younger practitioners can build credible careers in the field.

Speakers: Lise Bosman (President, AFSA International Court) and Jonathan Ripley Evans (Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer)

In this episode, partners Jason Betts and Aoife Xuereb speak with Sophie East and Jesse Wilson, partners at Bell Gully, about the evolving class actions landscape in New Zealand and how it compares with developments across the Tasman.

They explore the foundations of New Zealand's representative proceedings regime, the significance of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Ross v Southern Response, and the increasingly important role of litigation funders. The conversation also examines the claims driving activity in the market, the growing influence of Australian class action trends on claim theories and parallel proceedings, and what may lie ahead for the New Zealand class actions landscape.