In this podcast, we discuss the background, the principles involved, and the practical implications of HMRC's decision to pause the concession and conduct the review.

For the first episode, to mark Social Mobility Day 2025, Jacob Miller (tagged to profile) has kindly spoken to Garth Heron, Travers Smith's Diversity & Inclusion Executive, about 'code-switching.' Codeswitching is the act of tailoring your identity to the workplace in order to 'fit in', whether that be changing your accent or talking about your experiences growing up, which can be exhausting.

The conversation takes in what this use of emotional labour can do to someone long-term, particularly as they are trying to rise professionally, and how people from a lower socio-economic background are disproportionately likely to suffer 'imposter syndrome' and doubt themselves.

Social Mobility Day is an annual milestone to raise awareness of the challenges people from a lower socio-economic background can face in the workplace and hopefully challenge the stereotypes and discrimination that can hold some people back professionally.

Thanks to Jacob for his participation.

Simon's guests, Ross Butler, Managing Director of Linear B Group, and Tosin Adeyeri, Partner in our Funds team, debate opposing answers to this topical question. Listen now to learn what ESG-linked carried interest means and how it works, plus the pros and cons of incorporating non-financial KPIs into fund economics from their frontline perspective.

The episode ends with a one-sentence answer from each expert guest to… Should your next fund include and ESG or perhaps impacts linked carried interest?

Episode 1 sees Head of Competition Stephen Whitfield and Associate Chloe Budd provide an overview on the state of play of M&A in the gaming industry and discuss how the EU and UK merger control regimes are dealing with such a dynamic sector.

Together they explore key best practice and legal requirements for businesses, including the importance of dedicated AI governance committees, AI ethics and acceptable use policies, promoting training and leveraging upon existing corporate governance structures.

Consideration is also given to the AI Act's impacts on transparency, accountability and the promotion of human oversight of AI systems. They also discuss the AI Act's impact and approach in relation to the environment.

Ailie and Harriet share their personal experiences of being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer while at work. They discuss the potential obstacles to sharing this type of diagnosis at work and how employers can help to create a supportive environment, with reference to Travers Smith's recently established internal Cancer Support Network, and the Working With Cancer pledge which aims to make workplaces more supportive for those diagnosed with or impacted by cancer.

Thanks to Jonathan Fritz, Laura L. Chapman – Partner, Sheppard Mullin, Ignacio Corbera Dale – Partner, Garrigues and Dr. Martin Viciano Gofferje – Partner, Gleiss Lutz for their participation in this podcast.

For more information on some of the topics discussed in this episode, see our briefings on:

• the FCA and the Bank of England's "strategic approach" to AI; and
• the publication of the EU AI Act. 

Longster and Senior Associate Rosie Westley from our

Technology & Commercial Transactions team discuss how AI interacts with

Intellectual Property laws in the UK. They note two main concerns for

businesses: the extent of IP protection for AI systems and their outputs, and

the risk of existing IP rights holders challenging usage of training data and

outputs. Through these main two concerns, our speakers discuss copyright

ownership in AI-generated outputs; difficulties in establishing creative

originality; patentability of such outputs; and IP infringement risks in using

AI systems.

UK and EU data protection regimes apply to artificial intelligence (AI). The

pair underscore the importance of GDPR compliance when utilising AI, including

transparency, purpose limitation, and data minimisation principles, despite the

unique challenges posed by AI's substantial and varied use of personal data.

In the final episode of this series, James and Rachel conclude by discussing potential regulatory action and what types of civil claims your business might face in the event of a data breach.