12: The state we're in

Companies around the world are facing new kinds of lawsuits and regulatory action based on their historic and current conduct and the degree to which it might be contributing to climate change. Academic Thom Wetzer and advisors Euan McVicar and board advisor Vicky Moffatt help untangle what those risks are and how they can be addressed.Don't forget to listen and susbcribe to The Pinsent Masons Podcast for more regular news and analysis from Pinsent Masons. 

We're just popping in briefly to say if you enjoyed Brain Food For General Counsel you might be interested in a new fortnightly news and analysis show from the same team - The Pinsent Masons Podcast.You'll find it wherever you get your podcasts or at https://www.pinsentmasons.com/other/podcast

We investigate the impact of the seemingly sudden leap in AI capability on in house legal teams. The way organisations perform legal functions will change. Hear how from Alastair Morrison, Lucy Shurwood and Orlando Conetta of Pinsent Masons, and University of Miami law professor Michele DeStefano.

Businesses are facing an unusually strong set of challenges, from supply chain disruption to problems retaining staff to energy costs and the risk of insolvency.Pinsent Masons experts Clare Francis, Ronan Lambe, Murdo Maclean and Steve Cottee help you plot your way through difficult times.

Tom Tayler of Aviva Investors and Euan McVicar of Pinsent Masons explain how the systems that govern the whole world's financial activity can be re-tooled to help create political, social and economic stability in the future, which means tacking climate action. 

In a world of intangible assets like personal data, biometric information and NFTs, the ideas underpinning property are in flux. But authors James Salzman and Michael Heller say that something as fundamental as land ownership is more contested than we often assume. And they outline the business strategies that become possible for those who embrace 'ownership engineering'.

We hear how big the stakes are from climate scientist Tamsin Edwards; former UK minister and COP negotiator Douglas Alexander talks us through the COP process, and Michael Watson of Pinsent Masons tells us what businesses should be doing to prepare for a lower carbon future.

Leading psychologists tell us that making changes gradually can help, and outline how business leaders can identify and respond to their teams' reactions to lockdown. With cognitive psychologist Dr Emma Kavanagh, clinical psychologist Anne McKechnie and workplace culture expert Kate Dodd. 

We talk to WorldCC's Sally Guyer, Trakti's Luigi Telesca and David Halliwell of Pinsent Masons about the business intelligence byproducts of smart contracts. 

Businesses are producing more data than ever, but not necessarily understanding it properly. BBC Head Of Statistics Robert Cuffe and statistics professor Liberty Vittert have suggestions on how to make numbers your ally, not your enemy.