Counsel Without Borders

A specialist in contentious partnership, employment, and discrimination law, Fox & Partners’ Catriona Watt explains why due process is particularly important in senior-level terminations and how getting it wrong can have significant consequences. Watt also reflects on her experience working on both sides of disputes, including lessons from emotive cross-border litigation and representing law firms and partners.  In a wide-ranging conversation, she further explores the challenges of team moves amid increasingly aggressive hiring practices, the growing importance of non-financial misconduct in financial services, when employers should consider arbitration or mediation, and what happens when PR considerations and legal advice point in different directions?

Singapore's employment landscape is on the cusp of its biggest transformation in decades. In this episode, Drew & Napier co-heads Kelvin Tan and Benjamin Gaw discuss what the Workplace Fairness Act will mean for employers, whether businesses are ready for the changes ahead, and the challenges of balancing foreign talent with local hiring expectations. They also share their thoughts on junior lawyer wellbeing, leadership in the profession, and the employment issues keeping their clients awake at night.

Maria Crabb joins Counsel Without Borders to discuss her journey from private practice to becoming Palo Alto Networks’ sole employment lawyer across Asia-Pacific. Maria explains why non-compete are among her favourite issues to deal with, why understanding local culture is just as important as knowing the law – especially in South Korea! – and how to handle sensitive complaints when there is no easy answer. The conversation also explores how AI is making even routine matters more complex, what she values in external counsel, and how the role and expectations of in-housers have fundamentally shifted. Along the way, Maria discusses mentorship, leadership, and what keeps her awake at night.

With more than a decade of in-house experience across multiple jurisdictions, Liz Williamson has built a truly international employment law career. Now at Swedish-Swiss technology company ABB, she shares how fostering workplaces where everyone feels a genuine sense of belonging has become a key priority. She also discusses why she enjoys workplace investigations, the professional challenges and personal toll of restructurings, and the importance of staying alert to the risks of AI. Along the way, Liz reflects on pushing herself beyond her comfort zone, how the in-house employment lawyer's role has evolved, and what she values most in external legal advisers.

Visiting Singapore this week, Stephen Woodbury, co-head of the newly merged Ashurst Perkins Coie’s international employment group, joins us to discuss what it takes to integrate a truly global practice. He shares insights on aligning cultures, bringing teams together across jurisdictions, and how clients stand to benefit from the expanded platform. The conversation also explores lessons from client-side mergers, the outlook for further market consolidation, the firm’s growth ambitions in Asia, the junior lawyer pay war, and limitations of AI.

Is Germany overregulated? In this episode, Baker McKenzie's Steffen Scheuer unpacks a stable yet highly regulated employment law landscape and the pressures confronting Europe’s largest economy. From AI-driven layoffs and large-scale restructurings to navigating works councils, unions, and workplace complaints, he shares practical insights for employers operating in Germany – while also reflecting on the value of authenticity in a career in private practice.

Aaron Goonrey, APAC practice leader at Pinsent Masons, discusses the importance of understanding client motivations, responding to AI-generated claims, and the realities of practising in Australia’s highly litigious landscape. He also considers outside-the-box remedies to resolving complaints,trade union power down under, the growing challenges of modern slavery due diligence, and the skills needed to build a career as an international employment lawyer.

Trade unions are back at the centre of the workplace conversation. Morgan Lewis partner Matthew Howse joins Counsel Without Borders to discuss the sweeping union rights reforms contained in the Employment Rights Act, why many organisations may be underprepared, and which sectors unions are most likely to target to swell their ranks. The conversation also explores the realities of managing complex cross-border workforce projects and the emerging issues global employers should be preparing for now.

Counsel Without Borders returns with Raquel Flórez, head of Freshfields’ People & Reward practice in Madrid. In this episode, she reflects on her early career, explains why law can never truly be a 9-to-5 profession, discusses the limits of AI in legal practice, shares lessons learned from major setbacks, and explores what multinational companies need to understand about operating in Spain – including the DEI issues employers still consistently get wrong.

In the latest episode of Counsel Without Borders, Robbie Sinclair talks about building a lean team at Gibson Dunn, the competitive drive that underpins top-tier litigation, the importance of a rigorous lessons-learned mindset, why the UK tribunal system is failing employers, and the dangers of getting on the wrong side of the Court of Appeal.

Group litigation is evolving across the UK and Europe – but what does that mean for employers across the continent? In this episode, Squire Patton Boggs' Deborah Polden, Ellie Pinnells, and Janette Lucas discuss everything from differing legal regimes to equal pay disputes, the influence of funders and trade unions, and the next wave of group claims that multinationals must prepare for.

In the latest Counsel Without Borders, Clifford Chance's practice co-chair Alistair Woodland takes listeners on a deep dive into workplace investigations. From scoping the inquiry, witness welfare, and effective interviews to evidence assessment, legal privilege, and transparency, learn about the most common issues that can derail an investigation.

In this first episode of Counsel Without Borders from IEL, award-winning A&O Shearman practice head Sarah Henchoz discusses how the magic circle firm's global employment practice has changed over the last two decades, clients' concerns about the incoming Employment Rights Act, her plan to tackle the UK's growing tribunal backlog, the growing use of AI in workplace investigations, the new skillsets for junior lawyers, and the importance of safeguarding their wellbeing.