A&O Shearman global insights

Beyond fintech: Crypto moves toward clarity

In our latest Beyond Fintech podcast, partners Dario de Martino and Susan Gault‑Brown examine a wave of coordinated U.S. regulatory and legislative developments that signal a meaningful shift toward a workable framework for digital assets.

They discuss:

• The joint SEC–CFTC guidance and why its new taxonomy marks a shift away from enforcement first regulation
• How the Howey analysis is evolving, with the focus moving from the token itself to the circumstances of the sale
• What NASDAQ’s tokenized securities pilot signals for the future of public markets
• Why recent CFTC and OCC actions matter as Congress debates the Clarity Act

The message is clear: this isn’t the finish line—it's a credible bridge toward regulatory certainty.

Listen to the full episode to understand what this moment means for digital‑asset businesses, platforms, and investors navigating what comes next.

Beyond fintech is your essential guide to the seismic shifts redefining digital finance, regulation, and innovation. Each episode brings together leading voices from A&O Shearman’s global practice and industry trailblazers to decode the fast-moving world of crypto enforcement, token incentives, stablecoins, digital bonds, privacy, and cybersecurity. The series provides the sharp analysis and practical takeaways to turn complexity into clarity, arming founders, investors, and decision-makers with the signals they need for the road ahead. 

Disputes in Space: Collisions in space - who is responsible to whom?

In this episode of Disputes in Space, A&O Shearman partner Arthur Sauzay is joined by Romain Lucken, CEO of Aldoria, a company that provides space object tracking and orbital safety solutions, and Michael Bowsher KC of Monckton Chambers to examine the disputes risks arising from an increasingly congested orbital environment and the unique challenges involved in resolving them.

Earth’s orbit is more crowded than ever. Operational satellites and other technology, outdated hardware, and debris all contribute to the numbers. Collisions can destroy critical infrastructure, generate thousands of new fragments, and create cascading hazards for those operating in and using space. Add to that the uncertainty of re entry—not all objects burn up— and it’s clear that we face a rapidly escalating risk environment.  

The episode covers:

• Why fault based liability in orbit is so difficult to apply in practice
• How ground station operations and evidence gaps complicate attribution
• The limitations of existing state to state dispute mechanisms
• The critical role of space situational awareness data in proving (or disproving) fault
• How operators, insurers and counsel can prepare for the disputes that will inevitably follow from a congested orbital environment

If you’re advising on space operations, insurance, regulatory strategy, or risk, this episode will give you a clear sense of where disputes are likely to emerge and what tools we may need to resolve them.

Disputes in Space is a podcast series from A&O Shearman’s Future Disputes group, exploring the disputes risks emerging from the rapid commercialization of space. Featuring A&O Shearman lawyers and external experts, the series examines collisions, spectrum interference, and space mining—and the legal, regulatory, and evidentiary challenges shaping the future space economy.

Disputes in Space: Spectrum wars and frequency interference disputes

In this episode of Disputes in Space, Arthur Sauzay is joined by A&O Shearman partner Andrew Denny and senior associate Piermaurizio Tafuni to discuss why spectrum interference is emerging as a critical disputes risk in the space sector. 

Space isn’t only crowded with satellites—it’s also crowded across the radio frequencies that they depend on. As mega constellations grow, satellites deliver direct to device services, and multiple operators compete for access to key bands; the demand for usable spectrum is intensifying.  

Although an international framework governing spectrum allocation does exist, it was built for a very different era—one in which satellites were launched by States, operated in low numbers, and rarely competed for the same frequencies. Today, private operators face a system where coordination depends heavily on national administrations and enforcement options are uncertain. As commercial dependence on uninterrupted connectivity grows, harmful interference is set to become one of the most strategically significant—and litigated—issues in the space sector. 

The episode discusses:

• The rising risk of harmful interference from overlapping constellations and D2D services
• How national interests and geopolitical pressures shape outcomes in cross border interference disputes
• How the ITU’s current allocation system works—and why it struggles under modern commercial pressures
• The limits of existing coordination and enforcement mechanisms
• Why operators increasingly rely on bilateral coordination agreements and arbitration to safeguard their rights 

This episode explains where interference disputes are most likely to develop and the contractual, technical and procedural tools needed to manage them. 

Disputes in Space is a podcast series from A&O Shearman’s Future Disputes group, exploring the disputes risks emerging from the rapid commercialization of space. Featuring A&O Shearman lawyers and external experts, the series examines collisions, spectrum interference, and space mining—and the legal, regulatory, and evidentiary challenges shaping the future space economy 

Disputes in Space: The asteroid gold rush - space mining and its future

In this episode of Disputes in Space, A&O Shearman partner Andrew Denny is joined by Jenn Lawrence of Monckton Chambers and Marie Stoyanov, A&O Shearman’s Global Head of Arbitration, to explore why space mining is poised to become a major source of future disputes. 

As launch costs fall and technology improves, commercial operators are looking ahead to a world where metals, rare minerals, and even water are extracted from asteroids and the lunar surface and used to fuel deeper exploration, power in orbit manufacturing, and support permanent infrastructure in space, as well as for projects on Earth. In the coming decades, we’re likely to see a rapid acceleration: prospecting missions, pilot extraction projects, and the emergence of sophisticated supply chains built entirely beyond Earth.   

While our commercial ambitions have raced forward, our legal frameworks have not. The Outer Space Treaty was drafted in the 1960s, long before private operators were formulating plans for space mining. National laws and the Artemis Accords offer partial answers to some questions, but the global regulatory landscape remains fragmented and ill equipped to deal with overlapping claims, competing rights, or conflicts concerning extraction in space. The result is an environment primed for complex, multi layered disputes. 

The discussion covers:

• What the commercial landscape for space resources is expected to look like in the next 10–15 years
• How gaps and ambiguities in the Outer Space Treaty fuel competing interpretations regarding resource rights
• The growing tension between national legislation and international obligations
• Why future disputes may span state to state claims, contractual arbitration, tort based actions and even investor–state cases
• What frameworks (such as the Hague “building blocks”) might shape the long term development of space mining governance 

If your work touches the future space economy—whether exploration, infrastructure, investment, or commercial operations— this episode offers clarity on where the earliest legal flashpoints in space mining are likely to emerge, and what businesses will need to navigate as humanity’s commercial activities move deeper into the solar system.

Disputes in Space is a podcast series from A&O Shearman’s Future Disputes group, exploring the disputes risks emerging from the rapid commercialization of space. Featuring A&O Shearman lawyers and external experts, the series examines collisions, spectrum interference, and space mining—and the legal, regulatory, and evidentiary challenges shaping the future space economy. 

Investing in the defense sector: procurement, sanctions, and ESG

Private capital is playing an increasingly important role in the defense sector, with interest from nearly every major bank and private equity fund. In our latest podcast, Magdalena Nasilowska is joined by Maeve Hanna, Matt Townsend, and Udo Olgemoller to examine the key legal and regulatory considerations now shaping defense investment—and what they mean for deal structure, risk management, and long-term value creation.

The discussion explores the evolving landscape across the EU and UK, focusing on:

• why public procurement is central to success in the defense industry, where governments are effectively the only customers, and how procurement frameworks shape valuations, deal certainty, and revenue predictability
• how the EU's patchwork of 27 national procurement regimes operates, including targeted exemptions, Article 346 TFEU carve-outs for essential security interests, and new programs like SAFE that impose additional conditions on funding
• the UK's reformed approach under the Procurement Act 2023, including greater flexibility for defense and security contracts, expanded scope covering dual-use and emerging technologies, and streamlined powers for designated authorities
• sanctions risks across four key categories—country risk, counterparty risk, sector and activity risk, and equipment/technology risk—and why supply chain transparency is critical
• the explosion in export control complexity, including dual-use regimes, U.S. Export Administration Regulations (EAR) implications, and how ownership structures affect future licensing possibilities
• the EU Defence Readiness Omnibus package, which aims to accelerate procurement and capability development while introducing stronger supply chain checks and compliance expectations
• ESG considerations and whether defencse investment remains compatible with sustainability commitments, including the distinction between taxonomy-aligned funds and those with greater investment flexibility.

What this means for investors

Defense transactions require careful navigation of procurement regimes, sanctions frameworks, and export controls—all of which directly affect deal structure and long-term returns. Investors should prepare properly by developing a detailed defense sector strategy and reviewing internal policies, define their investment scope carefully, recognizing that defense extends beyond heavy military equipment to critical infrastructure, defense technology, and dual-use products, and build robust compliance frameworks with strong governance structures, audit and risk committees, and rigorous contract reviews

Episode #8: Refinancings and high energy costs set to drive Australian restructurings in the year ahead - Global restructuring outlook

Stubborn inflation, high energy prices and elevated housing costs are combining to put pressure on the Australian economy. In the eighth episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, David Walter in Sydney and Fred Sosnick, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, discuss how these dynamics will drive distressed acquisitions in the year ahead – and in which sectors investors can find the most ‘deal-ready’ assets.  

Episode #7: Germany turns to restructuring to strengthen corporate resilience - Global restructuring outlook

After several years of weak economic growth, restructuring is emerging as a strategic tool to revitalise Germany’s under-pressure businesses. Here, Hauke Sattler in Hamburg, Bernhard Herding in Frankfurt and Katrina Buckley, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, discuss how the use of StaRUG, Germany’s preventive restructuring framework, is creating investment opportunities in distressed assets and special situations. 

Episode #6: Court rulings on ‘fair’ treatment of creditors reshape UK restructuring landscape - Global restructuring outlook

The UK courts are redefining the standards for creditor treatment under the country’s restructuring plans. In the sixth episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, Karen McMaster and Katrina Buckley, co-head of A&O Sheaman’s global restructuring team, explore how, against a backdrop of evolving case law, market participants are exploring alternative mechanisms such as liability management exercises and distressed disposals to navigate financial distress. 

Episode #5: Dutch restructuring framework continues to evolve - Global restructuring outlook

Funding, enforcement and cross-border recognition will play a prominent role in Dutch restructurings in the year ahead. At the same time, WHOA -the Netherlands’ restructuring tool – continues to evolve as court rulings and wider adoption refine its key mechanisms. In the fifth episode of our Global restructuring outlook series, Katrina Buckley, co-head of A&O Shearman’s restructuring practice, and Aroen Kuitenbrouwer in Amsterdam explore what we can expect to see going forward. 

Episode #4: Italy set for a busy year of restructuring activity in 2026 - Global restructuring outlook

Italy’s rescue-first approach under its restructuring and insolvency code, the CCII, is driving earlier corporate turnarounds and faster corporate resolutions than in the past. In the fourth episode of our Global restructuring outlook podcast series, Paolo Manganelli in Milan and Fred Sosnick, co-head of A&O Shearman’s global restructuring team, explain how these developments will shape restructuring and M&A activity in the months ahead.