Latest news with #Freshfields
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legal tech platform Definely raises $30M Series B to make contract reviewing more efficient
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu was always curious about what work life was like for his colleague Feargus MacDaeid, one of the few registered blind lawyers in the U.K. Both practiced law at the global firm Freshfields. When asking about what would make his life easier, the answer was clear: 'Help me navigate definitions in complex contracts without losing context,' Emelifeonwu told TechCrunch. He realized the fix to MacDaeid's request would be useful to every lawyer. So in 2017, Emelifeonwu and MacDaeid teamed up to launch Definely, an AI legal tech startup allowing lawyers to more seamlessly review and edit complex contracts. The company, based in the U.K., announced earlier this week a $30 million Series B from a mix of European and North American investors, including Revaia, Alumni Ventures, and Beacon Capital. It had previously raised a $7 million Series A last May. Definely offers a productivity suite to streamline the legal drafting and review process. It has a Draft feature that lets lawyers read contracts and navigate definitions and clauses without losing their place in the document; it has a Vault, that lets users insert clauses with a single click; it has a Proof feature, which uses AI to check for inconsistencies and broken cross-references, and it has a PDF feature that lets users extract and analyze points from scanned legal documents. 'Looking ahead, we're building on these capabilities with an agentic AI system we recently launched called Enhance,' Emelifeonwu said, adding that it has AI agents that work with Microsoft Word. 'These agents collaborate to complete tasks across drafting, reviewing, and proofreading, streamlining work for legal professionals where they already operate.' Emelifeonwu described the fundraising process this time around as 'arduous.' 'A close second [word] might be rewarding,' he said. The company met this round's lead investor, Revaia, through an introduction. The rest of the investors came to the company directly. 'We didn't reach out to one investor during Series B.' The fresh capital will be used to further the company's expansion into the U.S., which now accounts for 30% of the company's revenue, it says. It also hopes to further invest in the AI space and hire more employees. Others working in the legal contract space in this way include the companies Luminance, Robin AI, and ContractPodAi. Emelifeonwu, a Nigerian immigrant in the U.K., said he dreamed of being a lawyer since he was a kid but once he became one, he was hit with the entrepreneurial spirit. 'I've always had ideas, and I explored a few, but when the right idea came along, one that tapped directly into the challenges I experienced firsthand as a lawyer, I knew I had to pursue it,' he continued. He also understands the importance of such a big round when Black founders don't, statistically, account for much of the annual venture fundraising activity. 'Having raised fresh capital and building toward a truly global business, it's both a personal milestone and, I hope, a signal to others that it's possible,' he said. 'I want this to inspire the next wave of builders who may not come from traditional paths but have just as much potential to create lasting impact.' Sign in to access your portfolio
TECHx
23-05-2025
- Business
- TECHx
AI Threats Escalate in 2025 Cloud Security Report
Home » Emerging technologies » Cloud Computing » AI Threats Escalate in 2025 Cloud Security Report Gigamon, a leader in deep observability, has released its 2025 Hybrid Cloud Security Survey. The annual report revealed mounting pressure on hybrid cloud environments due to the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI). The third edition of the survey gathered responses from over 1,000 global Security and IT leaders. Findings showed a sharp rise in cyberthreats, with breach rates reaching 55 percent. This marks a 17 percent year-over-year increase. Gigamon reported that AI-generated attacks are a key driver behind this surge. Security and IT teams are struggling to cope. According to the World Economic Forum, the global cost of cybercrime is now estimated at $3 trillion. The report revealed organizations face challenges like fragmented cloud systems, limited intelligence, and ineffective security tools. Gigamon's study highlighted several critical trends: 46% of leaders ranked AI-generated threats as their top priority. 58% reported an increase in AI-powered ransomware, up from 41% in 2024. 47% said attacks on large language model (LLM) deployments are rising. Additionally, 91 percent of leaders admitted to making trade-offs when securing their hybrid cloud infrastructure. The lack of clean, high-quality data and poor visibility into lateral network movement were key reasons. Public cloud security is now under scrutiny. Gigamon revealed that 70 percent of leaders view it as the most risky environment. As a result, many organizations are reconsidering their strategies. Around 70 percent are thinking of moving data back to private clouds. Moreover, 54 percent are hesitant to use AI in public cloud setups due to concerns about intellectual property. Visibility remains a key concern. The report found that 64 percent of organizations plan to prioritize real-time threat monitoring. However, 55 percent lack confidence in their current tools' ability to detect breaches. Deep observability is gaining ground. Gigamon announced that 89 percent of respondents see it as vital for managing hybrid cloud security. Executive boards are also taking notice, with 83 percent now discussing deep observability as a strategic issue. Mark Jow, EMEA technical evangelist at Gigamon, stated that deep observability helps eliminate visibility gaps and restore control. He explained that integrating network-derived telemetry with MELT data enhances situational awareness. Freshfields CISO Mark Walmsley supported this view. He emphasized that visibility into AI systems and data flows is crucial. According to Walmsley, deep observability enables early threat detection and risk mitigation. Gigamon concluded that deep observability is quickly becoming essential for securing AI deployments and protecting hybrid cloud environments.
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong IPO filings rush in amid worries trade war may slam listing window shut
Advertisement In the first four months of this year, 112 companies submitted applications to list on the main board of the exchange, a 29 per cent increase from 87 in the same period last year, according to Post calculations based on exchange data. The pipeline grew rapidly last month, with 43 filings, twice the number seen in April 2024. If active submissions filed last year are included, 152 companies are waiting to list on Asia's third-largest bourse. 'Many companies are moving forward with their Hong Kong listings,' said Sherlyn Lau, Hong Kong-based partner at law firm Sidley Austin, adding that many firms were filing applications at an accelerated pace because they aimed to list by year's end. 'This pace contrasts sharply with last year's slower pipeline.' Driven by recent successful IPOs in the city and increasing investor interest in certain active sectors – including consumer, artificial intelligence, robotics, energy and biotech – companies were hoping for better valuations, she added. Advertisement 'They work on the basis that this momentum will continue through 2026, and want to be prepared when the window opens,' Lau said. While being cautiously optimistic about the city's IPO outlook for the rest of the year, Richard Wang, partner at law firm Freshfields, said the uncertainty in the US could impact the Hong Kong market.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shareholders are showing signs of DEI fatigue as activists push for more votes
Shareholders are increasingly showing signs of DEI fatigue as political heat around the issue intensifies across corporate America. Both champions and critics of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies are again pushing companies this annual meeting season to either bolster or diminish their DEI policies via shareholder proposals. But so far, none of these proposals have garnered support from investors at Apple (APPL), Costco (COST), and John Deere (DE). And that's not expected to change as more votes are tabulated at more company shareholder meetings in the coming weeks and months, according to experts who follow these votes. "I don't expect this year that we will see many, if any, get majority support," said Elizabeth Bieber, head counsel for shareholder engagement and activism defense at Freshfields. "And I would expect that, when we look at the numbers, year over year, that we actually see waning support, regardless of which ideological side the proposal tends to fall on." As of the end of February, a total of 21 "anti-DEI" proposals and 16 "pro-DEI" proposals were set for a vote this year among publicly traded companies included in the Russell 3000, according to the voting recommendation firm ISS-Corporate. ISS-Corporate expects the total number of DEI proposals to grow before the end of the voting season in April, although it's too early to know for sure. Last year, Russell 3000 company investors forced votes on 34 total proposals opposed to DEI initiatives and 77 in favor of them. This year's early surge in anti-DEI measures could be a signal that opposition proposals are on the rise, Bieber said. It could also lead to a rise in dueling DEI proposals going to a vote within the same company, as happened in February at John Deere (DE). Deere shareholders voted down both pro-DEI and anti-DEI measures. "DEI, as of last year, is certainly one issue where companies were receiving [proposals] on both ends of the ideological spectrum," Bieber said So far, neither pro- nor anti-oriented measures have gained much majority support. In fact, Bieber said, support levels among S&P 500 companies dropped for both pro- and anti-DEI proposals over the last couple of proxy seasons. Fordham University School of Law professor Atinuke Adediran said that in the last three years anti-DEI proposals surpassed those considered pro-DEI but "it's coming from all sides.' Adediran — who researches reputation, financial, and social risks related to corporate race policies — expects that 'most anti-DEI proposals are likely to be turned down, as they were before." Social proposals gained single-digit levels of shareholder support in 2024, and none of the measures passed — even though there was a larger volume of critical proposals. Institutional investors may be driving the losing outcomes on all sides of DEI, according to Bieber and her colleague Pam Marcogliese, who oversees US transactions at Freshfields. Major investors, they said, tend to shy away from going on record supporting ideological causes of any stripe. One recent company where this dynamic played out in plain sight was Deere, which is among the major US companies in the last year to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Even after that rollback was announced, shareholders were asked to vote on ideologically opposed proposals on the same ballot. One, a pro-DEI proposal, didn't fetch enough support but would have required the company's board to oversee a civil rights audit analyzing bias and discrimination risks across the company's policies, practices, products, and services. The proposal received support from 29.2% of voting shareholders. An anti-DEI proposal from the conservative think tank National Legal and Policy Center would have required the company to disclose race- and gender-based hiring trends for its global workforce, in addition to its existing workforce diversity tracking. That initiative, which gained support from just 1.3% of voting shareholders, was based on the group's concern over discrimination against white job applicants. The company had urged shareholders to reject the proposal. Deere is an "equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free of harassment and discrimination" and already supplies workforce diversity data, the company said in a proxy statement. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
Reuters
24-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Law firm Freshfields opens latest US office in Boston
Feb 24 (Reuters) - London-founded law firm Freshfields is pushing further into the U.S. legal market with a new office in Boston, joining an influx of large firms into the city in recent years. The Boston outpost will focus on work for private capital, life sciences and emerging companies, said Matthew Goulding, a private equity M&A lawyer who is joining Freshfields from Latham & Watkins to lead the new office. The city will "play an important role in our U.S. recruitment strategy given its proximity to some of the best colleges and universities" and its talent market, Freshfields senior partner Georgia Dawson said in a statement. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Paul Hastings, Blank Rome, Covington & Burling, Arnold & Porter and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld are among the other law firms that have opened new Boston offices in the past two years, chasing a mix of technology, life sciences, and private capital and funds work. Freshfields' website lists about 500 lawyers across its other U.S. offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and Silicon Valley, out of nearly 2,800 lawyers globally. The firm recently hired several former U.S. officials leaving government after the change in administrations in Washington, including lawyers from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Freshfields last year hired two private equity dealmakers from Latham in New York, including Neal Reenan as a global co-head of private capital and Ian Bushner as head of U.S. private capital. A spokesperson for Latham & Watkins, which has been on its own hiring spree, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Goulding's departure.
