Horizon scanning
2023 PROGRAMME
What will our world look like in 2023? Which issues are just emerging and which are here to stay? Slaughter and May’s horizon scanning series will inform and encourage discussions on these critical areas as they develop through the year. Rooted in the practical but always with an eye to future developments, we invite you to dive in and find something relevant to your world today.
This page will be updated throughout the year to provide an update on the key insights we’ll be thinking about. Do bookmark this link and come back to see what’s on our radar. You can also click the button below to subscribe to all our Horizon Scanning content, or subscribe to individual themes below.
Click the logos below to find out more about each theme.
ACROSS BORDERS
Geopolitical volatility, rising costs and economic slowdowns coupled with regulatory changes provide an increasingly complex landscape for companies operating internationally. Businesses need to be adaptive, and their strategy and investments must also adjust accordingly.
Rule divergence
Proposed legislative changes in the UK will bring about increased divergence from existing EU rules and regulations. Financial regulation, data privacy, digital regulation and merger control are all under the microscope. Our series of informative podcasts will help businesses understand each area and the likely impact these changes will have.
M&A in a downturn
A downturn presents both challenges and opportunity for M&A activity. Challenges come from regulatory intervention, transactional volatility, access to finance across public and private markets. Opportunities come from drivers of activity, such as corporate digitisation, ongoing infrastructure investment and the drive towards more sustainable business models. Our series looks at what it takes to turn these factors into successful M&A.
Listen to our Across Borders podcast
This podcast outlines Across Borders as a key theme for the year and sets out how we will address it through our content and events programme over the coming months.
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Simon |
Jan |
Lisa |
Paul |
Subscribe to Across Borders using the button below, to receive content as it is published.
Governance & Sustainability
If 2022 was a year of ever greater commitments to net zero and sustainability, then 2023 is all about authentic and effective implementation of those targets and putting in place the right governance and procedures to meet them. It’s also the year to focus on social issues alongside environmental ones. Businesses are facing increasing pressure to be sustainable, inclusive, and part of the communities in which they operate, whilst adhering to an increasing number of new rules and regulations throughout their entire supply chain.
Greenwashing and climate litigation risk
Businesses are under growing pressure to make increasingly bold statements about their green credentials. This pressure, combined with amplified scrutiny on disclosures, continues to drive sustainability strategies and puts greenwashing, climate, regulatory and litigation risk at the top of the board room agenda. Our series of short briefings will unpick some of these issues and look at what businesses can do to ensure they are well prepared in the year ahead.
Human rights and the just transition
Companies transitioning away from carbon-intensive practices will need to factor in its effect of the transition on the people they employ and the communities they operate within and serve. Our briefing will help people understand what they should be thinking about, as we expect human rights commitments for businesses – not just governments - to increasingly shift from voluntary to mandatory.
Listen to our Governance & Sustainability podcast
This podcast outlines Governance & Sustainability as a key theme for the year and sets out how we will address it through our content and events programme over the coming months.
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David |
Azadeh |
George |
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Subscribe to Governance & Sustainability using the button below, to receive content as it is published.
Digital
Corporate digitalisation and technological developments continue at a rapid pace. Ongoing scrutiny of ‘big tech’ will have implications for the wider digital ecosystem. An increasing regulatory focus on online activities, cyber security and the use of data, AI and crypto-assets could also impact corporate strategy across all sectors in 2023.
Digital Regulation: wider impact
The continued divergence of regulations across the EU, UK, US and beyond makes navigating the digital landscape challenging. Some of these new rules (DMA, DSA, Online Harms etc.) appear to target larger tech platforms, although their impact will be felt more widely. Other regulatory developments will be relevant to any organisation operating digitally, such as changes to the way data can be used and monetised. Big Tech’s entry into a range of retail financial services sectors and the globally coordinated attempts to regulate the crypto-asset sector will also be a focus of our Digital Regulation content in 2023.
Our Digital blog, the Lens, will keep you updated on these digital developments as they unfold.
The corporate digital transformation journey
Clients across all sectors have identified the next phase of digital transformation as the most critical priority for growth in 2023 and beyond. But digital transformation projects can, and do, go wrong. In this series, we will look at:
- Keeping transformation projects on track
- Issues to consider when implementing AI
- Managing cyber risks with an increasing digital footprint
- The expansion of operational resilience requirements to those providing technology services to the financial services sector
Opportunities for emerging tech growth companies
Despite the likely decline in funding availability and valuations for emerging tech companies in 2023, we remain positive about the emerging tech ecosystem. Fintech, climatetech and healthtech in particular should remain resilient sectors in Europe, and we expect consolidation as well as investment in potentially counter-cyclical businesses (e.g. fintech propositions that help manage finances and save money).
We are launching our ‘Tech Tank’ client roundtables, initially covering climatetech, healthtech and fintech, to discuss industry wide issues as these emergent areas come to the fore next year.
Listen to our Digital podcast
This podcast outlines Digital as a key theme for the year and sets out how we will address it through our content and events programme over the coming months.
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Rob |
Laura |
Natalie |
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Subscribe to Digital using the button below, to receive content as it is published.
Risk & Resilience
Businesses face a worsening global commercial environment. From macroeconomic distress and uncertainty to geopolitical tension, supply chain disruption and sharpening litigation risk, to the effects of inflation and consumer resilience, companies must navigate amidst a range of headwinds at this point in the cycle.
Financial stress
The prevailing macroeconomic climate creates a range of considerations for businesses as we enter 2023. The long period of QE and low interest rates is over and uncertainty over precisely what comes next, creates challenges around financial planning and reporting. Some of those needing to refinance will face challenges, and they may need to consider a wider range of options, while the prospect of an uptick in distressed disposals may well create M&A opportunities for those well placed to take advantage of them. Our series will address these challenges and identify appropriate mitigating steps as well as inherent opportunities.
Enforcement
After a relatively fallow period for enforcement during and in the immediate wake of the pandemic, there are signs of increased urgency from various agencies. We will start the year with a briefing considering the UK’s FCA – its activity in the past year and a look at likely priorities in 2023. Later in the year, a change in leadership at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office will inevitably draw analysis as to any change in strategic vision. And on sanctions, we will watch with interest for Russia-related action emanating from OFSI, both in terms of the scale of any penalties and the novel application of strict liability to civil sanctions breaches as it plays out in practice.
Class actions and litigation risk
We will continue our series of briefings addressing key developments in the evolving class and group action landscape. Judgments in the last year have put further flesh on the bones of the UK’s competition class action regime and claimant firms and litigation funders have continued to test the boundaries of the current law. We are involved in a broad range of claims, from competition damages cases to environmental and climate risk litigation, and from alleged abuses in supply chains to liability for data breaches. Our market-leading team will continue to publish periodic analyses of judgements and trends in this fast-moving area throughout the year.
Listen to our Risk & Resilience podcast
This podcast outlines Risk & Resilience as a key theme for the year and sets out how we will address it through our content and events programme over the coming months.
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Andrew |
Ian |
Jonathan |
Harriet |
Subscribe to Risk & Resilience using the button below, to receive content as it is published.
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