The Commercial Awareness Compass by AllAboutLaw
The Commercial Awareness Compass by AllAboutLaw helps you build your commercial awareness every week with a beginners, intermediate and advanced breakdown of a story from an expert lawyer and trainee solicitor host.
This story was taken from a live conversation a few months ago. If you don't want to wait for these conversations, head over to the Commercial Awareness Compass to get them straight to your inbox each week.
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Episodes
54 episodes
Patent pending: how Trump’s pharma tariff shakes global medicine | Commercial Awareness Compass #54
President Trump has proposed a one hundred per cent tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports, due to take effect unless manufacturers shift production to the United States by October 2025. The measure is part of a wider plan to reb...
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Season 1
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Episode 54
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42:12
The quiet giants of the digital age | Commercial Awareness Compass #53
Across Europe, data centres are consuming power on a staggering scale. By 2030, they could require as much electricity as 100 million homes—about half of all households in Europe. A far cry from the anonymous concrete monoliths on industrial es...
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Season 1
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Episode 53
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38:46
Compliance crunch: insurers caught between growth and trust | Commercial Awareness Compass #52
The UK’s insurance sector is facing one of its most significant regulatory shifts since the 2008 financial crisis. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are consulting on proposals to simplify rules, sp...
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Season 1
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Episode 52
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39:05
From forecourt to socket: how Britain gets EVs on the road | Commercial Awareness Compass #51
Electric vehicles (EVs) are shifting from curiosity to inevitability. With a planned ban on new petrol and diesel sales from 2030 and hybrids in 2035, consumer appetite is coming to terms with policy. In 2024, the UK was the largest EV market i...
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Season 1
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Episode 51
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35:11
TikTok’s tug-of-war: Data, politics, and power plays | Commercial Awareness Compass #50
The United States has announced a deal in principle to move TikTok’s American operations under majority US ownership as part of a wider trade agreement with China. Officials say it’s about national security and controlling where data from US us...
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Season 1
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Episode 50
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29:06
The cost of a signature: The fallout from Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys | Commercial Awareness Compass #49
A single court case has redrawn the line between supporting and conducting litigation. In Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys, the High Court confirmed that only authorised individuals can conduct litigation, a term that stretches from issuing pr...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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30:08
Power, liability and culture: Brabners shines the spotlight on sexual harassment law | Commercial Awareness Compass #48
High-profile allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace relationships have dominated the headlines, from the Greg Wallace investigation at the BBC to the Coldplay kiss-cam scandal involving Andy Byron and Kristen Cabot. These ...
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Season 1
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Episode 48
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37:10
Stage fright for Ticketmaster: the legal stakes behind sold-out shows | Commercial Awareness Compass #47
Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, are in the crosshairs of US regulators, accused of colluding with ticket resellers to inflate prices and profit from fans eager to see their favourite artists live. The Federal Trade Commission ...
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Season 1
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Episode 47
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33:56
Hiring under pressure: the reform that could rewrite recruitment | Commercial Awareness Compass #46
The Employment Rights Bill would reshape unfair dismissal by reducing the current two-year qualifying period and introducing an “initial period of employment” that functions like a statutory probation.The headline proposal is unfair dismiss...
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Season 1
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Episode 46
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34:13
Behind the firewalls: the legal risk inside the Online Safety Act | Commercial Awareness Compass #45
The UK’s Online Safety Act has officially come into force and with it, a sweeping overhaul of how digital platforms must operate. Tech companies are under pressure to redesign their systems and policies to comply, implementing mandatory age ver...
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Season 1
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Episode 45
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28:07
Price tags and policy shifts: Adidas’s legal response to US tariffs | Commercial Awareness Compass #44
Adidas has announced it will raise prices for U.S. consumers after new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration increased its supply chain costs by €200 million. This steep increase is owed to the fact that nearly half of Adidas’s production...
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Season 1
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Episode 44
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27:07
Biscuit boom: Pladis’ £68m recipe for UK growth | Commercial Awareness Compass #43
Pladis, the owner of household favourites like McVitie’s, Jacob’s and Jaffa Cakes, is investing £68 million to modernise its UK manufacturing base. The plan includes automated production lines, upgraded infrastructure, and reduced carbon emissi...
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Season 1
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Episode 43
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24:15
Whose line is it anyway? AI’s copyright conundrum | Commercial Awareness Compass #42
Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty. It is rewriting the rules of intellectual property. Established copyright principles are colliding with AI-generated creations, forcing governments, businesses and lawyers to question who owns wha...
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Season 1
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Episode 42
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31:23
Insolvency in retreat: the numbers behind England and Wales’ surprise drop | Commercial Awareness Compass #41
Company insolvencies in England and Wales have taken an unexpected dip. In June 2025, the Insolvency Service recorded 2,043 cases, 8% lower than May and 16% lower than the same month last year. For a country still grappling with rising costs an...
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24:34
Reputation on the ropes: when brands face public backlash | Commercial Awareness Compass #40
In an era where social media can propel a complaint to millions within hours, brand reputation has never been more fragile — or more powerful. One post, one misjudged partnership, one policy misstep: that’s all it takes to send years of brand t...
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Season 1
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Episode 40
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33:04
Understanding public markets in flux with BCLP - Listings fade as bids multiply | Commercial Awareness Compass #39
Public listings in London have plunged to thirty‑year lows even as takeover bids soar.This episode BCLP explores the forces behind stalled IPO pipelines from shifting valuations to regulatory quirks, and reveals how law firms steer clie...
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Season 1
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Episode 39
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34:29
Digital backbone: Unpacking the data centre explosion with Clyde & Co | Commercial Awareness Compass #38
From uninterrupted power supplies to rigorous cooling requirements and airtight security measures, data centre deals have never been more complex. This episode explores the legal strategies that underpin one of Britain’s fastest‑growing industr...
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Season 1
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Episode 38
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29:03
Green foundations: BCLP on the ESG overhaul of real estate | Commercial Awareness Compass #37
With nearly two fifths of the world’s carbon output tied to bricks and mortar, investors, developers and occupiers face a new regulatory era. Our guest from BCLP examines how EPC ratings and MEE standards dictate lettability, the role of green ...
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Season 1
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Episode 37
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31:48
The future of buy-now-pay-later schemes | Commercial Awareness Compass #36
Buy now pay later has revolutionised online spending, especially for younger shoppers seeking interest-free funding but escaped the checks that govern credit cards and loans. The FCA is closing that gap with proposals for affordability testing ...
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Season 1
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Episode 36
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28:23
Follow for fallout: influencer deals and the legal risks | Commercial Awareness Compass #35
The right partnership can drive sales. The wrong one can cause a PR disaster. With influencer marketing reshaping brand strategy, lawyers are managing complex reputational and contractual dynamics.
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Season 1
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Episode 35
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33:04
Data compliance meets commercial risk | Commercial Awareness Compass #34
Law firms, tech platforms and consumer brands are all caught in the data crossfire. With no unified global law, the challenge is staying compliant while staying competitive. Privacy has become a commercial asset—mishandle it, and the damage goe...
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Season 1
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Episode 34
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30:10
War, sanctions, stock shocks: Lawyering in volatile times | Commercial Awareness Compass #33
In this episode, we unpack how politics, law, and global events collide—shaping legal practice in real-time. From the war in Ukraine to data compliance and force majeure clauses, this beginner-friendly session explores how geopolitical developm...
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Season 1
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Episode 33
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29:50
Hype-speed ahead? Or is Tesla heading for a crash landing? | Commercial Awareness Compass #32
Tesla once drove the EV revolution, but is the battery finally running low on the hype? With plummeting sales, a shrinking market share and Elon’s latest headlines more circus than strategy, this week we explore what Tesla’s shifting fortunes m...
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Season 1
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Episode 32
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29:08
Animations assemble: Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney | Commercial Awareness Compass #31
Entertainment giants Disney and Universal have joined forces to take legal action against Midjourney, an AI firm accused of generating unauthorised images of iconic characters including Elsa, Spider-Man, and Darth Vader. With billions at stake,...
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Season 1
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Episode 31
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29:21
From start-up to sale: Hailey Bieber's $1bn Rhode exit | Commercial Awareness Compass #30
Hailey Bieber’s skincare brand Rhode has been snapped up by e.l.f. Beauty in a deal worth up to $1 billion, but this story isn’t just about celebrity clout. It’s about how lawyers help startups grow smart, scale fast, and sell big. From tradema...
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Season 1
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Episode 30
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28:05
