Our 2025 Global Legal Outlook explores key issues for business leaders as they navigate heightened geopolitical tensions, regulatory disharmony and accelerating business transformation across digital and energy transitions, with a particular focus across the major sectors of technology, energy and financial institutions.

The year 2025 marks a period of change with new governments pursuing growth amid significant geopolitical, economic and societal challenges. In this publication, we explore the key global trends in the technology sector that we believe will shape the legal outlook for businesses in 2025 and beyond.

The UK is set to introduce new laws to combat economic crime, including fraud, money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. The legislation aims to strengthen systems for collecting, accessing and displaying information about UK companies and partnerships and about the ownership of UK real estate by overseas entities. In addition, business organisations may incur criminal liabilities if they fail to take measures to prevent fraud by their employees or agents and it will be made easier to prosecute companies for criminal wrongdoing.

Explore our fully updated review of corporate criminal liability which assesses the risks corporates face across 22 jurisdictions.

Our cross-border guide for company directors aims to inform and help individual directors and international businesses in 25 jurisdictions. With contributions from lawyers across our global network, this version has been updated and now also covers the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Despite the economic disruption caused by the pandemic and a global trend towards greater scrutiny of foreign investment, deal values for cross-border M&A are at an all-time high. Navigating the traps for the unwary has never been more important. Our Cross-border Guide to Private M&A 2021 covers 26 countries, from Australia to Vietnam, and identifies key legal issues for potential purchasers when looking to make acquisitions outside their home jurisdiction.

Over recent years we have seen an increase in both the volume and value of Public M&A with the total global value of deals in 2019 reaching US$1.65tn. Despite a slower start in 2020, Q3 has seen cross-border public M&A back up to the same levels as Q3 2019 with many deals being announced largely backed by private equity, a trend which looks likely to continue. We have also seen changing regulations in different jurisdictions making the cross-border transaction environment increasingly complex.

As enforcement agencies increasingly cooperate to tackle bribery and corruption across the world, we have seen an uptick in large-scale investigations and correspondingly large penalties imposed on companies engaging in unlawful behaviour. Our comprehensive review of anti-bribery and corruption law and enforcement covers 22 jurisdictions across the globe and will be of particular interest to businesses with international operations. 

This Cross-Border Guide considers questions that commonly arise on joint venture deals and how they can be resolved in 26 jurisdictions.

GCs share practical tips and strategies on embedding corporate values and responsible business conduct, integrating ESG factors into decision-making processes, conducting human rights due diligence, using grievance mechanisms and using sustainability principles to navigate through crises.