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Legal support for global product launch

4 hours ago
2 min read

Supporting the International Swaps and Derivatives Association to obtain enforceability advice across key jurisdictions ahead of the launch of its new tech product.

Receiving a notice online from a financial counterparty

AT A GLANCE  Client: International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) Sector: Financial services (derivatives) Engagement: Senior Legal Consultant Focus: Legal support to confirm enforceability of the new tech product ahead of launch across priority jurisdictions and supporting management of global legal opinions platform.

THE CLIENT

ISDA is a financial industry association whose standards and frameworks underpin the derivatives market. AT the time of engagement, ISDA had 1,000 members in 76 countries and aims to foster safe and efficient derivatives markets.

THE CHALLENGE

At the end of 2024, ISDA was preparing to launch the ISDA Notices Hub, a new platform developed with S&P Global. The platform gives market participants a faster, safer and more efficient way to deliver and receive critical notices under ISDA and other Master Agreements.

For a platform like this, the central legal question is enforceability: would a notice delivered through the platform be valid in the jurisdictions that matter? With members across the globe, ISDA needed local legal advice in its priority jurisdictions, in good time before launch, so that any findings could be built into the technology.

WHAT WE DID

Drawing on experience managing external counsel in more than 90 jurisdictions, we managed the process of obtaining legal advice across ISDA's priority jurisdictions.

  • Engagement: we helped engage with the right lawyers in each jurisdiction.

  • Clear scope: we worked with internal teams to ensure the scope of questions presented to external counsel were clear from the outset, so that advice was robust and useful.

  • Early timelines and budgets: we agreed timelines and competitive, clear fees early, ensuring advice would be delivered ahead of launch.

  • Timely review: we reviewed advice received in good time ahead of launch so that local feedback could be embedded into the platform where needed.

THE RESULT

The ISDA Notices Hub launched on 15 July 2025 with legal comfort on the enforceability of the notice delivery mechanism in key jurisdictions being provided to the financial institutions and corporates who wanted to use the new tech product. Such legal comfort supported trust and adoption of the new product. These checks are often missed when new technology is developed. Building them into the launch plan from the start made the difference between a successful launch, and a successful launch with active users.

C&S INSIGHT

When managing multiple external counsel, make sure you engage the right lawyers, request a clear and robust scope of advice, negotiate clear and competitive fees, and review advice well ahead of targeted launch or project deadline. We bring our experience managing external legal counsel and legal documentation in over 90 jurisdictions to conducting and managing large legal projects spanning multiple jurisdictions. For deeper insight into how we can support your services, products and/or documentation spanning multiple jurisdictions, book a consultation today.

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