Legal ESG’s Post

The Berkeley Center for Law and Business (BCLB) has long been a leader in helping practitioners, executives, and policymakers explore how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) questions can and should be incorporated into long-term business strategy. Now, in a new online Berkeley Law Executive Education course, BCLB Executive Director Angeli Patel ’20 is building on that foundation to bring more up-to-the-minute ideas to corporate and legal leaders. ESG University has two tracks: the 30-hour Sustainable Capitalism in Practice for general practitioners and the 8-hour Sustainable Capitalism for Directors, aimed at corporate board directors and C-suite executives. Both are self-paced classes that also offer live office hours with Patel and experts who contributed to the courses. Patel says the new course, which begins its first cohort on April 29, builds on the foundation of a previous class, Sustainable Capitalism and ESG Online. That course was developed by Amelia Miazad ’02, who founded the Business in Society Institute @ Berkeley Law and is a law professor at University of California, Davis - School of Law. “Our goal is to not just create learnings for today, but to create concrete learnings that will have payoff for executives and for the companies that they work for over the long term,” she says. “When the original course was created, those conversations about ESG and sustainability were so new that companies had no idea how to think about it. And the original course set up the foundations. “The goal now is to build on the foundations and turn it into practice.” Learn more in this article by Gwyneth Shaw https://lnkd.in/gk8-Ywup

Continuing my blog series for Gilson Gray LLP at London International Disputes Week (LIDW) the first panel session on 'Risk & reputation in a values-driven world' was hosted by Moira Thompson Oliver Head of Business and Human Rights, Slaughter and May, the panel discussed the challenges faced by organisations balancing the need to advance their sustainability and ESG objectives, meeting associated reporting and due diligence obligations, whilst also protecting their position in the resolution of related disputes. Nicola Cobb - Senior Managing Director, Forensic & Litigation Consulting, FTI Consulting - Spoke about the key themes of transparency in business, ESG and sustainability, climate disclosures – transparency and consistency and reporting to investors. CSRD – impact they have on the wider environment and the impact of ESG on the sustainability of businesses. In Supply Chain transparency and due diligence is so important now – who are your suppliers? Where do they get their supply from? What have they done to address issues of forced labour, etc? The Double Materiality Assessment concept in CSRD is critical and challenging. He parting comment was to ‘get your arms around the data’! Shaheed Fatima KC – Barrister, Blackstone Chambers  Spoke about the real “paradigm shift” for businesses – in particular to ESG litigation due to: -  Its multifaceted nature -  Reach and scope – no particular sector alone are influenced – it is every sector – private and public sector -  These are global issues -  Increase in ESG litigations against many jurisdictions and supra national. - No longer seen as just ESG cases, but cases about how business is done -  Conceptually – international law – civil and political rights and states to economic and cultural rights – ‘soft law’ – used more in litigation – “Corporate responsibility to respect human rights” has now been crystallised to become an obligation -  Businesses wanting to do the right thing – they seem now to want to behave in a particular way, which is driving change -  Her concluding thought to those dispute resolution practitioners like myself is to find out and know what’s important to stakeholders Simon Mundy, Moral Money Editor, Financial Times Spoke about how climate change, one of the growing areas of ESG litigation. Commenting on his experiences from two years travelling across six continents to research his book Race for Tomorrow, on the global scramble to respond to climate change, the key issue that he noted was how urgent the situation is e.g. thawing of permafrost in Siberia is a very serious issue. His parting comment to companies who require to meet their ESG obligations or who get involved in ESG litigation is to make an honest and good faith effort to be part of the solution in the challenges we face. #LIDW24 #LondonInternationalDisputesWeek24 #ESG #EnvironmentalSocialGovernance #CSRD #CorporateSustainabilityReportingDirective #ClimateChange Gilson Gray LLP

In partnership with LexSolutions, we are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of the Law Firm Maturity Index (LFMI) Legal Rankings for the top 30 UK law firms on October 30, 2024. The LFMI rankings will be based on publicly available evidence using OMINDEX® ratings for each law firm. They will be the first in a series of Maturity Institute industry sector rankings. Alongside financial analysis, these ratings provide a comprehensive picture of each firm's health using a human lens. Our research-tested maturity methodology assesses how authentically purpose-driven each firm is, along with the coherence of their management systems and culture, in generating Total Stakeholder Value. With the LFMI Legal Rankings, in-depth reports for each law firm will evaluate, rate, and analyze the 32 factors outlined in the OMINDEX® diagnostic. This analysis yields unique insights into critical legal issues, including ESG, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and cultural risk. Our initial release will cover the top 30 UK firms ranked by revenue and profit per equity partner (PEP). This initiative will establish the LFMI as a new industry standard integrating leadership, human capital, culture, and maturity. As well as law firms, various legal stakeholders will find significant value in the LFMI Legal Rankings, including: • General Counsels • Regulators • Law Firm Insurers • Legal Media • Academic Researchers Please contact Stuart Woollard or Manu Kanwar for more information.

I am very excited to see the Law Firm Maturity Index come to fruition. The Maturity Institute aims to help organizations become more human-focused and improve value for all stakeholders. As a senior executive once remarked, they are designed to be a "race for the top". "To measure is to know. This rings especially true when considering investments in areas often deemed as esoteric, such as company purpose, people, and culture. Appreciating the impact of these investments on your bottom line, customer and employee satisfaction, and shareholder value, as well as recognizing the risks of neglecting them, is crucial. These metrics serve as your biggest allies in overcoming resistance to change toward a more than just financial-driven organization." Unbossers Network (May, 2024)"

The Wolters Kluwer has published its 2024 “Future Ready Lawyer Survey," which highlights the growing demand for expertise in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters among legal professionals. Nearly 70% of respondents (77% of in house vs. 61% at law firms) noted an increased demand for ESG expertise -- reflecting a significant shift as corporations and firms seek to meet new regulatory requirements, manage ESG data, and uphold standards. The survey reflects a preparedness gap between corporate legal departments and law firms: while 41% of corporate lawyers feel very well-prepared, only 29% of law firm respondents share that confidence. The report also notes the establishment of specialized ESG departments within legal settings – with approximately 40% of corporates and law firms establishing such groups. 

Interesting survey on ESG for Legal Leaders The ESG sub-committee of the Law Firm Management Committee are launching this survey to find out more about how law firms are approaching ESG. The results of this survey will form part of the ESG session at the Balkan Legal Forum (Sofia, 6-7 June 2024) as well as of one of the sessions the LFMC is putting on at the International Bar Association Annual Conference in Mexico. Moreover, it will inform a number of projects which the sub-committee hopes to work on to help law firms navigate this challenging area. The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete. Your responses will be confidential, you do not have to tell us your name or the name of your firm, and the results will be anonymized in the final report. As a thank you for your participation, we would be happy to send you an Executive Summary of the results if you give us your email address at the end of the survey. If there is anything else you want to share about your thinking on ESG, please email me at vanbeemen@drbgroep.nl or my co-chair Zulon Begum (zulon.begum@cm-murray.com) Many thanks in advance for supporting this important project. Pamela Cone, ISSP-SA Zulon Begum Elsa Chen Nicky Sinker Julie Morrison Migle Petkeviciene Tobias V. Carys Clipper Fernanda Stefanelo Ana Martínez-Pina Jessica Ha Luis Gabriel Morcillo David Schreuders Wangui Kaniaru Adrian Peyer https://lnkd.in/efxm_Vr3

The Worst Law in the World   They don’t pass out Golden Globes or Oscars for it, but the awards season might be a good time to consider what law, domestic and/or foreign, is the Worst Law in the World.  Once identified, maybe something can be done to make it better. The first criterion for the award should be the magnitude of its consequences.  It must have a severe adverse effect on humanity and/or the environment to win.  Though the winner may benefit a few, the adverse effects must harm almost everyone. Its consequences should also be global. There are many laws which have adverse effects in one or a few states, provinces or nations, but if the effects aren’t global, it can’t be the Worst Law in the World. Laws usually prohibit behaviour of one kind or another, but the winner doesn’t have to be restrictive—one that keeps people from doing something.  It can be a law that excuses or provides a safe harbour for behaviour that causes great harm. In fact, it probably is. Laws that give permission are much more likely to create destruction than laws that prohibit behaviour. Finally, since the award hasn’t been given out before, the winning law need not have been recently enacted. It could be from a long time ago. Having been a corporate lawyer for more than 45 years, I’d like to nominate a law that exists everywhere in the world and is responsible for more destruction than any other.  Its effects are well known, widespread and caused by a wide range of behaviours. It has a long history, first being enacted nearly a century and a half ago and adopted everywhere else since then. It’s been allowed to remain in place all that time mostly because activists and voters don’t consider it a suspect.  Not understanding the source of the problems they confront, they try to make the damage it causes stop by addressing individual and jurisdiction specific symptoms.  The law I nominate for Worst Law in the World is the duty of directors in the corporate law, which requires the people running companies to always “act in the company’s best interests.” It’s in every jurisdiction that allows corporations. You'll find it in the statute books under “Corporations” in the section labelled “Directors.” “Acting in the company’s best interests” requires directors to protect their company’s large investments.  When science discovers the harm those investments are causing (e.g., by emitting greenhouse gases, killing people with carcinogens, employing harsh and unfair labor practices), this law keeps directors from doing the right thing and making it stop.  They won’t stop it so long as the law requires them to act in their company’s best interests. If stopping will require those investments to be written off or profits to be slashed, they don’t.  Instead they lobby to frustrate new laws that would make them stop.  The result is their destructive behaviour remains legal and the harm continues. That’s my nomination for the Worst Law in the World.  What’s yours?

Mariana Pargendler's fantastic paper on 'How does the Global South relate to the global debates on corporate governance?' "It is time to pay greater attention to the Global South in the study of comparative corporate governance—including by covering a wider array of Global South jurisdictions. Their legal systems are not simply utter failures or mere copies of those in the Global North as is often assumed. This broader focus has the potential not only of enlarging our institutional imagination but also of enriching our understanding of the driving forces behind the evolution of corporate law around the world." Time to take action❗ The paper is available at: https://lnkd.in/enZuiejh https://lnkd.in/et4QJmVU Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

Interesting article! A lawyer’s view: the impact on companies of the new EU law on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence.

Law Firms Struggle to Walk the Walk on ESG Recent data from Lamp House Strategy’s Second Annual Report show law firms in the US and UK lagging on a variety of ESG issues from climate programs to human capital management. ❎ - 97% [of firms] do not disclose whether they have a matter take-on policy/business acceptance criteria in place which considers responsible business factors. ❎ - 93% have not conducted a materiality assessment with key stakeholders in the last three years. ❎ - 92% do not have a risk register/monitoring tool which considers environmental and/or social risks. ❎ - 83% do not have a dedicated head of responsible business (though UK firms are more likely to have one). ❎ - 77% do not set any targets around total pro bono hours across the firm (though US firms are more likely to have a target). This data is discouraging and shows great room for improvement for ESG at law firms. Lawyers often think of themselves as leaders in the ESG space, but thought leadership and sharing best practices with clients isn’t enough. To be leaders, we should work harder to lead by example. And don’t forget – legal services are themselves a part of company supply chains. Clients and other stakeholders may come looking for ESG data and achievements soon – when they do, law firms will want to show programs, performance and controls for ESG. Source PracticalESG.com --------- I'm genuinely shocked that law firms are lagging on ESG. Considering the torrent of regulation that his coming down the pipe, there is opportunity for law firms to benefit from corporate ESG performance as well as increasing revenue by adding a multitude of new private and corporate ESG legal services. 🚀 Don't miss out on both a market positioning and a commercial opportunity. Blue ESG, delivering tailored solutions to suit the ESG needs of your business and UHNW clients. If you're a law firm servicing UHNWI's & luxury asset management, Blue ESG is a unique fully managed #ESG service provider delivering tailored solutions to suit the ESG needs of your business and #UHNW clients. Blue ESG has a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to hep with topics such as: ✅ Stakeholder Materiality Assessment ✅ Climate Risk Management ✅ Social Risk Management 🏅Be The Winner! Contact Blue ESG today to become a member of our 'best in class' partnership eco system, and experience benefits like: ✅ Unlock ESG opportunity 💶 Increase Profit 🇪🇺 Mitigate risk 📖 Align with regulation 🌐 Leadership status 🫶🏽 Improve reputation https://lnkd.in/d-qD_Smn