Sustainable Developments in the Legal Sector: A Brief Overview - Harrison Jowett.

Lethargy in the legal sector is something that we have come to expect. It was uncommon for a law firm to be at the cutting edge of a business operation or to operate with the newest technology. However this traditional view of the sector is shifting quickly, as firms develop new ways to tackle a changing business landscape. A real commitment to sustainability has been central to those developments. It is clear that legal service firms are intrinsically linked to detrimental environmental practices through international client meetings, mass consumption of electricity and hordes of commuters. However, it is motivating to see how long-standing environmental goals have competitively positioned large London firms and how the ‘great lockdown’ has affected these plans.

Starting with the magic circle. For a bit of background, focused mainly on commercial matters, these 5 firms are some of the largest and most prominent firms in the whole world. As such, many global firms look to these major players for direction on the sustainable agenda and the use of legal tech. As we would expect from any firm at the moment, there is a push to reduce paper use and waste; as well as to phase out single use plastics. Beyond these trends, all except Clifford Chance are following internationally recognised energy management programmes such as the UK ISO14001[1] and ISO 50001,[2] and all adopt sustainable development goals (SDGs) to track their progress – though most of these are gradually becoming outdated and are in need of amendment to reflect the current environmental situation.

A couple also claim to be carbon neutral.[3] They achieve this by investing in projects such as the Gola Rainforest Project[4] or the Reforestation in East Africa Programme[5] which although seems like good practice, it doesn’t tackle the ultimate issue – that the emissions are being created in the first place. Whilst I have only listed the goals these firms have in common, I was encouraged to read that every firm has a broad spectrum of promises and commitments to develop their sustainable credentials. It is impressive to see how these large firms commit to similar goals to their city competitors despite their size.

Large city/American firms have a broad spectrum of environmental policy and commitments, for the purpose of this article I will be choosing the two that stand out most to me:

In the forefront is Baker McKenzie. Not only does the firm leverage their insight and knowledge to assist firms achieving their environmental targets, but they also bring like-minded firms together through their annual Global Renewable Energy Conference. Their broad focus is on supporting the UN SDGs and taking a multi-faceted approach to improving their sustainable offering.[6] Specifically though, they have been recognised as the Best Law Firm in Voluntary Carbon Market Ranking for the 10th consecutive year by Environmental Finance 2019. These business, cultural and sustainable changes are the future of legal operations and I am sure that proactive investment will have a large impact on competitiveness in years to come.

Pinsent Masons is the second large firm that is pioneering the industry’s sustainable development. Recently they announced the introduction of a Climate Change Mitigation and Sustainability Platform which seeks to embed firm-wide strategy into a cohesive and conscious effort with clear goals and direction.[7] This follows the firm’s historic commitment to clean energy projects[8] and success of their previous efforts, in an attempt to keep ahead of government targets. The firm is also committed to integrating the Global Compact.[9] To me, this proves that Pinsent Masons is taking sustainability seriously, in making a real structural change to their processes as well as the changing demands of clients.This is a refreshing standpoint in a sector that is often so slow to react to change.

Importantly, I would like to note that all of the firms listed up to this point are members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance and their work is detailed on their website.[10]

I also want to draw attention to disruptor firms briefly. The idea and structure of a disruptor firm has two key advantages in the current business climate. Firstly, it already possesses the necessary equipment to facilitate working from home and secondly, it can implement changes to procedure and software more effectively than traditional firms. This should give it an advantage when approaching sustainable targets. However, when inspecting the websites of firms like Excello Law[11]and Carbon Law Partners[12] in preparation for this article I was unable to find any specific sustainable commitments. With everything that is going on regarding sustainability at the moment, I am surprised that these ‘innovators’ are not taking the opportunity to diversify their appeal. It seems that there is something to be said for the traditional business structure after all?

Ultimately, it will be interesting to see if the environmental revolution will resemble the technological one in any way. Clearly, change is needed and it is very exciting to see some big names making the jump to a more sustainable infrastructure so quickly, hedging their bets on the side of sustainable consumerism. I should expect that the ‘great lockdown’ and the ‘new normal’ of remote working will assist all firms in achieving sustainable goals. It is, for me, those firms that develop their goals to react to these changes who will emerge with the most effective plans. I do understand that targets and goals are as important to meet now as ever before, and those set for the end of 2020 are looming. But if it is ever going to happen, why not now? After all, it was the economist Milton who famously said: “Only a crisis – actual or perceived – produces real change”.

**Disclaimer – There is obviously plenty more happening in the business, political and legal world than what I have extracted in this series of articles. This is intended as merely an overview to suggest the progression of general trends, rather than a complete and comprehensive view of every industry or sector. **

Firms sustainability pages (mentioned in the article):

Linklaters: https://www.linklaters.com/en/about-us/responsibility/environment

Freshfields: https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/about-us/responsible-business/environment/

Allen & Overy: https://www.allenovery.com/en-gb/global/about_us/corporate_responsibility/environment

Clifford Chance: https://www.cliffordchance.com/about_us/responsible-business/our-responsible-business-strategy/environment.html

Slaughter & May: https://www.slaughterandmay.com/our-firm/responsible-business/climate-action/

----------

Baker McKenzie: https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/aboutus/corporate-social-responsibility

Pinsent Masons: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/about-us#4

[1] https://www.iso.org/publication/PUB100371.html [2] https://www.iso.org/iso-50001-energy-management.html [3] https://www.carbonneutral.com/how [4] https://www.linklaters.com/en/about-us/news-and-deals/news/2018/june/three-year-partnership-with-climatecare-on-world-environment-day [5] https://www.freshfields.com/en-gb/about-us/responsible-business/environment/case-studies/reap/ [6] https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/newsroom/2020/03/global-sustainability-report-2020 [7] https://www.pinsentmasons.com/about-us/announcements/launch-climate-change-mitigation-sustainability-platform [8] https://www.pinsentmasons.com/about-us/announcements/pinsent-masons-advises-uks-largest-solar-park [9] https://www.pinsentmasons.com/-/media/pdfs/en-gb/responsible-business-2020.pdf?la=en-gb&hash=5524852D142B95CF989701FFD5D3728D [10] https://legalsustainabilityalliance.com/ [11] https://excellolaw.co.uk/ [12] https://viewpoints.carbonlawpartners.com/