Legal teams are uniquely placed to influence their organisation’s response to the climate crisis, senior legal chiefs have told the Law Society’s flagship conference for in-house lawyers.

Dozens of lawyers attended Chancery Lane today to hear a keynote address on how they can drive the environmental aspect of their employer’s environmental, social and governance strategy.

Last year the Law Society published a ‘climate change resolution’ to support solicitors to develop a climate-conscious approach to legal practice, pointing out that nearly a third of the UK’s largest businesses have pledged to eliminate their carbon emissions by 2050 and requiring those who they do business with to adopt similar measures.

Adam Woodhall, chief executive of Lawyers for Net Zero, an environmental network to support in-house lawyers, told the conference that climate and environmental issues presented challenges and opportunities that required leadership. In-house lawyers, whether they are the general counsel, counsel in a legal team or an IP lawyer for a charity, can be those leaders.

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