Chairperson's Introduction and Opening Remarks

Pamela Cone

ESG and Sustainability Sage

Amity Advisory

OPENING ADDRESS

ESG in today’s Legal Profession

Jeroen Ouwehand

Global Senior Partner

Clifford Chance

REPORT FINDINGS / PRESENTATION

Riding the Dragon: The Rise of ESG Law Firm Part 2

At last year's Legal ESG summit Paul Clements-Hunt and Professor Paul Watchman took a deep dive into Chasing the Dragon, they are back for part 2.

Professor Paul Watchman

Special Legal Advisor

UNEP

Paul Clements-Hunt

Director, Mishcon Purpose

Mishcon de Reya LLP

PANEL DISCUSSION

Global and Climate Risks: Navigating ESG Amid Converging Crises 

A growing number of professional services firms provide Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory services, including legal analyses of what disclosures to make to shareholders, regulators, and other stakeholders, and legal guidance on what actions might be undertaken to mitigate risks, from human rights in the supply chain, to geopolitical and climate risks to supply chains, to cataloging environmental pollutants, including carbon emissions.

Unfortunately, reporting on ESG risks from regulatory or compliance perspectives is not the same as positioning businesses to protect assets and revenue streams. As a consequence, a wide range of professional services firms, including law firms, are not proactively advising clients on the implications of the unprecedented buildup of risk as the climate crisis unfolds alongside interrelated converging crises—from geopolitical conflict, to political and social divisions, to environmental and climate change, to population health issues, and biodiversity losses.

This “trusted advisory gap" will leave many clients unprepared for shocks that put entire businesses at risk. This illuminating, timely, not-to-miss presentation and panel session with The Converging Crises Consortium, or C3, brings together two former U.S government senior executives who provided authoritative advice to political, business, and scientific leaders on the actual state of global change and climate change, and the futurist who advised Baker McKenzie and its clients on global and climate risk.

Sanjay Khanna

Chief Futurist

SK Futures Inc.

Dr. Tom Armstrong

President

Madison River Group, LLC

Dr. Jeremy T. Mathis

CEO

North By Northwest Environmental Solutions

PANEL DISCUSSION

The Evolving Role of the Board in Addressing ESG 

Dynamic changes in ESG issues continue to have an impactful effect on corporate governance and fiduciary duty. Boards now must live with ESG considerations as a significant component of its oversight of risk management, corporate strategy, and regulatory compliance, as well as assessing performance and reporting progress. These changes are driven by the demands of major institutional investors and asset managers and other stakeholders, anti-ESG critics, as well as rapidly increasing influence of regulators through domestic and global legislation and regulation. The session will review the evolving role of the Board in addressing these issues as well as: 

• Practical thinking for board members about the intersection of corporate governance and ESG and how boards can meet the dynamic evolution of ESG; 
• The role of Corporate Purpose and the risks and opportunities that now challenge directors in the exercise of their fiduciary duty; 
• How can Boards can ensure successful integration of ESG into strategy and operations; and 
• How can boards address activist investors and engage with stakeholders. 

Moderator

Stephen Pike

Corporate and ESG Law Partner Gowling WLG

Panel

Katayun Jaffari

Chair, Corporate Governance, Co-Chair, Capital Markets & Securities / ESG

Cozen O’Connor

Margaret Foran

Chief Governance Officer, VP and Corporate Secretary

Prudential Financial

PANEL DISCUSSION

Communications in a time of ESG

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) should be an integral aspect of planning, people and culture, and purpose. It must extend across the entire organization—and involve people and data from every function. Many law firms are taking an active approach to ESG planning and implementation. Employees, communities, business partners, and clients are mindful of companies’ ESG strategies, practices, and performance. This program will focus on how law firms should communicate their ESG efforts in the face of global issues like the pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, the climate crisis, and the growing demand for equity and transparency within law firms and institutions

During this program, the panelists will address:

• Important considerations for messaging regarding environmental, social, and corporate governance in the legal profession
• How to effectively communicate your company’s ESG initiatives in a clear and transparent way
• How to meet your stakeholders’ expectations for ESG communications
• Tools for communicating about ESG 

Moderator

Gina Rubel

President / CEO

Furia Rubel

Panel

Michael Ferachi

Managing Member

McGlinchey Stafford

Elizabeth Carlock Phillips

Executive Director

Phillips Foundation

PANEL DISCUSSION

Addressing the Impact of SEC Regulation & Enforcement

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shown significant regulatory focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This year witnessed consequential rulemaking activity, including the proposed climate disclosure rule, and even more is on the horizon. Beginning with the establishment of the Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement, the SEC has simultaneously demonstrated its willingness to pursue enforcement action in this space.

This panel will explain why professionals should closely watch these developments and discuss practical considerations for adapting to the evolving environment. Topics include: 

• Recent and forthcoming rulemaking
• Enforcement and litigation risk
• Effective governance structures and reporting processes

Moderator

Betty Huber

Global Co-Chair ESG Practice & Partner

Latham & Watkins

Panel

Bianca Martinez

SVP, Assistant Corporate Secretary and Assistant General Counsel

Realty Income Corporation

Linda Park

Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Edwards Lifesciences

Bradley T. Kamlet

Associate General Counsel

Qorvo, Inc.

Chairperson's Introduction and Opening Remarks

Pamela Cone

ESG and Sustainability Sage

Amity Advisory

PANEL DISCUSSION

Sustainably Run Law Firms… and Why it Matters to Clients

Like all types of businesses around the globe, law firms are facing the implications of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impacts on their business like never before. Clients are not only asking law firms to substantively address their own internal ESG positions, but to also guide and advise them in their own ESG programs.

This dual pressure coming directly from the marketplace is presenting both great opportunities and unique risk for law firms as they navigate this dynamic, vast and closely watched landscape. In this session we will look carefully at the client perspective to better understand what their expectations are, what law firms are doing well, and how they can do better. Topics include:

• How important is ESG from the client perspective?
• What areas of ESG are most important to our clients?
• Supply chain risk management issues throughout the value chain
• How can law firms protect against future litigation related to ESG?
• How can law firms be a valuable resource for clients specific to ESG?
• What does “good” ESG look like and what is our ideal vision for the future?

Moderator

Gail Lione

Senior Counsel

Dentons

Panel

Shari Klevens

Partner

Dentons   

Aragon St-Charles

Global Head of ESG

Dentons

Laura Lazarczyk

Chief Legal Officer

Zurich North America

PANEL DISCUSSION

Lawyers as Leaders: The Essential Role of Lawyers in Accelerating Transformational Governance 

Transformational governance is not a new legal concept. It is a way of thinking and acting responsibly and in the best interests of a business with its long-term sustainability in mind. It recognizes that the society and environment in which businesses operate are assets on which they depend. It, therefore, dictates that businesses be mindful of and transparent and accountable for their ESG impacts. This approach to corporate responsibility and accountability dovetails with the directors’ fiduciary duties to the businesses they serve. 

Lawyers are also bound by fiduciary responsibilities to act in the best interests of their clients. When that client is a business, advice and counsel must reflect the principles of 

transformational governance for it to be in the best interest of the business’s long-term, sustainable health.

This session will address how lawyers can fulfill their professional and ethical mandate by playing a pivotal role in shaping the structures and culture of our society and economic system with the future in mind.

Moderators

Aimée Girdwood

Co-Founder

Stories Evolved

Christina Bartholomew

Co-Founder

Stories Evolved

Panel

Christina Koulias

Fmr. Lead of Governance

UNGC

Tom Shropshire

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Diageo plc

Cynthia Williams

Professor of Law

University of Illinois

PANEL DISCUSSION

Value Driven Stakeholder Governance:

The what, the why and the how?

Leading boards and businesses in today’s dynamic operating context is tough. Effective stakeholder governance is an effective tool to enable boards and management teams to balance the short and long-term value creation and to bring the voice of an increasingly broad, diverse, and complex stakeholder mix into effective decision making. 



Done well, it strengthens an organization and ensures its long-term success — to the benefit of its shareholders and broader material stakeholders. Done poorly, it damages the license to operate of boards and leaders – impacting trust, reputation, access to capital, revenues, and culture.

In this session, we will discuss our experience of working with boards, commercial leaders, and lawyers to demystify:

• What is stakeholder governance and how does it bring value beyond the more traditional aspects of corporate governance? 
• Why does stakeholder governance matter now more than ever, which examples bring this to the fore?
• How do you effect stakeholder governance in practice and what lessons learned can you apply?
• How do lawyers, be they in private practice or in-house, add value to boards and commercial leaders through stakeholder governance, what role can they/should they play?

Moderator

Julia Hayhoe

Managing Director

Hayhoe Consulting

Panel

Maja De Vibe

Senior Vice President Sustainability & Governance

Statkraft

Beatriz Araujo

World Economic Forum Fellow and Head of Corporate Governance

Baker McKenzie

INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP

Driving the "S" in ESG

An interactive workshop leveraging Insights, Intentionality, Inclusion, and Innovation to deliver meaningful Impact.

Manu Kanwar

Co-Founder

Lex Solutions

Stuart Woollard
Managing Partner

OMS LLP

PRESENTATION

Rewarding ESG:

Is it even possible in a law firm compensation context?

While in its infancy in the legal profession, linking ESG performance to executive compensation is a growing trend in the corporate world. As the profession begins to link rewards to drive possible ESG behaviors:

• How are firms measuring ESG performance?
• How can “intangibles” be included for non-numeric contributions?
• What if ESG is the tipping point for modern strategic compensation plans? 

Tim Corcoran

Principal

Corcoran Consulting

PANEL DISCUSSION

ESG Data Management & Reporting:

It matters to all your stakeholders

Clients, new hires, employees, communities - many are keenly interested in your ESG initiatives, expecting that your organization's values align with their values.  Stakeholder concerns and expectations can be individualistic in focus.  How does an organization begin to collect data to share with stakeholders to respond to their concerns?   

In this session, we will cover: 

• Stakeholder concerns you should consider 
• Where to start with your data management 
• Reporting strategies 

Gayatri Joshi

Executive Director

Law Firm Sustainability Network 

Vice President

Vorgate LLC (EcoAnalyze) 

Peter Werner

Partner

Cooley LLP 

Haley Czarnek

Law Students for Climate Accountability

Chairperson's Introduction and Opening Remarks

Pamela Cone

ESG and Sustainability Sage

Amity Advisory

PANEL DISCUSSION

Legal Buyers and ESG Leaders’ Views:

How Can Law Firms Can Best Advise and Assist

This interactive panel of top corporate legal chiefs and a chief ESG officer will address these points and welcome questions: 

• ESG roles for the GC & ESG Chief + their current use of advisers
• Sector-specific views on ESG priorities for the GC & legal team
• How law firms & ASLPs can (and can’t) help with ESG demands

Moderator

Leigh Dance

Executive Director

Global Counsel Leaders

Panel

Kim Yapchai

Chief ESG Officer and SVP

Tenneco

John Blood

Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer & Corporate Secretary

AB-InBev

Jose Gonzales

Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary

Equitable

CASE STUDY

The Promise of a Positive Legacy

Twenty-two cities across North America competed to serve as hosts for the 2026 World Cup. For the first time, FIFA considered human rights plans as part of the host city selection criteria.

Putting human rights center stage will be seen as a game-changing development for the 2026 World Cup.

This session will examine the collaboration between Clifford Chance and Centre for Sport and Human Rights addressing the the human rights strategies of cities of United 2026 FIFA World Cup bid.

David Alfrey

Lawyer, Member Global ESG Board

Clifford Chance LLP

Karina Bashir

Associate

Clifford Chance

Natalie Hoehl

Associate

Clifford Chance

PANEL DISCUSSION

An International Perspectives on ESG

ESG issues and challenges are as diverse as the continents, countries, and jurisdictions in which they arise. This session will feature lawyers from around the globe, commenting on not only the unique ESG issues they face as advisors but also the ESG issues that are impacting their own geographic locations.

Moderator

John Vellone

Partner

Borden Ladner Gervais

Panel

Garyn Rapson

Partner

Webber Wentzel

Sonali Siriwardena

Partner - Global Head of ESG

Simmons & Simmons

PANEL DISCUSSION

Building a law firm ESG Culture 

Featuring a diverse range of professionals and firms representing differing backgrounds, sizes, geographic footprints, and client focus, this session will examine why a genuine focus on ESG is integral to the culture and values of a firm and how in turn, it will naturally be incorporated into the advice its clients receive.

Moderator

Marc Ross

Head of Impact & ESG

Vicente Sederberg

Panel

David Hunter

Partner

Bates Wells

Vidhya Prabhakaran

Partner

Davis Wright Tremaine 

Fiona Fleming

Senior D&I Manager

Farrer & Co

Bobby W. Dishell

Attorney

Moye White

PRESENTATION

Emerging ESG Litigation

The adoption of ESG continues to evolve rapidly and mature in tandem with regulation, enforcement, and litigation. This session will take a deep dive into the primary emerging areas of environmental, social, and governance litigation and risk and will consider the steps that must be taken to mitigate these areas of risk.

Mark Henriques 

Partner

Womble Bond Dickinson

ROUNDTABLE

Event Closing Remarks / Q&A / Open ESG Discussion Forum

Event chair Pamela Cone will host an open discussion forum where our speaking faculty will join the stage for an unscripted ESG conversation. 

Moderator

Pamela Cone

ESG and Sustainability Sage

Amity Advisory