An interview with Maria Nefeli Bernitsa, Partner at Bernitsas Law, about lawyering on the front lines of a climate crisis and climate-conscious lawyering.

Clara Douglas: How does being a Greece-based firm influence your choice to pursue sustainability?

Maria Nefeli: Greece comes face to face with the consequences of climate change every year.  Several times this summer, people had to evacuate their loved ones or pets and check on their properties because a wildfire was approaching their homes. There were days when the sky around the office would be black and orange from particulates from the fires. Flash floods are also becoming a common phenomenon. So, I think that sustainability is more than an academic discussion for us and prioritising environmental considerations and actions is a necessity.

 

Clara: Why did you decide to join the LSA?

Maria Nefeli: The LSA is an organisation whose values align with many internal conversations we have had for many years. Managing our business responsibly is the foundation on which the firm has achieved sustainable growth over the years. Commercial success for our firm has always been contingent on the personal success of our clients, our people and the broader community. Therefore, our firm’s ethos naturally mapped onto emerging discussions about ESG. Membership of the LSA allows us to benchmark our ESG performance and initiatives with the international legal industry standards and to join a community of firms committed to being part of the solution.

Clara: What has Bernitsas Law been doing so far to become more sustainable?

Maria Nefeli: Like many firms, we first looked inward and identified the key environmental impacts of our business. We are continuously working towards minimising our environmental footprint. Initiatives have included making our building more environmentally sustainable, upgrading our waste management system and raising awareness. We have been running training programs on how to recycle effectively, with great results and immediate results in our recycling outcomes, as well as on first aid and CPR. Gathering information for our Sustainability Report has been very rewarding as it presents a consolidated view of everything we have been doing, from responsible business and governance practices, initiatives taken for our community made up of our people, the society in which we work and our clients, and of course our environmental commitments.

Clara: Has your sustainability journey impacted your client intake and work?

Maria Nefeli: As far as we know, we are the first firm in Greece to have a dedicated ESG department and lawyers across several departments advise on ESG issues in their areas of expertise. This means that throughout the firm, ESG principles are adopted and considered early on in new projects and consistently throughout. While it is difficult to measure whether client intake has grown as a result of our approach to sustainability alone, it is certainly true that clients are interested both in what we do as an organisation, but also how we can help them reach their ESG goals.

 Clara: What are the main challenges you have faced on your sustainability journey, and how did you overcome them?

Maria Nefeli: One challenge we had is that we are based in a historic building in the center of Athens and making structural changes which would lead to it being more energy efficient is difficult due to strict building codes. We have made and continue to make significant investments in adaptations to improve the environmental performance of the building, including installing energy efficient lighting, air conditioning and windows. Our location is an advantage as we are in walking distance of many of our clients and very short trips to the courts and central government offices, which impacts our travel emissions positively. We also implement an almost complete power down every night and over the weekends, which benefits our neighborhood and is a significant win in terms of energy consumption. Rather than relocating to a new building, we are committed to being part of the effort to make historic buildings more sustainable and feel that in this way, we are working within our community to help improve energy efficiency on a city-wide level.

Clara: With many law firms opting to relocate their premises to be more energy efficient, I have yet to consider whether this does not necessarily reduce emissions on a systemic level. It is great to see how a firm approaches this challenge in a way that could benefit the city.

Maria Nefeli: Well, a key part of our approach and what is required for a just and fair transition is that people and businesses are “good neighbours”, so it feels right to consider community-wide changes.

Clara: How do clients feel about the firm taking a more sustainable approach?

Maria Nefeli: Many of our clients seek our advice in making their disclosures and we have a demonstrated expertise in structuring compliance models. I think that advising our clients on how best to achieve their sustainability goals must go hand in hand with a clear message on what our sustainability goals are and what we do to achieve them.

Clara: What do you wish lawyers knew about climate change?

Maria Nefeli: I think we are now at a stage where lawyers are aware of the importance of climate change and that environmental action is part of the agenda of the majority of law firms. Achieving sustainability goals is always a work in progress and I am not sure that I can provide any insight, other than to say that collective action and awareness through an organisation like the LSA is probably more impactful in the long run. Being part of the solution means playing the long-game and creating the structure for durable and resilient outcomes.

Clara: What do you wish lawyers would do?

Maria Nefeli: Again, I think that the legal profession in general has made huge strides in the right direction over the last years. Lawyers are in a position to really assist their clients in achieving their sustainability goals and to advise effectively on the fantastic and financially viable opportunities for transactions and projects in the green space.

Sustainability can be complex and challenging for lawyers and their clients, but I think we can contribute in a meaningful way to the goals which have been set for 2030 and beyond by approaching the advice we give our clients and the management of our own firms with integrity. The first wave of ESG regulation took the form of disclosures, but this mustn’t be where sustainability stops. Disclosures help make people accountable and force them to take action but are the first step to identifying the issue before setting goals to really address the problem.

Clara: What is next for Bernitsas?

Maria Nefeli: We have a number of exciting environmental initiatives coming up this year and are committed to enhancing our performance and ensuring that we measure our progress in a meaningful way.

 

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Maria Nefeli specialises in financial services and ESG law, with a focus on high impact legislative changes, capital markets transactions and corporate transactions for listed companies. Find out more about Bernitsas Law here. Maria Nefeli heads up the Firm’s Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) department, and advises extensively on ESG legislation with a focus on the laws affecting firms in the financial services sector.