The Changing Face of Sustainability

What does the future hold for law firms? How can legal professionals navigate the rapidly evolving world of ESG? We talked to the outgoing and incoming co-chairs of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, the biggest sustainability network in the UK’s legal sector about the network and the evolving landscape in which it operates. From pushback on ESG to developing client expectations, mitigating climate risk to regulatory requirements, we explore what has changed for law firms over the last decade and what the is coming on the horizon. With Paddy Linighan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Clyde & Co, Caroline May, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, Becky Clissmann, Counsel at Ashurst and Matt Sparkes, Sustainability Director at Linklaters.

Matt Sparkes

Honorary President LSA and Sustainability Director, Linklaters

Matt leads Linklaters’ work on responsible business globally, ensuring that the firm’s own ESG performance reflects all stakeholder expectations and the advice provided to clients on many related themes.

Matt is active in a range of sustainability networks including as EMEA Chair of Business for Societal Impact and as co-chair of the Legal Sustainability Alliance. He is also a Board Member and Trustee of the UNGC-UK Network, is vice-chair of the Living Wage Foundation and, in his spare time, was until recently proud to act as chair of an East London employability charity.

Paddy Linighan

Co-chair LSA and Chief Sustainability Officer, Clyde & Co

Paddy is an experienced and skilled operations and finance professional, with over 35 years’ experience of operational and financial control, defining strategy and managing major business transformation programmes for large global organisations in the Legal Services sector.

Since 2020, initially in his role as Chief Operating Officer, he has led the development of Clyde & Co’s Environmental Social & Governance Strategy which has seen their strategic positioning leapfrog from being an approach which was precautionary to one which is ambitious and market leading.

Paddy was appointed the Firm’s first Chief Sustainability Officer in 2023. In addition to being a member of the ICAEW, he is an alumnus of Oxford Said Business School’s Scenarios Programme, an IEMA Associate and is recognised as an ESG Ambassador.

An Insider’s Guide to…. CSRD

In this episode of the Sustainable Law Podcast we unpack the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its implications for law firms. As the EU’s ambitious ESG reporting framework reshapes compliance landscapes, we explore how law firms can support clients in navigating these changes and address the needs of their own practices. Join us for expert insights, practical advice and strategies to stay ahead.

With Rebecca Ward, Sustainability Strategist at Radley Yeldar, who has experience delivering CSRD-aligned double materiality assessments, as well as providing strategic advice on CSRD reports for organisations that will fall in scope of the first wave of CSRD reporting, and Maria Mana, a Sustainability Project Manager at Linklaters, who has over 15 years’ experience delivering projects and programmes and is currently laying the groundwork for Linklaters’ upcoming CSRD disclosures.

Rebecca Ward

Rebecca is a Sustainability Strategist at Radley Yeldar (RY). Her role involves guiding and advising businesses on sustainability communications and strategy. With her clients, Rebecca has experience delivering CSRD-aligned double materiality assessments, as well as providing strategic advice on CSRD reports for organisations that will fall in scope of the first wave of CSRD reporting. Her personal superpower is translating complicated concepts into digestible information – whether that means explaining the theory of double materiality through a football analogy or untangling a complex value chain to tell a compelling sustainability story.

An Insider’s Guide to… TCFD

TCFD offers a multi-layered framework of climate-related disclosures – governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets. How do you start? Why start now if it is not mandatory for your firm? What benefits might the process bring? We talked to Independent Consultant Stephen Farrant and Becky Clissmann, an Environmental Lawyer who specialises in ESG and transition to net zero at Ashurst about their experience with TCFD and why making a start now might evoke the change in mindset needed to thrive in an uncertain and evolving climate.

Becky Clissmann, Counsel,  Strategic Governance & Advisory Practice, Ashurst

Becky is an environmental lawyer specialising in ESG with a particular focus on climate change and the transition to net zero.

Becky has over 18 years’ experience of climate change and ESG law and regulation from her roles in private practice and industry including as a Senior Editor in the environment team at Practical Law, Thomson Reuters. Becky obtained extensive experience of climate change policy measures working for the Carbon Trust and as Managing Director of The Chancery Lane Project.

Becky is a co-convenor of the UK Environmental Law Association’s Climate Change and Energy Working Party and a member of The Law Society’s Climate Change Working Group.

An Insider’s Guide … to ISO Certification

In this series the Sustainable Law Podcast explores the frameworks and reporting systems that law firms will be considering on their journey to net zero. This episode explores the nuts and bolts of ISO certification; the internationally agreed standards that set out the requirements for an environmental management system. What are ISO14001 and ISO50001? How and when do you make a start? What challenges might you face? How can you engage the firm with the process? What will you gain? Our experts answer all this and more.

Amanda Carpenter spoke to Stan Rayfield, Sustainability Consultant, Paul Mullis, Workplace Compliance Manager at Travers Smith and Tom Coulter, a partner in Travers Smith’s Corporate M&A and ECM Group.

Paul Mullis is the Workplace Compliance Manager at Travers Smith. He has extensive experience of working with business services teams and works closely with our Facilities Team Property & Workplace Team to ensure a safe environment for all members of staff by embedding Health & Safety within Travers Smith’s culture. He is also driving forward the sustainability aspect of the Firm, setting targets in line with our carbon reduction commitment and has a passion for recycling and energy reduction. He recently helped the firm achieve its ISO 500001 certification. He is also working with the Legal Sustainability Alliance to benchmark sustainability good practice and carbon reduction within the legal community.

Tom Coulter is a partner in Travers Smith’s Corporate M&A and ECM Group. He specialises in advising clients on public and private mergers, acquisitions and disposals, corporate joint ventures, IPOs, equity fundraisings and general corporate advice. Tom is the partner sponsor of Travers Smith’s Environment Committee.

The Burning Question – Should Law Firms Act for Fossil Fuels?

Leading UK and international law firms continue to earn millions from fossil fuel related transactions. Meanwhile law students are calling for action– will the student spotlight cause firms to think again or is it hopelessly naive to think anything will change? Do firms care?

Episode 3 of the Sustainable Law Podcast explores the tricky issue of law firms who work with the fossil fuel industry and how that is affecting student recruitment and retention. We spoke to Sophia Adams Bhatti, Head of Purpose and Impact at global law firm Simmons & Simmons and Haley Czarnek, National Director of Law Students for Climate Accountability.

Sophia Adams Bhatti
Head of Purpose and Impact, Simmons & Simmons

Sophia is a public policy and strategy expert with 20 years’ experience working across a number of sectors including the law, financial services, competition, consumer affairs, health care and immigration and asylum. She is currently the Global Head of Purpose and Impact where she leads the firm’s international purpose programme. Working with colleagues in all of the firm’s international offices, Sophia’s mission is to help Simmons to achieve the goal of becoming purpose-led and future-focused, and to use its influence and expertise to drive positive impact on people and planet through the firm’s work.
Prior to this role Sophia was Head of Strategy and Policy at Simmons Wavelength, the firm’s legal technology and data science acquisition, where she led on the intersection of law, policy and technology. Focusing heavily on ESG delivery for clients, she worked directly with the C suite in developing ESG strategy alignment.

Previously, Sophia was the Director of Policy and Regulation at the Law Society of England and Wales where she led on, amongst other things, all domestic law reform programmes, Access to Justice, and the future of legal services. In 2019 she led the ground-breaking Commission on the use of AI in the justice sector. She is a recognised author and regularly speaks on issues related to the rule of law, technology and AI, regulation, sustainability and policy. She is an independent adviser to Lawtech UK, AIFC Legal Tech advisory group, and the Corporation of London Legal Tech Sounding Board, and of a number of advisory groups on related issues.

Greenwashing, a Dirty Business

Banks that ‘care about the climate’ but finance fossil fuel, fashion houses and supermarkets who shout about sustainability while the food and plastic waste piles up. Are we drowning in a tidal wave of greenwashing and does it matter?

We talked to two experts to help us navigate the murky waters of greenwashing. Tom Parsons is Director of Sales and Origination at Good Energy and George Harding-Rolls is Director of Policy & Advocacy for Eco-Age.

Tom Parsons is an expert in the UK energy market, specialising in helping UK businesses and households balance their environmental and financial needs.

Tom has led strategy and sales teams for the past 15 years at EDF, Drax and most recently Good Energy, where he is currently Director of Sales and Origination. He recently gained his MBA from Exeter University in sustainable business management. He has worked with some of the UKs largest consumers including Thames Water and BT, delivering solutions for complex energy procurement, renewable generation installation and the Feed in Tariff.

Tom passionately believes that renewable power is not only the right environmental solution, it is also the right economic solution. He has been responsible for several product launches that have helped UK consumers decarbonise and is currently leading the roll out of Good Energy’s market leading solar tariffs and installations for businesses and households.