• The Sustainable Law Podcast on CSRD
• A call to join LSA working groups
• The view from Greece - a fireside chat with new member firm Bernitsas
• News from the LSA including a membership offer
• News from LSA members
• LSA schedule of events with registration links
• Sustainability dates for your diary

During 2024, LSA events attracted over 750 registrations and, with attendance higher than ever before, equipped hundreds of professionals to tackle the climate crisis. At the secretariat we have noticed an increased commitment accompanied by a noticeable rise in ambition.

Firms are trialling innovative programmes to educate and upskill, engage and inspire - from paperless practice and segregating rubbish to choosing smarter business travel and offsetting with integrity. Conversations about the climate are now embedded in firm practice, with buy-in from both senior leadership and from the bottom up. Congratulations to all of our member firms who are embracing this movement, we are proud to have you on board. And if you feel like your firm could do more in 2025, get in touch – we can help!

This podcast unpacks the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its implications for law firms as part of our series exploring the frameworks and reporting systems that law firms will be considering on their journey to net zero.

With Rebecca Ward, Sustainability Strategist at Radley Yeldar, who has experience delivering CSRD-aligned double materiality assessments and providing strategic advice on CSRD reports, and Maria Mana, a Sustainability Project Manager at Linklaters with over 15 years’ experience delivering projects and programmes, and who is currently laying the groundwork for Linklaters' upcoming CSRD disclosures.

To support LSA members tackle the complexities and challenges of reporting and regulatory frameworks we are launching three new LSA working groups:

CSRD - Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

What are the key issues for law firms and their clients? Where and how do you start? What does it mean for law firms? How can you learn from others' experience? 

Nature and Biodiversity in Your Supply Chain

How can you measure and account for the impact of your supply chain on nature? How can you develop a strategy for nature and biodiversity?

Getting to Grips with Carbon Emissions

How to get started with measuring you carbon emissions? What should you measure? Including looking at developing proxies and managing first steps. This group will also explore if any shared ‘universal’ data could be available for LSA members to use – and collate a register.

If you are interested in being part of one of these groups, please contact Camilla on manager@legalsustainabilityalliance.com or click the link below.

The groups run on Chatham House rules and allow member firms to share knowledge, experience and ideas freely. Where appropriate they will generate resources and/or toolkits to share with other member firms. These groups are managed by the secretariat team. They mainly meet online, but on occasion will get together in person. They are chaired by an external subject expert, but rely on LSA members to volunteer to be part of the working group.

Greece comes face-to-face with the consequences of climate change every year. In this interview with Maria Nefeli Bernitsa, Partner at member firm Bernitsas Law, we explored climate-conscious lawyering on the frontline of the climate crisis.

The Oxford Net Zero team successfully launched the new Climate Policy Monitor at COP29 with the help of LSA member firms: Dentons, Osborne Clarke, Pinsent Masons, Slaughter and May and Mishcon de Reya.

The Climate Policy Monitor assesses how policies and regulations align with climate goals. In 2024, it assessed 30 jurisdictions in three domains: climate-related disclosure, transition planning, and public procurement.

Commit to 2025 membership before the end of December and get 10% off your membership fee! Just let us know that you're definitely renewing and we will send you a reduced invoice in January. 

Black Mountains College and Legal Charter 1.5 invite you to a one-day in person workshop ‘Climate Adaptation for Legal Practitioners’ on Thursday 6th February, 9am - 5pm. Tickets are £550.

This training is designed to help you identify how you can use your occupational skills and position to take effective climate action.

Places are limited. Please find out more and register for this event by following the link below. 

Member News

Please get in touch with your stories so we can feature them here.

LSA Exec firms Ashurst and DLA Piper have joined forces with BCLP to support Diverse Talent Networks, who help organisations who want to diversify their talent pipeline.

Upcoming Events and Webinars

Please click the links to find out more and register, we look forward to seeing you!

Counting Your Carbon: The Basics

12.30pm, 21st January 2025

How to get started on carbon emissions data collection, measurement and target setting? How can the LSA’s free Carbon Calculator help? This session will delve into the essentials of measuring your firm's carbon emissions, providing clear and practical advice on how to understand and track your environmental impact. Expert Jim Haywood will explore what factors contribute to your footprint, how to get the data you need to measure them and clever ways to fill gaps when you don't have all of the information.

Navigating CSRD: A Guide for Law Firms

Time and date coming soon - February

This event will take a deep dive into the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its implications for law firms. 

• 'The How, Why and When of Regulatory Frameworks' with sustainability consultant Stan Rayfield

• 'Outcomes and Impacts – Takeaways from COP 29' with Emma Lecavalier, Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Net Zero Regulation and Policy Hub

• 'Labour’s 100 Days - What does it mean for policy?' with Karla Hill of E3G and Sophia Adams Bhatti

• 'The Global Goals in Action' with Matt Sparkes, Sustainability Director at Linklaters and Mike Harvey, Head of Responsible Business at Pinsent Masons
  

Sustainability Dates for Your Diary

This isn't a comprehensive list, but these are the dates that have caught our attention:

Veganuary – 1 - 31 January
Try going vegan for a month and reduce your carbon impact while you are at it!