I am delighted to see law firms have been taking more of a front seat in driving ESG forward as part of their broader strategy. As reflected in Briefing and HSBC’s law firm strategy and investment survey results – as well as the prominence of ESG as a topic at industry events – environmental, social and governance matters are dominating discussion more than I’ve ever seen before. That level of noise is long overdue, as it should be a linchpin in every organisation.
However, there’s always a danger that, for some firms, ESG initiatives become a box-ticking exercise, or a knee-jerk reaction to appease clients, who themselves are increasingly scrutinising how the businesses they partner with address ESG-related issues. Looking only at scorecards and RFP responses can undermine the key to success around ESG, which is to be authentic.
There’s always a danger that, for some firms, ESG initiatives become a box-ticking exercise, or a knee-jerk reaction to appease clients, who themselves are increasingly scrutinising how the businesses they partner with address ESG-related issues.
As Williams Lea’s CEO, Clare Hart, said at a legal conference earlier this year: “You have to simplify ESG and put it into context. You can’t wave a wand and make everything right. You have to select from a menu what you can lean on and drive those initiatives with your organisation.” Our ESG strategies and initiatives are all part of our Beyond Business programme and fall under one of three pillars: be thoughtful, be accountable and be better.
The most valuable ESG strategies I’ve seen are integrated into a firm’s day-to-day activities. For example, our Beyond Business initiatives include training and resources to help staff truly understand exactly what environmental, social and day-to-day governance means for them, their teams and our clients. For our environmental initiatives, we proof our actions with ratings from independent evaluators such as Ecovadis and CDP. They demonstrate tangible, hard results that we’re proud of, but it remains important to be genuine about our ESG actions by proactively identifying issues where we can improve our environmental and social governance stewardship.
Why do all this? A recent study by professional services firm Marsh McLennan found that employee satisfaction positively correlates with employers having a strong focus on ESG initiatives, and satisfied employees work harder, stay longer and produce better results. When law firms are looking at the marketplace for businesses that can support them, the scorecards and certifications will help tick a box, but it’s important to look ‘under the hood’ and examine organisations’ ESG initiatives in action by meeting their people, going to their office and seeing how they work. If you can feel that your fee earners will be supported by happy, contented, motivated people, then you know that company’s ESG initiatives are really working.