Reed Smith is developing an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice to assist clients in navigating what it sees as "a persistent lack of global convergence on ESG rules, concepts, programmes, and reporting standards."

The new practice unites around 60 lawyers from the firm's 30 offices. As part of the ESG practice, they will assist clients with commercial, corporate, regulatory, and litigation problems, among others, that are subject to increasing compliance and stakeholder duties.

Claude Brown and David Boutcher (London), Daja Apetz-Dreier (Munich), Hagen Rooke (Singapore), Jennifer Smokelin (Pittsburgh), Rolf Hünermann (Frankfurt), Tyree Jones (Washington, DC), and Yves Melin are the partners driving the charge (Brussels).

Despite the permanency of sustainability, social, and climate-related concerns on the business agenda, the absence of global convergence on ESG rules, principles, programmes, and reporting standards continues to frustrate customers, according to Brown.

“We have formed this team to ensure that we are providing the very best support from our leading lawyers across the globe, tapping into the regional insight and industry experience from the wider team will prove a huge asset to clients,” he said. 

Reed Smith described the introduction of a dedicated ESG practice as a "formalisation" of its existing offering, in which its lawyers had advised on "hundreds" of ESG-related situations over the years.

This work has included advising NatWest Markets on financing a €2.3 billion ESG-linked credit facility and advising a UBS-affiliated fund manager on the development of a $400 million impact investing fund focusing on Asian healthcare-related enterprises.

In addition to advising on net-zero targets, healthcare funding, Modern Slavery corporate obligations, and the formation of diversity, equality, and inclusion objectives and reporting requirements, the firm has provided counsel on a variety of other subjects.

Source: Global Legal Post

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