European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)’s Post

APCEL (and partners) have put together a really amazing line-up of speakers for our upcoming conference, 'Toward Net Zero: Legal Aspects of Corporate Climate Action in Asia', an international conference on the legal aspects of corporate climate action in Asia. It's the first of its kind in Asia, bringing together regulators, judges, academics, and practitioners to explore pain points and opportunities for action across the areas of fiduciary duties (including directors' duties), investors' duties, and climate litigation. Speakers include Dilhan Pillay (CEO, Temasek Holdings), Justice Philip Jeyaretnam (Singapore Supreme Court), Lord Carnwath (former Justice of the UK Supreme Court), and Sarah Barker (Managing Director, Pollination Law). More details are in the attached poster, and the QR code link found in the poster (including a full Programme Booklet). (For Singapore lawyers: 5.5 Public CPD Points are also forthcoming.) There's also been a few other sweeteners we managed to secure for this event: significant early bird discount rates for sign-ups before 1 October, complimentary tickets for every 4th person from the same organisation, and corporate hotel rates with Oasia Downtown for our out-of-town guests! And if you're a lawyer or legal professional who knows nothing about this climate / net zero / ESG / sustainability space - this conference will be particularly suitable for you. Learning about climate change law often challenges our existing legal paradigms and opens up new and interesting connections about the role, scope, and limits of the law; it is intellectually satisfying and deeply meaningful. I hope you give it a try, and see what it has to offer!

"The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers,” said a character called Dick the Butcher in William Shakespeare’s Henry VI. Over centuries, this quote has been misused to vilify the legal profession. However, a careful reading of the context shows Shakespeare's true intent, i.e., for lawlessness, chaos and anarchy to succeed, we only need to eradicate society's defenders of rule of law and justice. In this lifetime, we are confronted by the biggest existential threat to human civilisation. In this collective fight against #climatechange, we need all the help we can get. The legal profession is well-positioned to advance sustainability. Sustainability risks, including #climaterisks, has an impact on a wide range of legal practice areas including business, litigation, insurance, administrative law, environmental, land use, natural resources, and several others. I am looking forward to an interesting discussion on 1 July 2024 along with my learned co-panelists Sim Ting Elsa Chen and Eu-Lin Fang as we unpack the increasingly relevant role of lawyers in corporate sustainability and how #sustainabilityreporting can be an effective tool for in-house counsels to guide corporates against regulatory penalties and reputational damages that may result from sustainability-related lapses. My gratitude to SCCA - Singapore Corporate Counsel Association and Allen & Gledhill LLP for this opportunity. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Vanessa Sandhu

Did you already register for the International Bar Association Webinar of tomorrow? "Law Firm Decisions on ESG in a Changing Geopolitical Environment" | Thursday, February 22, 2024 (15:00 CET/2:00 GMT) This webinar, organized by the IBA Law Firm Management ESG Subcommittee, addresses the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, i.e., the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Gaza wars, the rise of global powers such as China and Russia, the climate crisis, and the concerns and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, and the challenges these developments pose to the legal industry. More than ever, law firms, general counsels and corporate legal departments must make important and strategic decisions in areas such as: taking a stand and making a statement on an issue; taking or not taking action; representing or not representing clients; stakeholder engagement; the expectations of talent and new hires; political versus business decisions and transparency. We have found two distinguished speakers, both of whom are very active in the intersection of geopolitics, sustainability, finance and legal issues: Sasja Beslik and Sean West. The webinar is chaired by our ESG subcommittee member Pamela Cone, ISSP-SA. Registration (for free for both IBA and non-IBA members) at https://lnkd.in/eyux7Y3F #esg #iba

International Bar Association Webinar | "Law Firm Decisions on ESG in a Changing Geopolitical Environment" | Thursday, February 22, 2024 (15:00 CET/2:00 GMT)  This webinar, organized by the IBA Law Firm Management ESG Subcommittee, addresses the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, i.e., the Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Gaza wars, the rise of global powers such as China and Russia, the climate crisis, and the concerns and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, and the challenges these developments pose to the legal industry.   More than ever, law firms, general counsels and corporate legal departments must make important and strategic decisions in areas such as: taking a stand and making a statement on an issue; taking or not taking action; representing or not representing clients; stakeholder engagement; the expectations of talent and new hires; political versus business decisions; and transparency. We have found two distinguished speakers willing to speak, both of whom are very active in the intersection of geopolitics, sustainability, finance and legal issues: Sasja Beslik and Sean West. The webinar is chaired by our ESG subcommittee member Pamela Cone, ISSP-SA. With thanks to all LFMC ESG Subcommittee members Zulon Begum Adrian Peyer Elsa Chen Julie Morrison Migle Petkeviciene Tobias V. Carys Clipper Fernanda Stefanelo Ana Martínez-Pina Jessica Ha Luis Gabriel Morcillo David Schreuders Wangui Kaniaru Nicky Sinker #ESG #geopolitics #geoeconomics #climatechange #AI #legal

Delighted to share my recent article on human rights due diligence and climate change in the context of international investment law in a special issue that resulted from the 'Climate Change and the Public International Law Regime' workshop, which took place at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law last year. Link to article (open access): https://lnkd.in/ehgeBSf3 While the discourse on the convergence of human rights and climate change has been noted for some time now, I explore a less considered - but increasingly relevant - aspect of the human rights/climate change nexus: the due diligence responsibility of businesses under the framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in the context of international investment law. As policy intervention in investment treaty-making in imposing corporate due diligence obligations has not always been forthcoming in international investment law, I consider other avenues of incorporating such obligations, including by harnessing existing international investment agreement provisions and adopting a broader approach to interpreting standards of investment protection in investment arbitration. I am immensely grateful to Professors Margaret Young, Markus Gehring, and Alexander Zahar, my supervisors Professors Tania Voon and Jarrod Hepburn, and participants of the workshop for engaging with my research and providing constructive feedback. Many thanks also to the Laureate Program on Global Corporations and International Law, Melbourne Law School, and Lauterpacht Centre for International Law for supporting my participation in the workshop at Cambridge. Do check out the interesting contributions in this special issue. #HRDD #UNGPs #climatechange #investmentlaw #bizhumanrights

Our partner, Violeta Saranciuc, FCIArb, participated as a speaker at the ArbitralWomen event held as part of the Vienna Arbitration Days and as a World Café moderator. The debates Violeta engaged in centered on crucial themes such as #ESG, #HumanRights, #Sustainability, #GreenTransition, #Sanctions, #AI, #Ethics, and #Arbitration. At the ArbitralWomen event, Violeta spoke on "Diversity in the context of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform Working Group," joining an inspiring panel of women and gaining insights from Judith Knieper of the #UNCITRAL Secretariat. The discussions emphasized the significance of diversity within ESG, particularly focusing on the adoption of diversity objectives by arbitral institutions, users, and states. They explored the Advisory Centre and Standing Mechanism for resolving investment disputes and the ethical and diversity implications of limiting multiple roles (double hatting) as per Art. 4 of the UNCITRAL: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Code of Conduct for Arbitrators. Violeta also co-moderated a roundtable on "ESG Defences in #ISDS" on the second day of the Vienna Arbitration Days. This discussion revolved around questions over implications of the states' ESG commitments on foreign investment protection obligations, the sovereign right to regulate in the public interest, and the possible reforms to balance private investor interests with public policy considerations in the ESG era.

One week from today (Thursday, 22 February 2024), the Law Firm Management ESG Subcommittee of the International Bar Association is hosting the webinar "Law Firm Decisions on ESG in a Changing Geopolitical Environment". Today’s increasingly tumultuous environment, i.e. war in Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Gaza, the rise of global powers such as Russia and China; the climate crisis; the forthcoming elections around the world and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence have all contributed (and are still contributing) to a dramatic shift in the geopolitical landscape. It is against this background that lawyers are called upon to understand the risks, provide advice for clients and make decisions for their firms. What do lawyers need to consider when leading a business? What should lawyers do? How should lawyers prepare? What can lawyers offer their clients of strategic value in this rapidly changing geopolitical environment? And much more... Speakers: Sasja Beslik, Sean West and moderated by Pamela Cone, ISSP-SA You can still register! Co-sponsored by the LFMC ESG Subcommittee: Adrian Peyer Elsa Chen Julie Morrison Migle Petkeviciene Tobias V. Carys Clipper Fernanda Stefanelo Ana Martínez-Pina Jessica Ha Luis Gabriel Morcillo David Schreuders Wangui Kaniaru Nicky Sinker and Zulon Begum

Please join us in the next LFMC ESG Subcommittee Webinar on how to deal with ESG matters within your Law Firm in these turbulent times. #IBA #LFMC

House judiciary subcommittee holds hearing concerning alleged collusion in ESG investing Democratic staff report was deeply critical of Republican antitrust investigation into ESG investing and argued such initiatives were not in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust held a hearing on “Climate Control: Decarbonization Collusion in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing.” Subcommittee Chair Thomas Massie (R-KY) opened by describing a climate cartel that has engaged in “anticompetitive collusion that has been illegal under the U.S. antitrust laws for more than a century.” He introduced a signatory statement that purported to be an agreement between members of the “climate cartel.” In response, Subcommittee ranking member Jose Correa (D-CA) opened by arguing that there is no climate cartel. He stressed that the hearing was “not about antitrust” but rather “an attack... to intimidate responsible parties for carrying out their fiduciary duties.” He stressed that there is “no restraint of trade and no harm to competition” and explicitly affirmed that “there is no antitrust violation.” Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), in his opening comments, stressed how the alleged cartel was a “restraint of trade” and that “social justifications for the restraint of trade do not make it any less unlawful.” As reported by Seth Abrams. #AntiESG #Collusion #AntiTrustInvestigation #ESGInvesting #ShermanAct #ShamInvestigation 

Under the leadership of Sorainen, we have once again published the Baltic Private M&A Deal Points Study 2024. We’ve been conducting this study since 2009 in collaboration with the largest law firms in the Baltics. This year, we included a new question in our study- ESG. It appears that ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is not yet playing a significant role in the Baltics. https://lnkd.in/d5wa_Cyu