Partners Carl Valenstein and Franco Corrado spoke with Thomson Reuters Institute (TRI) about how in-house legal departments can mitigate legal risks associated with environment, social, and governance (ESG) matters, given expectations that greenwashing litigation will grow.
Carl, co-head of the firm’s ESG practice, explained how review of all ESG-related public statements is important and may need to involve lawyers with different perspectives.
“We receive tricky questions from clients on net zero commitment disclosure that need both a review from a litigator and a securities lawyer because derivative actions can instigate a breach of fiduciary duties,” he said.
According to Franco, marketing and advertising teams should understand the risks associated with making statements related to ESG.
“We walk them through best practices on how to modify their own advertising practices to help mitigate risk,” he said.