Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
Press Contacts: Erik Cummins, Matt Hyams, Olivia Thomas
03.11.22
According to Law360, the complexity of Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG practices have raised unanswered questions and uncertainty among clients.
Pillsbury Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense partner Kimberly Jaimez offered insights on some of those questions and uncertainties.
Jaimez noted that people are rightly focused on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is working on a proposed climate disclosure rule. But, she said, there are many other regulators and entities attorneys should have their eyes on.
Among those, the California State Legislature is considering the Climate Corporate Accountability Act, which would require U.S.-based companies that do business in California and generate over $1 billion in gross annual revenue to disclose all of their greenhouse gas emissions to the California Secretary of State's Office. In New York, the state Legislature is considering the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, which requires fashion retailers and manufacturers to disclose environmental and social due diligence policies. As far as helping clients navigate these sometimes conflicting regulatory schemes, it's crucial for law firms to establish their value in the process early.
"The purpose is the privilege," Jaimez said. "To the extent that a business wants to do a deep dive into ESG assessments, let's say ahead of a big merger or a big transaction, and they want to assess the target's profile, they are going to want to be able to have a law firm involved to help bring in the privilege. If you just have a consulting company, that's not going to help."
She said the same is true if a company wants to do a supply chain audit, a civil rights assessment or a racial equity audit—all of which fall under the ESG umbrella.
"We're seeing consultancy firms and law firms pitch clients together and help them understand, here are the consultancy capabilities to really do the data analytics and analyze that, and then here are the attorneys to bring in the privilege so that some of this analysis can come under the privilege right, or whatever amount that you decide," she said.
Read the full article here.