The 2024 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey reveals that 68% of legal professionals see an increased demand for ESG-oriented legal expertise. However, there are gaps between corporate legal departments and law firms when it comes to being prepared to meet the rising demand for ESG expertise.
The rising demand for the legal industry to provide ESG services looks to be more than just a passing trend — it represents a fundamental shift in how legal services are delivered in a world increasingly concerned with sustainability, social responsibility, and governance.
Understanding the ESG compliance landscape
According to the 2024 Wolters Kluwer’s Future Ready Lawyer Survey Report, ESG continues to be a major topic for workplaces and staff: 68% of legal professionals surveyed – 77% in legal departments, 61% in firms – see an increased demand for ESG-oriented legal expertise.
What’s behind this? The three main drivers include an increasingly complicated global regulatory system, ESG data challenges, and expectations around ESG standards.
The preparedness gap: Opportunity for legal professionals
There are gaps between corporate legal departments and law firms when it comes to being prepared to meet the rising demand for ESG expertise. The survey findings reveal that 41% of corporate legal professionals feel very prepared to address the demand for ESG-related legal expertise; 12% indicated that they are not very prepared or not at all prepared.
On the other hand, law firms expressed less confidence, with only 29% indicating they feel very prepared and 24% saying they are not very prepared or not at all prepared. There is also a difference in providing ESG training for staff – 56% of corporate legal departments provide ESG training, versus 45% of law firms.
“In-house legal departments are certainly leaders in the legal industry when it comes to ESG. In a sense, they influence law firms, their suppliers, to also incorporate ESG into their policies,” says Kamila Kurkowska, President and Founder of the Women in Law Foundation.
The need for ESG training and guidelines
How to address ESG challenges? The primary response is to provide ESG training to existing legal staff. Over half (56%) of corporate legal departments and 45% of law firms are administering training to existing staff. Other measures include developing internal policies and guidelines for ESG compliance and working with external experts or consultants to meet ESG responsibilities.
Additionally, 42% percent of law firms and 41% of corporate legal departments have established dedicated ESG departments – specialized units focused solely on ESG matters, ensuring concentrated expertise and dedicated resources for clients’ specific needs.
“I have the impression that although law firms are beginning to advise clients in the area of ESG, they have not yet fully addressed this issue within their own operations. Particularly when we talk about ’S’ for ’social,’ which includes people, especially employees, law firms have not yet realized how important people, and, more precisely, employees are,” said Kamila Kurkowska. “There is a lot of talk about diversity, but not enough is being done in the area of inclusion, and exceptionally little has been done regarding equity.”
To read the full legal industry analysis, download the 2024 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey Report >>