Nine big law firms have announced they would deliver $15 million in free legal services within the next two years to advance sustainability around the world.

Late attorney honoured

The  nine comprises seven firms - Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, Cooley, Dentons, Holland & Knight, Latham & Watkins, Morrison & Foerster and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati – which plan to contribute $2 million each by 2020, while Hogan Lovells and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr say they will contribute $500,000 each. The new initiative, called Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, was launched at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, and honours the work of the late Nancy McFadden, an attorney and former chief of staff to California governor Jerry Brown. Ms McFadden had assisted Brown on a number of efforts designed to combat climate change, including putting together the Global Climate Action Summit.

Support voiced

California attorney general Xavier Becerra said, ‘it is important that we recognize that there are people who sometimes don’t have the capabilities to fight for themselves, for their community and their environment. The fact that we come together as one team to say that everyone can have that opportunity, to make the fight and to win, is critical.’ Under the program, the participating firms will provide millions in free legal assistance to nonprofits and businesses working on climate and sustainability issues such as energy, transportation and land use. Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy and Stanford Law School, which will help incubate the initiative, will also participate in the program by connecting firms with potential pro bono clients and tracking their progress.  Attorneys general from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Washington DC have also voiced their support for the potential impact created by the nine firms’ commitment.