Risk, Resilience, and Reward: What Awaits at Legal ESG London

May 29, 2025

AUTHOR Legal ESG

ESG has outgrown checklist compliance; it is now a strategic discipline that spans client advisory, operations, and talent. At the same time ESG sits at a pivotal juncture where accelerating regulation is colliding with mounting political and market headwinds.


Legal ESG: London (8–9 July 2025) and the co-located Legal ESG Awards distil that breadth into two high-impact days devoted to resolving today’s hardest ESG problems, and an evening that recognizes the firms and individuals setting new standards.


Together they offer a unique blend of practical insight, peer benchmarking, and public recognition - exactly what in-house counsel, law-firm ESG leaders, and allied professionals need to navigate 2025’s regulatory and geopolitical turbulence and transform ESG from compliance burden into strategic value driver.

Inside the Conference: 8th & 9th July


  • Strategic advisory (Day 1). Unpacking the geopolitical implications of “Trump 2.0”, ESG clauses in cross-border M&A, climate-catastrophe liability, and the EU Omnibus Directive
  • Operational integration (Day 2). Sessions pivot inward: Scope 3 emissions engagement, supplier due-diligence standards, net-zero road-mapping, DEI communications, and legal-wellbeing metrics.


Our Key Notes:


  • Trump 2.0 and its Global Implications: Veteran human-rights advocate and responsible-investment pioneer Bennett Freeman will open Day 1 by mapping how a second Trump administration could recast the geopolitical, regulatory, and ethical terrain for global business and the legal profession.
  • ESG Engagement: Day 2 begins with Gihan Hyde, award-winning founder of B-Corp communications consultancy CommUnique, who will distil what authentic stakeholder engagement looks like when Scope 3 emissions, supply-chain ethics, and workforce inclusion all vie for boardroom attention.
  • Preview the full agenda


Spotlight on the Legal ESG Awards


The Legal ESG Awards UK 2025 anchor the opening evening of Legal ESG: London on 8th July 2025, transforming technical debate into public accountability.


The awards will recognise excellence across seven pillars—client service, internal operations, ESG initiatives, employee engagement, in-house programs, law-firm/client collaboration, and two overall distinctions: Lifetime Achievement and the Paul Watchman Young Lawyer of the Year award.


Finalists Announced


Practical Notes:


  • Early-bird pricing ends 30 May
  • The full list of Awards finalists


Bottom line:

ESG must move from principled ambition to measurable performance. Legal ESG: London and the Legal ESG Awards UK provide the knowledge, network, and recognition to lead that transition.


Join us in London and join the discussion.


Legal ESG Awards 2025 Finalists
By Inside Practice May 21, 2025
Announcing the finalists for the Legal ESG Awards 2025. The awards highlight the significant influence of legal experts in creating a responsible business landscape and challenge the profession to innovate and lead in integrating ESG principles.
Legal ESG: Toronto was a conference that brought together thought leaders, regulators, and...
By Inside Practice May 15, 2025
Legal ESG: Toronto was a conference that brought together thought leaders, regulators, and legal innovators to discuss global ESG trends and practical strategies for collaboration, compliance, and resilience.
Big Law Embraces AI: Cleary Gottlieb Launches 'Legora' Platform.
By Inside Practice May 15, 2025
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP launches firm-wide rollout of Legora, a generative AI platform enhancing legal services through automated document drafting, contract analysis, and efficient legal research.
AI and the Law: The UK’s Strategic Gamble in a Shifting Global Landscape
By Nick Stone May 14, 2025
In 2017, then–Prime Minister Theresa May commissioned Professor Dame Wendy Hall and Jérôme Pesenti to produce a landmark report on artificial intelligence (AI), technology, and employment. The resulting UK AI strategy launched that October, creating the AI Office and the independent AI Council. While the Office was staffed by civil servants to oversee implementation, the Council was an expert advisory body.