Ex. In-House Counsel - Corporate Sustainability/ESG

The Corporate Sustainability and ESG Externship will provide students with an understanding of the roles lawyers play in the ESG space while offering them an opportunity to experience that work firsthand with various companies’ ESG or sustainability departments. The class focuses on the unique, challenging and rewarding aspects of being ESG attorneys in the law firm environment. New to the legal space, the practice of ESG touches all aspects of an enterprise, helping clients identify environmental, social, and governance opportunities and risks; stay abreast of domestic and international ESG-related regulatory developments, trends, better practices and business implications; conduct rigorous due diligence, expanding beyond the traditional scope of data rooms; and leverage investigation and crisis management practices during a triggering event.

The goal of the class is to leave students with a practical understanding of what it means to advise clients on ESG concerns and navigate the often murky interplay between legal and compliance guardrails and business opportunities, identify emerging legal and reputational risks and orchestrate the work of various functions across a business or across geographies, whether executing a deal or handling a complex assessment or audit by digging into some of the more interesting practice points and issues in the space. Field placements will provide students the opportunity to gain practical experience through externship placements with sustainability and ESG teams. Students will integrate the seminar-based teachings into their field practice. Students will be assessed on class assignments and performance.