The latest Centre for Legal Leadership webinar, hosted in conjunction with Thomson Reuters, focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Jenny Block, General Counsel and Board Secretary at Ofwat, the economic regulator of the privatised water and sewerage industries, offered a regulator’s perspective. Christy Baker, General Counsel and Data Protection Officer at the multinational transport company, FirstGroup, provided a view from a regulated business. Read more.
In-house lawyers are likely to be taking stock of the impact on their organisations of the significant changes to the UK government’s net zero targets and commitments this month. Two reports on the development of artificial intelligence and the imposition of a large fine by Ireland’s data protection regulator for a breach of the GDPR are also noteworthy.
Since launch of the In-house Future Forum last year, its members have discussed a variety of topics affecting the legal profession from the perspective of those in the early stages of their careers (see Practical Law In-house Future Forum: shaping the direction of the legal profession).
Meetings to date have focused on:
The latest Legal Leaders webinar, hosted by The Centre for Legal Leadership, is on 27 September 2023 (2:00 – 3:00pm). The topic for discussion is environmental, social and governance (ESG).
The webinar will explore how ESG factors are impacting the role and the work of GCs and in-house counsel generally, some of the challenges they face and some of the opportunities. The impact will vary depending on the sector and the nature of the organisation’s business, but typical areas of activity include:
The discussion will be led by our speakers, Jenny Block, GC at OfWat, and Christy Baker, GC and DPO at FirstGroup plc.
In September, the FRC consultation on proposed revisions to the UK Corporate Governance Code closes and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is expected to publish its final disclosure framework. In-house lawyers should also take note of the launch of a consultation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on its draft guidance on biometric data.
Publication of the draft Companies (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 and the first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards are among the most noteworthy recent developments. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill has also received Royal Assent and in-house lawyers should be aware of two related consultations on flexible working arrangements.
A consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code is the most high-profile development to keep track of this month. In-house lawyers should also be aware of a call for evidence for the non-financial reporting information review and another on the role that lawyers’ conduct can play in the misuse of non-disclosure agreements.
On behalf of the Practical Law Future Forum Steering Committee, we would like to invite you to participate in a meeting on the topic of mentoring and career development for early-career in-house lawyers, at 1300-1400 on Tuesday 20 June via Teams webinar.
The latest Centre for Legal Leadership webinar, hosted in conjunction with Thomson Reuters, focused on how to build and lead an in-house legal team. The discussion touched on a variety of topics, including client focus, collaboration, teamwork, recruitment, career development and hybrid working.
Consultations launched by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on significant reform proposals to the UK listing regime, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), on the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models, will be of interest to in-house lawyers. The High Court’s decision to refuse ClientEarth permission for its derivative claim against Shell on its directors’ approach to energy transition and climate risk is noteworthy too.