There is lots of talk about responsible business, but little that seems to include the legal profession. Dissociating from the impacts of our work seems increasingly untenable however, so what are we going to do?
Good morning The Uncertain Solicitor. Thank you for sharing another thoughtful piece. You say this:
"Inviting clients to consider what the implications of their decisions and actions will be, in the long term as well as short, for local communities and for the environment, for staff and for suppliers, as well as for the clients themselves, inevitably raises questions to which there are not simple or easily replicable answers. I would want to be pretty confident the client was interested in this sort of conversation before instigating it. And I would want to feel I had something constructive to offer if they responded positively."
I wouldn't demur that there needs to be a much more open and thoughtful conversation around the implications of a decision or action that may have consequences for the environment and the wider community but knowing how solicitors practices work, I'm very doubtful that they'd operate outside the terms of their prolix engagement letter for risk of being on the back foot with any potential claim. How you overcome this very binary approach I'm not sure but until firms are prepared to act more as trusted advisors -- as hackneyed as that sounds -- I wonder how much influence they'll truly have in shifting the debate around responsible business? Take care, Julian
Good morning The Uncertain Solicitor. Thank you for sharing another thoughtful piece. You say this:
"Inviting clients to consider what the implications of their decisions and actions will be, in the long term as well as short, for local communities and for the environment, for staff and for suppliers, as well as for the clients themselves, inevitably raises questions to which there are not simple or easily replicable answers. I would want to be pretty confident the client was interested in this sort of conversation before instigating it. And I would want to feel I had something constructive to offer if they responded positively."
I wouldn't demur that there needs to be a much more open and thoughtful conversation around the implications of a decision or action that may have consequences for the environment and the wider community but knowing how solicitors practices work, I'm very doubtful that they'd operate outside the terms of their prolix engagement letter for risk of being on the back foot with any potential claim. How you overcome this very binary approach I'm not sure but until firms are prepared to act more as trusted advisors -- as hackneyed as that sounds -- I wonder how much influence they'll truly have in shifting the debate around responsible business? Take care, Julian