Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG)

Prior to the recent midterm elections, we wrote about five Senate Republicans who issued a warning letter to major U.S. law firms regarding the potential antitrust implications of Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) investing and activities. The letter advises that ESG activities may be viewed as “climate cartels” and present antitrust risk when firms engage in ESG group initiatives. With the midterm election results, those Senate Republicans will likely not be able to follow through on this line of investigation. However, House Republicans have taken up the issue, and they will have the ability to conduct antitrust scrutiny of ESG initiatives.

In our sixth session, the team is joined by Jason Vigna, a Member in our Securities Litigation Practice, to discuss best practices for handling crises in the boardroom — including identifying, documenting, discussing, managing, and disclosing material risks.

Read about a DOL final rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which clarifies that fiduciaries may consider climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions and exercising shareholder rights.

In our fifth session, which focuses on employment law, the team is joined by Jen Rubin, a bicoastal Member in our Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice and Chair of our ESG Practice, to discuss best practices related to hiring an executive (hint: consensus is key), managing the executive at the board level, and how to (amicably) negotiate to terminate an executive.

In our fourth session, “ESG in the Boardroom,” the team is joined by Kristyn Noeth, Of Counsel at Mintz, to discuss best practices related to and practical implementation of ESG concepts, as well as the impending Climate Disclosure Rule. As noted in the introduction, fewer topics are generating more interest in boardrooms across the country (and at Mintz!) than environmental, social, and corporate governance.

In our second session, “Running an Effective Board Meeting,” the team discusses key considerations for public and private companies in this critical area of governance.

Read about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 enacted August 16, 2022, which extends and expands existing tax credits and adds several new energy tax credits to encourage the production of electricity using clean energy and the reduction of carbon emissions.