Hosts
Michael Fletcher – Moderator, Partner, Pinsent Masons; Holly Gavaghan, Head of Arbitration, BD, Opus 2; Kay Majid, Group Legal Services Director, Tesco; Melissa Strong, Head of Insurance & Wealth Litigation, Lloyds Banking Group; James Thorne, Associate General Counsel, Associated British Foods
What this session will cover
Corporate focus on ESG issues continues to intensify and this session will look at the impact of this on litigation from varying perspectives. First, the panel will consider what this corporate agenda means in practice for in-house litigators. What ESG ‘hot topics’ give in-house counsel the greatest opportunities and the most sleepless nights? How do in-house counsel see the relationship between ESG and litigation developing? The session will also look at how the ESG agenda may drive change in how private practice litigators are chosen, instructed and expected to operate. Does anyone ever instruct ‘nice’ litigators? What can private practice litigators do to push forward litigation mandates and uphold ESG values simultaneously?
Finally, the panel will consider what litigators can do to drive positive change, including the role of corporate purpose and the value of model clauses, pledges and protocols. What factors will ultimately drive the disputes community to change? Where will we be in 5 years’ time?