Organization:

Name:Law Firm Sustainability Network

Acronym:LFSN

Description:
The Law Firm Sustainability Network is a nonprofit organization of law firms and legal departments committed to promoting the benefits of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility within their firms and throughout the legal industry. We believe by working collaboratively and giving firms essential tools and resources, we can have an ever greater impact on preserving the environment. The LFSN's mission is to develop key performance indicators, foster knowledge-sharing, develop best practice guidelines, and recognize innovation regarding environmental sustainability in the U.S. legal sector. The LFSN is a pending 501c3 nonprofit organization that was founded in August 2011 as an informal platform for law firm professionals to share ideas, network, and develop best practices and industry standards for sustainability in the legal industry. Grown out of the collaboration of nearly 50 firms, members bring a diversity of perspectives from various firm functions (such as legal practice and operations), and individual roles (including attorneys, C-suite officers, and administrative staff). Member firms, many of which are considered AM Law 100 or 200, also bring a broad range of expertise; participants from member firms have played key roles in the ABA, state, and local bar sustainability programs, heads of sustainability committees, environmental practice group leaders, and LEED-accredited professionals, among others. The LFSN has rapidly become recognized as one of the U.S. legal industry's leading collaborative sustainability organizations.

Stakeholder(s):

• LFSN Members: Who Are Network Members? The Network is open to all law firms. The LFSN was grown out of the collaboration of nearly 50 firms. Many of our members are Am Law 200 and also include numerous small and regional firms. In-house legal departments are also welcome to join. * Diversity of individuals representing their firms. * Partners, associates, and counsel, as well as C-suite officers, directors, managers, and legal and administrative staff share their perspectives. * Varying firm functions. * Representatives bring experience from legal practice, marketing communications, facilities, operations, human resources, and more. * Broad range of expertise. * Members of state and local bar sustainability task forces, liaison to ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge, chief sustainability officers; sustainability committee chairs, environmental practice group leaders, and LEED-accredited professionals, among others.


• LFSN Board of Directors: Our Board Members are elected from Leadership Council of firms. The Leadership Council is the governing board of firms that provides guidance to the Law Firm Sustainability Network's growth and development and provides financial sponsorship. Firms who have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability are eligible for the Leadership Council.


• Peter Masaitis: President -- Peter Masaitis is a partner in the firm's Los Angeles office whose practice concentrates primarily on complex litigation matters, with a focus on products liability claims and toxic torts. He has successfully defended large-scale consumer class actions, product liability and mass toxic tort claims, intellectual property disputes, and unfair business practice claims for clients in a variety of industries, including automotive, telecommunications, aerospace, consumer electronics and chemical products. Peter is the national chair of Alston & Bird's Sustainability Committee, which works to reduce the firm's impact on the environment and promote the health and wellness of the people within our firm and the local and global communities in which we live and work.


• Gayatri Joshi: Vice President -- Gayatri Joshi is Vice President of Client Management of ecoAnalyze, an eco-consultancy dedicated to the law firm community. She works with law firms of all levels engaging in environmental sustainability initiatives. Through the company's carbon footprint and management tool, ed3, she helps them to discover their carbon footprint and determine ways to reduce their environmental impact by setting benchmarks and establishing carbon reduction targets.


• Regina Maciula: Treasurer -- Gina Maciula is executive director of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, LLP, in Oakland, California. Gina is a Certified Legal Manager (CLM) and chaired the national Certification Committee for the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) for 3 years and served on ALA's Annual Conference Committee for 2 years. Gina was California State Director for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resource Management (SPHR). Gina was part of the original team that made Wendel Rosen the first law firm to become certified as a green business (back in 2003). She has written and spoken on sustainability topics since then. She was a member of the California State Bar's Sustainability Task Force, which drafted California's Sustainability Policy and Standards.


• Daniel Krainin: Secretary -- Daniel M. Krainin is a Principal in the New York office of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., whose practice is focused on environmental and toxic tort litigation matters. He has been named to the Super Lawyers list for environmental litigation in the New York Metropolitan area, and serves as a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Environment Section's Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts Committee. Dan is a founding member and the chair of Beveridge & Diamond's Green Team.


• C. Baird Brown: C. Baird Brown is a partner in the firm's Environment and Energy Practice Group. His practice includes the development and financing of electric generating facilities, waste disposal and recycling facilities, water and wastewater facilities, and other infrastructure projects. Baird currently focuses on renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable infrastructure. He represents state and local sustainability agencies charged with promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and green infrastructure. Baird is also active in climate change issues, including trading of renewable energy credits and carbon credits.


• Peter Elton: Peter Elton is the Firmwide Manager of Operations at Morrison & Foerster LLP, a global firm with over 1000 lawyers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Peter is based in MoFo's San Francisco office. As one of the first co-chairs of MoFo's Internal Sustainability Committee he helped define the firm's sustainability program. He continues to guide the firm's sustainability efforts helping MoFo reach Leader status in the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge and achieve a LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council for the renovation of the firm's San Francisco office. Peter is a Certified Facility Manager and a member of the International Facility Management Association.


• Carolyn Kaplan: Carolyn Kaplan is Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer for Nixon Peabody, the first such position in a U.S. law firm. In that role, she leads the firm's Legally Green® initiative, assisting clients to create long-term value through sustainable business strategies, partnering with leading organizations on sustainability initiatives, and implementing sustainable policies and practices throughout the firm. Carolyn brings nearly 25 years of experience in environmental issues to her position, having started her career at ICF Inc. She currently serves on the Sustainability and Climate Change Committee of A Better City and the Board of Advisors of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association. She is the former co-chair of the Renewable Energy team within Nixon Peabody's Energy and Environmental practice, and has assisted clients on a variety of renewable energy projects, including the siting of land based and offshore wind energy facilities.. She has a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. Ms. Kaplan is a frequent speaker at conferences, seminars, and other industry events.


• Leah A. Rochwarg: Ms. Rochwarg is a partner in the Construction Practice Group of Seyfarth Shaw LLP and is a LEED® Accredited Professional. She possesses an understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with LEED requirements, resources, and processes which assists her in counseling public and private clients who either voluntarily or by virtue of local, state, or federal requirements seek to design, construct, or renovate utilizing green or sustainable building practices.


• LFSN Leadership Council: The Leadership Council is the governing board of firms that provides guidance to the Law Firm Sustainability Network's growth and development and provides financial sponsorship. Firms who have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability are eligible for the Leadership Council.


• Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP


• Beveridge & Diamond PC


• Sayfarth Shaw LLP


• Morrison Foerster


• NixonPeabody


• Alston + Bird LLP


• Drinker Biddle


• ecoAnalyze


• Global Partners


• Legal Sector Alliance: The Legal Sector Alliance (LSA) is an inclusive movement of law firms and organizations committed to working collaboratively to take action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable practices The LSA believes that acting on climate change is in our collective interest and that a greater impact can be achieved through collaborative action and the sharing of knowledge and experience than could otherwise be achieved by the efforts of individual firms. To act as a framework for individual and collective action, the LSA has developed a set of principles, which cover members' own operations, as well as their wider influence on employees, suppliers, clients and policy makers.


• Australian Legal Sector Alliance: The Australian Legal Sector Alliance (AusLSA) is an industry-led association working collaboratively to promote sustainable practices across the legal sector. AusLSA provides tools and resources to law firms that assist our members implement programs and policies that reduce their environmental impact. Using a collaborative and inclusive approach facilitates the development of best practice sustainability guidelines for the Australian legal sector. Members of AusLSA commit to the AusLSA Principles, which includes a commitment to reporting on their environmental impacts in the AusLSA Annual Report. Knowledge sharing and networking convey to members the most successful sustainability ideas and practices. All Australian law firms are encouraged to join AusLSA and contribute to improving the sustainability of the Australian legal industry.