Biglaw Firms Draw Protesters Over Their Work Driving Climate Change
The Biglaw firms in question are some of the worst when it comes to exacerbating climate change.
Thanks to the dedicated work of Law Students for Climate Accountability, we know that Biglaw firms continue to be a “hotbed of fossil fuel activity.” According to the group’s fifth annual Climate Scorecard, Biglaw firms received grades of “A” to “F” based on their work — and two separate environmental groups are now protesting outside of the offices of two firms that received “F” grades.
Members of Lawyers Are Responsible (LAR) and Fossil Free London recently staged a “climate crisis exhibition” outside of the London offices of Akin Gump and A&O Shearman. As noted by LSCA, Akin earned $7.92 million from fossil fuel lobbying between 2019 and 2023, while A&O Shearman worked on $285 billion worth of fossil-fuel-related transactions over the same period.
In a statement, LAR referred to both Biglaw firms as “fossil fuel industry enablers.” The American Lawyer has additional details on the protest:
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LAR is made up of a group of lawyers campaigning for law firms to cut their ties to the fossil fuel industry, while Fossil Free London describes itself as a group that uses “direct action, creative stunts, disruption and protest to target key fossil fuel corporations and banks.” …
Joanna Warrington, a campaigner at Fossil Free London said: “Lawyers here are raking in millions by defending the corporations wrecking our planet. They’re not just complicit—they’re profiting from climate disaster while the world’s most vulnerable pay the price.”
Environmental protests like these aren’t going to stop anytime soon. Biglaw needs to do better, to make the future better for all of us.
Climate Groups Demonstrate Outside A&O Shearman and Akin Offices [American Lawyer]
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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