Green Guilt: Profiting from Disaster

Contemplating the most recent environmental catastrophe in West Virginia (see, e.g., Ann Moore, West Virginia chemical spill triggers tap water ban, Reuters, Jan. 10, 2014), I can’t help but think how this misfortune is going to cause a spike in work for some of those working in the legal environmental field. Selling environmental services surely will become just a little bit easier in West Virginia and elsewhere, and an environmental lawyer would wisely be reminding clients that now might be a good time to do a bit of proactive self-examination.  As much as we might not want to be, we are a reactive society, and a “don’t let what happened to them happen to you” warning would be one well-heeded.

Even so, I can’t help but feel guilt about making money when others have been so directly harmed. Is a spike in work stemming from an environmental calamity wrong? Should it be?

I first started contemplating this notion (or, rather, feeling guilty) early in my career when I was working on Superfund issues and frequently heard the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act described as a ‘lawyers’ relief act.’ Lots of firms had a very healthy Superfund business going on in the ’80s as companies bickered about cleaning up previously contaminated sites.  Many have criticized the impact of the law on the economy, but I can’t help but notice how much of the environment was cleaned up even as lawyers and others earned a living dickering over the details.

I was more conflicted then than I am now. There are many actors in the environmental field. We each have our roles. Some can afford to work pro bono a lot. Some cannot. Some clients are far more easily persuaded to take more environmentally responsible actions after a catastrophe has occurred. Some lawyers, and government types, and judges hold those responsible for environmental disasters accountable. Some people will be harmed and not sufficiently compensated. But some clients who might not have taken action otherwise may take preventive measures now that will decrease the chance of an environmental disaster in the future. That’s really what so many of are working for. 

Environmental disasters in all likelihood will always happen. We need to learn from them and decrease the odds that similar disasters will occur in the future. There’s nothing wrong with working toward that goal. What’s unfortunate is that clients might be more inspired to take action when some major misfortune has recently taken place.

—Lori Tripoli

Don’t Let Client Confidences Turn into Coloring Paper: Remember to Recycle Responsibly

As we rush headlong into the Christmas season, on the heels of that other holiday emblematic of overindulgence that arrived just shortly after America Recycles Day, recycling may well be on everyone’s mind as we ponder ways to get rid of excess stuff. Regifting the box of chocolate-covered pears a client just sent you? No problem by me—just be certain to remove the gift tag. Sending leftover food items from the office get-togethers to a homeless shelter? All the better. Those are sometimes easy, heart-pleasing fixes to the problem of overconsumption, whether personally or professionally.

Recycling paper can be a feel-good activity (and cutting down on usage can be a real money-saver), but law firms have to tread a bit more carefully when they are getting rid of excess work product. After all, you don’t want an overly enthusiastic paralegal to take a ream of used paper from the recycling bin to her kindergartener’s classroom; five-year-olds and their parents don’t need to color on one side and read all about a client’s litigation options on the other.

In this season of excess even when the economy’s still pretty tight, remember to recycle responsibly. Make sure that  confidential information isn’t getting into the wrong hands and that paper with sensitive material on it is handled and disposed of properly. Know and address confidentiality issues with your firm’s recycler, and make sure that everyone in a law firm knows what can be safely recycled and what shouldn’t be.  Teach, train, and follow up. Just remember to print fewer sheets of paper (and make them double-sided if you do!) while you’re strengthening your firm’s environmental initiatives.

—Lori Tripoli

Why Sustainability Needs to Be on Every Lawyer's Radar

Sustainability--the notion that we need to leave the Earth in a better place than we found it, and not deplete nonrenewable natural resources while we are here--is something lawyers no longer can afford to ignore. See my coverage of this topic in the May Of Counsel.

How Lawyers Can Practice Sustainability

I am working on an article on lawyers, law firms, and sustainability and look forward to sharing it when it is finally published. Sustainability—basically, the idea that we should leave the world a better place than we found it and not continue to deplete our natural resources—is certainly a vital goal for the planet. The notion also poses all sorts of interesting legal issues (and work!) for lawyers. For instance, who is liable if a green building does not perform as promised? What happens if a retailer requires its suppliers to make their operations more sustainable and, in so doing, an operator experiences some sort of catastrophe? As in the world as a whole, sustainability crosses industries and requires collaboration; so, too, in law firms, sustainability matters tend not to be siloed in an environmental practice group. Okay, this graf is just a big teaser for my upcoming article, but I have a feeling I’ll be writing more pieces on this subject in the months to come. I can’t wait to report on progress in this area all the way around.