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NLJ this week: How to avoid greenwashing & the significance of copyright in ESG

13 October 2023
Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News , ESG , Intellectual property
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‘Every time I see this focus on sustainability regulations, I want to scream,’ General Counsel Andrew Magowan, from law firm The Legal Director, writes in this week’s NLJ. ‘At best, it’s a wasted opportunity. But at worst, it’s a dereliction of our duties as lawyers’

ESG is the subject of two NLJ articles this week. Magowan advises how to make the most of the environmental aspects of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance), and Colin Hulme, head of IP at Burness Paull, looks at copyright and making sure no business misappropriates the work of authors and artists.

First, Magowan advises that lawyers think about how they can make the biggest difference and focus on that. Rather than the lawyerly tendency to focus on the complex detail of reporting obligations in a variety of jurisdictions, he suggests lawyers prioritise, ask questions and communicate openly and honestly when evaluating anything from the perspective of sustainability.

Once they have ascertained what needs to be focused on to genuinely tackle the biggest impacts and make the biggest difference, Magowan advises that lawyers talk about these and only these, making sure they don’t get distracted.

Secondly, Colin Hulme, head of IP at Burness Paull, in an extract from a bigger article published on the Copyright Licensing Agency’s website, considers why businesses breach copyright and notes the importance of ESG for businesses pitching for work.

He highlights that: ‘As ESG policies require companies to have consideration for the communities and markets within which they operate, paying for content which will incentivise those engaged in the creative industries seems obvious.’ 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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