Event information
The Green Summit London 2023 marks our inaugural event in the UK associated with our new Global Green Guide and will bring together leading practitioners and in-house counsel from across the country and region to discuss the legal sector’s engagement with sustainability and a green transition.
The event promises not only thought-provoking panel discussions with high-profile speakers but also plenty of time for debate and exchange about one of the most important concerns of this century, as well as networking drinks to end the day.
Agenda
4.00pm–4.30pm Arrival and Registration
4.30pm–4.40pm Welcome Address and Opening Remarks
- Diane Gilhooley, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
4.40pm–5.25pm Accelerating the green and just transition
The concept of the green and just transition is increasingly at the centre of policy and business strategy. In this session we will explore the opportunities and challenges faced by General Counsel in relation global supply chains, business and human rights, net zero strategies. We will also look to explore topics such as climate risk, employee health and safety, workforce engagement and diversity, and corruption.
- Mark Maurice-Jones, general counsel UK and Ireland, Nestlé
- Anna Triponel, founder & advisor, Human Level
- Moderated by Michaela Walker, head of financial services, Eversheds Sutherland
5.25pm–5.45pm Coffee Break
5.45pm–6.30pm Interactive session: The evolving role of the General Counsel
As ESG moves into the mainstream the role of the General Counsel is evolving. Companies are managing multiple stakeholder interests — from investors to clients, consumers and campaigners — all of which are expecting more from businesses. General Counsel and their in-house legal teams are increasingly being asked to take responsibility for advising on ESG related issues. In this interactive session we will explore how the role of the General Counsel and the in-house legal team is changing and how these new challenges and opportunities are being embraced.
6.30pm–7.15pm Navigating brand, reputation and reporting
In this panel we will explore the opportunities and challenges facing General Counsel as they seek to manage brand, reputation and reporting at a time of increased regulatory and stakeholder pressure. We will discuss best practice, and how organisations review brand statements and commitments, undertake accurate reporting, and the necessary steps to avoid claims of greenwashing.
- Anthony Kenny, assistant GC corporate, GSK
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Paula Alessandro, general counsel, Standard Chartered Ventures
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Benjamin Franta, senior research fellow in climate litigation, Oxford Sustainable Law Programme
- Kari McCormick, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
- Moderated by Matthew Allen, global head of the financial services sector group and global co-head of financial services disputes and investigations, Eversheds Sutherland
7.15pm–8.00pm Closing Remarks and Networking Drinks
- Diane Gilhooley, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
Speakers
Mark Maurice-Jones, general counsel UK and Ireland, Nestlé
Mark Maurice-Jones leads a team of 15 staff dedicated to shaping the agenda of Nestlé UK & Ireland through proactive business partnerships and driving a culture of integrity. He advises on many elements of ESG and is a member of Nestle UK & Ireland’s ESG “Force for Good” Committee. Before joining Nestlé Mark worked for 15 years with Kimberly-Clark in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Mark started his legal career as a competition lawyer with international law firms in London and Brussels.
Benjamin Franta, senior research fellow in climate litigation, Oxford Sustainable Law Programme
Benjamin Franta is the Founding Head of the Climate Litigation Lab, a new multidisciplinary research initiative to inform, supercharge, and accelerate climate change litigation globally, and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford Sustainable Law Programme. He is also an Associate at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School. Ben holds a JD from Stanford Law School and is a licensed attorney with the California State Bar. He is also a former research fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Anna Triponel, founder & advisor, Human Level
Anna Triponel is an internationally renowned business, human rights and climate expert and founder of Human Level. Anna advises companies on human rights strategies, weaving human rights into climate strategies and just transition, and ways to adapt business models to be future fit. As a consultant at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, she worked with John Ruggie on the development of the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As Senior Advisor at the leading centre of expertise on the UNGPs Shift, she played an instrumental role in the development of the 2015 UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework. She has been a corporate lawyer in New York at Jones Day, an international human rights lawyer working across Africa and Asia at pro bono Nobel Peace Prize nominee firm PILPG, and a development lawyer in Washington DC at the World Bank.
Anthony Kenny, assistant GC corporate, GSK
Paula Alessandro, general counsel, Standard Chartered Ventures
Paula Alessandro is a successful financial services lawyer and business leader who spent the formative years of her career at Allen & Overy and has worked in elite international banks including Santander and Morgan Stanley. She has spent several years in venture capital and is currently a General Counsel within Standard Chartered Ventures. Paula has a law degree and also holds an MBA which she gained from Warwick Business School and the University of North Carolina.
Kari McCormick, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
Kari McCormick is a partner in our financial services disputes and investigations team and a member of the firm’s global ESG strategy group. She has acted for clients in litigation, dispute resolution and regulatory enforcement action for almost 30 years; much of it with a multi-jurisdictional dimension. Kari advises listed companies and financial services business on ESG related litigation and enforcement and how to mitigate the risk of claims; with a particular focus on corporate reporting and the greenwashing of financial products and services.
Matthew Allen, global head of the financial services sector group and global co-head of financial services disputes and investigations, Eversheds Sutherland
As Sector Group Head, Matthew is responsible for co-ordinating all of the firm’s client relationships across the Financial Services Sector including in the areas of corporate and investment banking; retail banking and consumer finance; insurance; asset management; payments and private equity. In particular, Matthew is responsible for co-ordinating the firm’s cross disciplinary FinTech and Private Capital offering, as well as the firm’s sustainable finance group and ESG platform for financial services clients. ESG work for clients in the FS sector includes advice on corporate and issuer disclosures; product origination and distribution (particularly in asset management and insurance); green debt finance and DCM, private market investments into taxonomy compliant businesses and assets; regulatory enforcement; and greenwashing litigation.
Michaela Walker, head of financial services, Eversheds Sutherland
Michaela Walker is the head of the financial services team at Eversheds Sutherland and head of the Financial Services sector group in Europe. She has more than 28 years’ experience of advising asset managers, depositaries, custodians, administrators, charities, pension schemes and other financial institutions on regulatory and product related work. She regularly advises clients on the structuring and establishment of investment funds, both onshore and offshore, the regulation of investment funds and their operators and asset management firms more generally. Michaela has been involved recently in advising clients on the impact of COVID 19 on asset management businesses, as well as advising firms on upcoming legislative changes relating to climate change and sustainability and on products with ESG characteristics. She also advises on the impact of Brexit and other key regulatory changes. She regularly contributes to industry publications and speaks at seminars and is named as a leading individual in Legal 500 and Chambers.
Diane Gilhooley, partner, Eversheds Sutherland
