Written by Howard University Newsroom
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP’s ESG and Law Institute, a forum of businesses and academic institutions dedicated to the independent study of issues relating to the intersection of ESG (environmental, social and governance), business and the law, today announced that it has signed on its second academic partner, Howard University School of Law.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Howard Law, one of the nation’s finest law schools and one that shares our mission to advocate for and defend the rights of all, to create a new hub for ESG legal research and thought leadership,” said Jeh Charles Johnson, a senior partner at Paul, Weiss and former Secretary of Homeland Security. “We look forward to leveraging Howard Law’s leading academic expertise to expand the study of the real-world challenges of tackling diversity, equity and inclusion.”
“Howard Law is honored to partner with Paul, Weiss’s ESG and Law Institute,” said Howard University School of Law Dean Danielle Holley-Walker. “ESG is a cutting-edge practice area that puts the work of diversity, equity and inclusion into practice. We look forward to doing critical legal research in the ESG area and introducing our students to this area of practice.”
Howard Law is the second academic institution to partner with the ESG and Law Institute since it was founded in September. The Institute aims to meet an urgent need for independent, solutions-oriented research and analysis by boards, executives and institutional investors on the intersection of ESG with legal risk.
“Companies are grappling with how to address the environmental, social and governance issues that are most important to their stakeholders, and Howard Law has been actively engaged on some of the most pressing social issues of our time,” said David Curran, ESG and Law Institute executive director and co-chair of the Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice at Paul, Weiss. “We are excited to combine our networks and resources to create action-oriented intelligence that lawyers, boards and company leaders can leverage to address their ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion challenges.”
As a part of the partnership, the ESG and Law Institute will also provide two scholarships to select Howard Law students to conduct research and analysis on legal ESG topics.
The Institute’s latest partnership with Howard Law comes 22 months after Paul, Weiss launched a first-of-its-kind Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice to help clients navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives, and four months after the practice launched the Institute via an inaugural partnership with UC Berkeley School of Law. Paul, Weiss’s Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice maintains an active leadership role within the Institute, partnering with business and professional associations, ESG experts and other academic institutions to organize roundtable discussions, conduct research and identify emerging issues in the field.
“We are proud to support scholarships that will enable Howard Law students to conduct cutting-edge research on the intersection of ESG and the law, and we are excited to collaborate with Howard Law on game-changing thought leadership on ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Paul, Weiss chairman Brad S. Karp.
