In 2023, the Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy (LSE) initiative celebrates its fifth anniversary and continues to expand its impact. With 20 firms in the initiative, they collectively provided over $26 million in pro bono services on sustainability matters, including $2 million by Arnold & Porter and Orrick, over $6 million by Wilson Sonsini, and $7 million by Morrison & Foerster.
This fall saw the launch of Startup Law: Sustainability at Stanford Law School, which supports the Stanford founder community with experiential education. Students in this class provide pro bono legal assistance and support to early-stage nonprofit and for-profit startups working on climate, sustainability, and social impact challenges. This complementary addition to LSE has been a great success as more complex matters are often forwarded to the LSE network.
Together, LSE and Startup Law: Sustainability vetted over 80 applicants and were able to provide pro bono legal help to nearly 50 sustainability-focused startups and nonprofits. The firms in the LSE initiative worked on many interesting matters this year, including helping entities focused on sustainable aquaculture and agriculture, coral reef restoration, renewable energy production, green financing, and carbon capture technologies. For more details on their work see below!
In addition to their ongoing efforts, LSE also worked closely with attorneys in the initiative to offer webinars and direct pro bono services to startups and Tribal entities on how to take advantage of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives and accelerate renewable energy implementation. With their continued dedication to sustainability initiatives like these
