Law Firms Adopt Sustainability to Stay Sustainable

It was not long ago that when law firms moved to new digs, they had them designed with the old-school method. Wood paneling on the walls, numerous window-less interior offices for junior associates and paralegals, and the coveted oversized corner offices for senior partners and rainmakers. During the past few years however, that has changed. Law firms are going green, and the traditional law office floor plans have morphed.What Is a Green Office? When a company moves to a new location or is involved in a major retrofit of an existing premises and has a sustainability goal, there are certain basic issues to be considered. The first one, as with any construction job in a commercial building, is what (if any) are the landlords sustainability practices? Do they require green building methods? Is the building itself certified under a green building rating system? But, even if the green construction train is not driven by the landlord, a tenant could have its own sustainability plan.The EPA defines green building as the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a buildings life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.1As a part of a sustainable building, law firms see the green office incorporating many things such as more availability of occupants to see the outdoors (fewer inner Sheetrock-walled officesremember your first-year associate days); use of paints with low levels of VOC (volatile organic compounds), varnishes and products; premises located near public transportation; reduced energy consumption methods such as LED lighting, task-based lighting controls and motion/infrared light sensors; high energy-star-rated equipment; equipment energy step-downs at the end of the day; improved HVAC controls with better air filters; air ducts cleaned regularly; outside fresh air intakes; low-volume water fixtures; a formal recycling/reusing/reduction policy; green cleaning and pest control; reduced paper consumption having printers with defaults printing paper on both sides or with shrunken margins and the purchase of recycled paper; ordering reduced packaging from vendors; and any build-outs/alterations done in the most sustainable manner.Going Green In many cases, law firms are moving to, or building out, space that is LEED certified. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. It is a product of the U.S. Green Building Councils certification armThe Green Building Certification Institute. The LEED rating system is a program in which properties can obtain one of four levels of certificationcertified, silver, gold and platinum. To reach each level of certification, the project needs to satisfy prerequisites and obtain credit points for certification. The more credits earned, the higher the rating.Although very popular, LEED is one of a handful of rating systems available. Some of the others include The Green Building Initiatives Green Globes rating, the Living Building Challenge, Energy Star and ASHRAE (formed as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers). The concepts are basically the samea method to encourage property owners or tenants to become more sustainable and to award certification to those that achieve it. Many systems use a holistic approach in their certification methodologies and look at energy and potable water consumption, site selection, materials used in construction and furniture, indoor environmental quality and heating and cooling.Law firms are making their efforts in sustainability known. In most cases, large law firms state on their websites certain facts about sustainability endeavors. Some claim achievements in a percentage of how many of their offices are LEED certified and certain cities where the rating is high. Many have added to their mission statements that they are dedicated to promote environmental or sustainable leadership, that they have recycling programs, that they are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and if they are a member of the ABA-EPAs Law Office Climate Challenge.2Other firms have developed sustainable and green development practice groups and still others, in addition to having a green practice, publish newsletters covering sustainability-related or renewable energy related topics, surveys and advisories on climate change and/or have green law blogs.3 A Sept. 10, 2014, Law360 article reported that firms such as Sheppard Mullin, Holland & Knight, Dykema Gossett, Orrick Herrington and Reed Smith are all benefitting from green legal work and as Simon T. Adams, a partner of Reed Smith, stated, this trend will just spread across the U.S.Law firms also tout policies of using video conferencing to reduce travel, purchasing Energy Star appliances and employing emails to communicate with and transmit documents to clients instead of using paper. Law firms also note their membership of the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Eco-Challengeand pledging to reduce their impact on climate change through greener business practices.4Still other firms are proud of their policy to conserve energy, reduce paper usage, recycle, and develop other initiatives. There are some that devote resources to provide pro-bono assistance to sustainability groups such as Sustainable Long Island, advocating for preservation of Long Islands open spaces while promoting development.5A Movement Afoot One of the poster-children of early green law firms was Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Located in Midtown Manhattan, Akin Gump moved from its Madison and 57th Street location to the then new Bank of America Tower on 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas. The law firm not only moved into a LEED Platinum Core & Shell building, but built out their space to be awarded LEED Gold Certification for Commercial Interiors. At the time, in 2009, Akin Gump was the second law firm in the United States to have achieved this distinction.6Other law firms that have gone green include those in Washington, D.C.: Squire Sanders & Dempsey (now Squire Patton Boggs) moved into a LEED platinum building; Vinson & Elkins, Hunton & Williams, Arent Fox, Holland & Knight, McDermott Will & Emery, and Wendel Rosen Black & Dean are moving actively toward sustainabilitymost of them having moved or are in the process of moving into LEED gold or platinum properties.News headlines are highlighting the trend. The Washington Post had an article titled Washington law firms rush to go green.7 and a Southern University [Press] headline read Law Firms Go Green.8Other headlines include Riker [Danzig] Goes Green, Paperless Manifesto: The Value of a Paperless Practice & Three Steps to Make it a Reality and Sutherland Law Firm Goes 100% Green with Sterling Planets Renewable Energy to show that the sustainability trend is not a fad, but rather a movement.9 It brings to mind a potential title for a seminar: Law Firm GreenThe New Black.There are enough law firms jumping on the green bandwagon that today there is a Law Firm Sustainability Network (LFSN) whose mission statement confirms that sustainability is [for its members] a key component of professional responsibility, that it will foster knowledge-sharing and collaboration within the legal industry, develop key performance indicators to measure sustainability, identify and document best practices for sustainability, promote progress and recognize innovative environmental sustainability efforts in the workplace.10It was reported that one thing that law firms in LFSN discover is that with only minimal effort, a slew of green protocols can be adopted. And although cutting down on paper consumption is a great way to proceed down the sustainability do-good path, green paper management also triggers significant cost savings.11ABAs Law Office Guide Originally the ABA formed the ABA-EPA Climate Challenge, which established targets for law firms in the areas of paper management, green power use and energy reduction.12 On its website, the ABA proclaims:Welcome to the ABA site that will help you lower your operating costs while conserving precious natural resources. The site is intended to act as an on-line community providing useful tips, an array of contacts and current information to help you succeed in running a sustainable law office. This site will be interactive: we not only want to help you, but we also want to hear from you and about you.13And why is the ABA involved? It is because The practice of law remains inefficient. Heavy use of resources is inconsistent with a sustainable future in which adequate, healthy resources are preserved for future generations. Land use, forestry, air and water qualityall are affected adversely.14Local bar associations are participating in this greening endeavor as well. The Florida Bar Journal encourages law firms: By adopting just one new sustainable behavior a month, your law firm can have a significant, positive environmental impact. The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a Green Initiative Committee to promote efficient energy use and other environmentally responsible practices in law offices by rewarding innovation and commitment.15Local Laws Local law also drives sustainability efforts. For example, in New York City, Local laws 84, 85, 87 and 88 of December 2009 required buildings with more than 50,000 square feet to benchmark, meter and monitor energy and water consumption, reduce the same and retrofit lighting within a given 10-year period. You may be wondering how many buildings in New York City have this amount of square footage? Almost 16,000! So just taking New York City as an example, law firms located in those buildings will now, pursuant to local law, need to become more sustainable whether they want to or not.Similarly, there are many other major cities in the United States that have green local laws, ordinances and building codes. A very small sample of these include: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Portland (OR & ME) and Chicago.A Message in Itself And meeting sustainability requirements can be a marketing tool as well. Even if only a few law firms in a given locale have gone green, those that do show their clients that they are leaders in this endeavor and putting their money where they mouths are in the world of sustainability. This helps with business development and recruiting new associates.Not only are many law firms locating in sustainable buildings but also having and hiring attorneys who work for them obtain green certifications. For example, just some of the many law firms that have lawyers who have some form of such certification are: Akin Gump, Akerman, Arent Fox, Buchalter Nemer, Foley & Lardner, Freeborn & Peters, Goulston & Storrs, Greenberg Traurig, Hogan Lovells and Jackson Walker. Furthermore, with the proliferation of many institutional clients requiring their law firms and those responding to RFPs to certify their sustainability efforts, the message is clear for increased business, become green.Easy Methods The ABA Law Office Guide states: By minimizing your impact on the environment, your office also will reap savingsin costs of heating, cooling, lighting, equipment operation, and purchase of supplies, among other areas.16 Although there are many economic reasons to go green, the following is a list of the top 10:Direct savings in energy and potable water costs with the use of LED bulbs/light sensors/low-flow faucets/Energy Star appliances/regular HVAC air filter replacements.Direct savings in paper costs with two-sided printing and electronic document retention programs.Indirect savings in fewer sick-days with green cleaning and better indoor air quality.Indirect benefit with higher productivity with the use of natural lighting and views to the outdoors.Conclusion So whether a law firm wants to go down the green path for the greater good or for its bottom line, it is only common sense to become more sustainable. With 2016 right around the corner, the firms that have or are jumping on the green bandwagon are sending a strong message to the market. If you want to work for a progressive, environmentally friendly law firm, come and work for us. If you want to do business with professionals that embrace green building, send your legal work to us. If you want a law firm that stays current with the times, we are your firm.Endnotes:1. See http://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/about.html.2, See Akin Gump at https://www.akingump.com/en/our-firm/sustainability.html.3. See Goulston & Storrs, Arent Fox, Hodgson Russ.4. See Brown Rudnick at http://www.brownrudnick.com/our-firm/sustainability.5. See Farrell Fritz at http://www.farrellfritz.com/keeping-l-i-green-while-saving-sustainable-long-island-some-green/.6. See http://www.akingump.com/en/news-publications/akin-gump-among-first-law-firms-nationwide-to-earn-leed-certification.html?news=1383.7. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/washington-law-firms-rush-to-go-green/2011/11/01/gIQAy6GDtM_story.html.8. http://source.southuniversity.edu/law-firms-going-green-26170.aspx.9. http://riker.com/about-us/riker-goes-green; http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/paperless-manifesto-the-value-of-a-pape-37435/; http://sterlingplanet.com/ResourceCenter/NewsRoom/tabid/59/post/sutherland-law-firm-goes-100-green-with-sterling-planet-s-renewable-energy/Default.aspx.10. http://www.lfsnetwork.org/about-us/mission-statement.aspx.11. See ABA Journal, February 2014, Going Green: Network grows even more ecological ideas.12. http://www.bdlaw.com/assets/htmldocuments/How_Green_is_My_Law_Firm.pdf.13. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_services/environmental_law/resources/the_sustainable_law_office.html.14. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_services/environmental_law/resources/the_sustainable_law_office.html.15. https://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNJournal01.nsf/4f0361bef4af101e85256f4e004d0fef/fbf6eb449791315d85257ac300519fda!OpenDocument.16. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_services/environmental_law/resources/the_sustainable_law_office.html.