Going Green as a Lawyer

COLUMN > Innovation in Law

BY JORDAN L. COUCH

Law is not exactly a high-emissions industry. We’re not running factories or shipping crates across oceans. But that doesn’t mean we get a pass on climate responsibility. In fact, it means we have an opportunity to lead by example when doing so is much easier for us than other industries. Going green as a lawyer isn’t just good for the planet; it’s good for your bottom line, your clients, your team, and yourself. I know that some readers may not agree with that statement. This article isn’t going to try to convince you. But for those of you who see the value in doing what we can, this article will provide practical tips for going green without turning your firm into a composting co-op (unless that’s your thing, in which case, compost away).

Start With the Easy Wins

It’s amazing how much low-hanging fruit there is for a lot of firms. Much of the carbon footprint for law firms comes down to three things: paper (law firms are one of the largest publishing industries), physical footprint (big fancy offices), and travel (conferences, court hearings, and client meetings).

Go Paperless. I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, but it’s worth repeating: Stop printing everything. Use a digital document-management system for briefs, contracts, and filings. E-signature platforms like DocuSign or Adobe Sign are easy to implement and save you from printing, scanning, and filing. Bonus: You’ll make things easier on your client, and you’ll save money on paper, toner, and office space. Double bonus: Your briefcase gets lighter. Yes, you will still get mail, and clients will still hand you paper. Set a policy in your office that you don’t keep paper; anything that comes in is immediately scanned and either returned or recycled. Not only is this more green, but it is also more secure. Physical documents can easily be destroyed or lost. If you are using cloud-based products and basic cyber security measures, even deleted documents can usually be recovered. Your physical office is not more secure than the undisclosed locations where Microsoft, for example, hosts your documents on the cloud. 

Switch to Smart Energy. LED lights. Smart thermostats. Energy-efficient appliances. These are not radical changes—they’re just smart business. They reduce your utility bills and your carbon footprint. And if you own your office building, solar panels are a long-term investment that pays off in both dollars and karma. If your office has good natural light, embrace it. Nobody likes fluorescent lighting anyway.

Reduce Travel. Zoom fatigue is real, but can be easily mediated by remembering the adage: Could this meeting be an email or a phone call? Virtual meetings cut down on emissions and save time. Ask the court to let you appear virtually when you aren’t in front of a jury, hold client meetings by video conference, and take advantage of many of the WSBA’s great on-demand CLEs. When travel is necessary, encourage carpooling, public transit, or even trains (which, let’s be honest, are way more fun than driving). When you do have to fly, consider offsetting your emissions (more on that later).

Support Your Team’s Sustainability

Going green is an area in which, thankfully, what’s good for your team is also good for your firm and the environment. There are a number of things you can do in your firm that support your team members and your firm’s goals.

Encourage Greener Commutes. Make sure your office has safe bike storage. Offer public transit passes to employees. Reimburse employees for e-bikes as part of an employee wellness benefit (there may also be potential savings on health insurance in some marketplaces). These small perks make a big difference and show your team that you walk the walk. They are small investments that can improve morale, health, and the environment.

Let People Work from Home. I know this will be controversial to some, but if you have hired the right people, then being in person every day isn’t necessary or even helpful. When Palace Law went fully virtual in 2020, we saw an increase in productivity that has sustained. Even today we only ask our local team members to be in office once or twice a week, and that’s only to help with the cultural onboarding and training of newer employees. On the advantages side, remote work reduces commuting emissions, office energy use, and physical footprint. Those reductions are probably the biggest single thing you can do to make your firm more climate-friendly. It also makes a lot of people happier. Happier people do better work. Better work makes clients happy. You see where this is going.

Rethink Office Norms

Ditch the Single-Use Stuff. Set up recycling and compost bins. Get rid of disposable cups and plastic water bottles. Give everyone a reusable mug and water bottle. It’s not revolutionary—it’s just responsible. It was about 15-20 years ago that Palace Law ditched Styrofoam cups in favor of mugs and compostable cups and stopped buying bottled water. It cost us more and some employees thought it was a tad ridiculous at the time. But soon after, no one noticed or cared. Be the one doing ridiculous things for the love of the environment; please ditch the K-cups.

Use Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products. Your office doesn’t need to smell like a chemical plant to be clean. Green cleaning products are better for the environment and for the people breathing them in every day. They might cost a little more, they might not be quite as effective as the industrial cleaners, but is your law firm really that dirty on a daily or weekly basis?

Buy Less, Buy Smarter. You don’t need a new laptop every year. Upgrade the RAM. Replace the battery. When it’s time to let go, recycle it responsibly. Same goes for office furniture—second-hand or refurbished options are cheaper and greener.

Be Thoughtful About Tech

Technology is not without an environmental impact, but in many cases the right technology is essential to reducing your firm’s environmental impact.

Cloud Over Servers. Cloud-based systems can have a lower energy footprint than physical servers, especially if you choose providers that run on renewable energy. Some reasons for that are because large cloud servers benefit from efficiencies of scale, from optimization (they almost never run idle), location (naturally cooler environments), and advanced infrastructure (better and more efficient cooling systems). As an added bonus, they can be more secure and scalable. This is another one of those situations where doing the more environmentally-friendly thing is also (in the long term) cheaper for your firm.

Use AI Sparingly. I know I’ve talked about the advantages of AI in a few of my columns.¹1 And I used AI at various points in my process of writing this article. To learn about my process of using AI, check out the WSBA CLE I did recently, “Using AI to Accelerate Your Law Firm and the Justice System.” But generative AI is incredibly resource intensive. A ChatGPT query, for example, can use up to 10 times as much energy as a simple Google search (the average is said to be about five times as much). Before you fire up a chatbot to write your next email, ask yourself if there’s a simpler, greener way to get the job done. Instead of using AI for individual tasks, set up a template that can be used again and again.

Use Technology That Gives Back. For instance, instead of reaching for your usual search engine, use Ecosia, a search engine that plants trees with its ad revenue. It’s vetted, transparent, and easy to switch to. One small change, thousands of trees.

Find Your Climate Sweet Spot

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has a brilliant framework for climate action: a Venn diagram with three circles—what you’re good at, what brings you joy, and what the world needs. Where those circles overlap? That’s your sweet spot.

As lawyers, we’re good at a lot: advocacy, negotiation, research, writing, organizing chaos into order. The world needs all of that in the fight against climate change—whether it’s drafting policy, litigating environmental violations, or helping nonprofits get off the ground.

And joy? That’s the secret sauce. If you don’t enjoy the work, you won’t stick with it. So, find the climate work that lights you up. Maybe it’s helping frontline communities. Maybe it’s suing polluters. Maybe it’s just making your firm a little greener every day. Whatever it is, lean into it.

Offer Pro Bono for the Planet

If you want to make a real impact, offer your legal skills to environmental causes. That could mean helping advocacy groups, green startups, or community organizations.

Carbon Offsets: A Love-Hate Relationship

If you have already jumped on all of the tips in this article and you want to take it further, good for you. Unfortunately, two things are true: 1) if your firm wants to be carbon neutral, you’ll probably need to buy carbon offsets; and 2) many carbon offsets are completely ineffective. The idea behind carbon offsets is that you can mitigate your carbon footprint by supporting activities that counteract emissions. The classic example is planting trees to make up for the air pollution put out by a factory. However, carbon offsets are largely unregulated, unverifiable, and sometimes downright fraudulent. One analysis indicated that more than 90 percent of rainforest carbon offsets certified by the world’s biggest certifier, Verra, are likely “phantom credits” that do not represent actual carbon reductions. Verra has disputed this finding.²2 www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe.

The takeaway here is, if you want to engage in offsets, do some research. Don’t just click the add-on to your airplane ticket. Look for programs that actually remove carbon from the atmosphere or support verified reforestation with native species. The Climate Action Reserve is a good place to start. So is UNDO (https://un-do.com), which focuses on carbon removal and helps you track your footprint.

Final Thoughts

Going green as a lawyer doesn’t mean you have to overhaul your entire practice overnight. Start small. Pick one thing. Then another. Then another. The legal profession has a long way to go, but we’re also uniquely positioned to lead. And if you ever feel overwhelmed, remember the Venn diagram. Find your sweet spot. Do what you’re good at. Do what brings you joy. Do what the world needs. And maybe—just maybe—save a little piece of the planet along the way.

NOTES    

1. And I used AI at various points in my process of writing this article. To learn about my process of using AI, check out the WSBA CLE I did recently, “Using AI to Accelerate Your Law Firm and the Justice System.”

2. www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/18/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe.