Law firms in Singapore ride the ESG wave

GROWING demand for sustainability advice has spurred law firms to establish practices dedicated to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, with at least two of the Big Four firms in Singapore doing so in the last six months.

While work in this area has largely centred on corporate advisory, lawyers involved in these matters are expecting larger and more contentious matters, such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and disputes, in time to come.

Banking and finance lawyer Liew Kai Zee, who co-leads the ESG practice at Shook Lin & Bok told The Business Times (BT) he hopes to see work on the sustainability front "go beyond green loans and bonds".