Law Students for Climate Accountability

With Big Law interviews for law students starting soon, we’re releasing an abbreviated 2024 Scorecard, with the full report — for the first time covering both U.S. and U.K. firms — launching during London Climate Action Week.

Both Paul, Weiss and the industry at large have a long way to go to realize a just transition – but this is a welcome shift, and we will keep pushing until Paul, Weiss stops trading our future for Exxon’s dollars.

This week, the firm finally ceased representing the oil giant in some of its climate cases, vindicating the hundreds of students who have called on them to stop this representation for years.

LSCA began with a call to action for one firm. In 2020, students at multiple law schools protested the law firm Paul, Weiss with a simple demand: Drop Exxon.

Law firms are particularly bad climate actors: under the radar, they enable Big Oil in a massive way, yet this is very rarely talk about More reading: @LS4CA's 6th annual Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard 2025. 14 firms received an A ranking, but the D's and F's make you want to pull your hair out. Link: ls4ca.org/scorecard Video: Episode 46 of my Angry Clean Energy Guy show: youtu.be/5mSsIAABXTo?si…

Join @LS4CA for Global Day of Action for Climate Justice. It's a 25 hour relay marathon event with organizations around the world presenting on different topics related to a just transition away from fossil fuels. Register today! actionnetwork.org/events/join-us…

"Lawyers facilitate almost every fossil fuel infrastructure project" via @LS4CA ls4ca.org/blog-show-all/… #ENDfossilLawyers #ENDfossilfuels #ENDfossilfinance #ActOnClimate #ClimateBreakdown

Student Government Co-President Ben Shipman Helps Launch @UCBerkeley Chapter of National Climate Accountability Group @LS4CA law.berkeley.edu/article/studen…

Global insurers like Allianz, AXA, Aviva, Zurich & Intact are fueling climate chaos and profiting from the genocide in Gaza. It’s time to #BoycottBloodyInsurance - read the new report & pressure your local institutions to DROP these insurers now. 📖 boycottbloodyinsurance.org/reports

9/ In 2024, global temps hit 1.62°C above pre-industrial levels. UNICEF warns 1 in 5 children now live in climate-stressed zones. Extreme weather is rising. Lawyers in regulated professions must reckon with this, not just as citizens, but as custodians of the #RuleofLaw

8/ For those seeking guidance on navigating this critical decision we invite you to explore our worked scenarios, which demonstrate how this Counsel Opinion applies to everyday client interactions. #Fossilfree  bit.ly/LAR-scenarios

7/ Lawyers Are Responsible has written to  #MagicCircle firms as an act of care - the climate science is harder to ignore. The risks have been laid bare. Legal ethics demand serious reflection on the consequences of fossil fuel work. bit.ly/LAR-letters

6/ Find enclosed a Counsel Opinion: Lawyers have the right to refuse fossil fuel work, whistleblow, and protest on ethical grounds.  If magic circle firms won’t lead, your staff might soon exercise these rights themselves.  #FutureOfLaw  bit.ly/LAR-objection

5/ The data is damning: - 71% of  #Vault100 firms got a D or F
- 80% of  #MagicCircle firms also failed   Change is coming. It’s not just about lawyers refusing harmful work. Now it’s about holding firms accountable for taking it on.  After all, it is a choice…

4/ Slaughter and May say: “Sustainability is a whole business proposition for us.” Yet they facilitated $153M in fossil fuel transactions in 2024. Words matter. But so does the work.  Greenwashing is not great for retention.

3/ In 2024 alone, London-based firms facilitated $59.84B in fossil fuel deals. Yet many still market themselves as climate champions. This is cognitive dissonance and young lawyers aren’t buying it. Blowing up your own pipeline of talent much?

2/ Between 2020–2024, Vault 100 law firms:        - Took $35.8M in fossil fuel lobbying fees        - Facilitated $2 TRILLION in fossil fuel transactions
       - Conducted litigation that 88% of the time worsened    the climate crisis

BREAKING: @Ls4Ca released their 2025 Law Firm #Climate Change Scorecard. The legal profession is complicit in climate destruction—and young lawyers are fighting back. A thread with key take-aways & why its findings are so timely. 🧵 Read the report: bit.ly/2025Scorecard

2/ @CarbonBubble assessed 30 of the world’s largest upstream oil & gas companies against 6 critical metrics. The verdict: - No company is Paris-aligned
- Many are backsliding - Some are locking in long-term fossil growth

Students from around the world have worked on the 2025 Scorecard for months, and we’re excited to share it with you! Join us as we discuss the report, and what the current political moment means for LSCA and for climate organizers everywhere. RSVP at ua-edu.zoom.us/meeting/regist…