Katten launches ESG risk and investigations practice

Katten Muchin Rosenman has launched an ESG risk and investigations practice, serving clients in the US and Europe.

Katten partners Johnjerica Hodge and India D Williams will lead the practice, using their experience in ESG, corporate compliance and internal investigations.

Williams has joined the firm as a partner from Kirkland and Ellis. She has experience in negotiating high-value finance deals, managing corporate investigations, and advising corporate and capital markets clients on ESG enforcement actions, diversity litigation and climate change regulations.

Hodge has been at Katten for six years, having joined from Norton Rose Fulbright. As a partner in the firm, she advises on incorporating ESG values into internal and external operations, while addressing compliance needs related to the ESG sector.

The duo are co-authoring a book on ESG and have taught courses at the University of Alabama School of Law that focused on the role of racial equity audits in the ESG movement.

Lawyers within the practice will focus on helping GPs to identify ESG-related risks, implement policies and procedures to enhance ESG programmes, and provide detailed assessments of their impact on matters such as racial equity, civil rights, human rights, workplace culture and gender pay parity.

"The Katten team proactively identifies potential ESG issues before they arise. A savvy offensive strategy reduces risks and lowers legal spend, but we also know how to play defence as well, so if an ESG issue emerges, we want to be our client's first call," Williams said.

"We intentionally created a group that is diverse in so many ways: race, gender, age and experience. Because of that diversity, we understand the social issues and business implications our clients face. When you combine our diversity with our focus on the breadth of issues within the purview of ESG, we are poised to handle the range of ESG needs our clients face – both now and in the future," Hodge added.