Law Society England & Wales: Climate Is a Mainstream Legal Risk for In-House Counsel

The Law Society of England and Wales published new guidance on August 3, 2026 for in-house legal counsel on managing climate change risks, explicitly framing climate as a mainstream legal risk embedded in solicitors' existing professional duties — including the duty of care, duty to warn, duty to disclose, and duty to maintain professional competence. The guidance directs in-house lawyers to integrate climate risk into governance, transactions, procurement, reporting, and corporate communications, rather than treating it as a standalone ESG matter. Baker McKenzie and the World Economic Forum's April 2026 climate litigation report reinforces this message: litigation risk most often arises from "incoherence or gaps" between public climate commitments and operational reality, transition plans and capital allocation, or stated value chain expectations and actual oversight mechanisms. For GCs and in-house teams, the Law Society guidance creates a professional competence benchmark — failure to understand and manage material climate risk is now potentially a breach of professional duty, not merely a reputational or governance lapse.