Mission Statement

  • Establish environmental sustainability as a key component of our professional responsibility to deliver excellent service to clients,
  • Foster knowledge-sharing and collaboration within the legal industry through participation in an expanding network,
  • Develop key performance indicators to measure environmental sustainability within the legal industry,
  • Identify and document best practices for environmental sustainability within the legal industry,
  • Promote progress across the legal industry through thought leadership and market awareness, and
  • Recognize innovative environmental sustainability efforts in the workplace and in business.

The Law Firm Sustainability Network is a nonprofit organization of law firms and legal departments committed to promoting the benefits of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility within their firms and throughout the legal industry. We believe by working collaboratively and giving firms essential tools and resources, we can have an ever greater impact on preserving the environment. The LFSN’s mission is to develop key performance indicators, foster knowledge-sharing, develop best practice guidelines, and recognize innovation regarding environmental sustainability in the U.S. legal sector.

The LFSN is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that was founded in August 2011 as an informal platform for law firm professionals to share ideas, network, and develop best practices and industry standards for sustainability in the legal industry. Grown out of the collaboration of nearly 50 firms, members bring a diversity of perspectives from various firm functions (such as legal practice and operations), and individual roles (including attorneys, C-suite officers, and administrative staff). Member firms, many of which are considered AM Law 100 or 200, also bring a broad range of expertise; participants from member firms have played key roles in the ABA, state, and local bar sustainability programs, heads of sustainability committees, environmental practice group leaders, and LEED-accredited professionals, among others.  The LFSN has rapidly become recognized as one of the U.S. legal industry’s leading collaborative sustainability organizations.  If you’d like to learn more about membership please click here.

The LFSN has developed the American Legal Industry Sustainability Standards (ALISS), a self-assessment tool that measures law firms’ implementation of environmentally friendly practices that promote energy efficiency, conservation of energy and resources, recycling, and related measures.  For information about ALISS including the ALISS Key Insights Summary Report, please click here.

 

Leadership Council

 
 
     

 

BOARD MEMBERS

Principal 

 

Beveridge & Diamond



Brook Detterman

President

Brook Detterman is a Principal in the Boston office of Beveridge & Diamond, a national environmental law firm. Brook's practice is focused on climate change, renewable energy development, and sustainability matters. Brook has been named as "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers and currently serves as co-chair of the Beveridge & Diamond Air & Climate Change practice group.

Director of Facilities and Office Services

 

Chapman & Cutler LLP

Douglas Domenick

Vice President

Doug Domenick is Chapman's Director of Facilities and Office Services. He oversees office services and facilities operations for all Chapman offices. Doug manages the procurement of goods and services, reception and conference room services, facilities benchmarking, and security and emergency preparedness. Doug is also responsible for managing environmental and sustainability initiatives, space planning, renovation, and relocation projects.

Prior to joining Chapman in 2017, Doug spent 20 years at an Am Law 150 firm, where he managed office properties and spaces.

Social Impact Senior Manager

 

Davis Wright  Tremaine LLP

 

Barrie Handy 

Treasurer, Secretary

Barrie Handy is the social impact senior manager at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (DWT), where she oversees and manages the firm’s sustainability, philanthropy/charitable giving, board/civic service, and community service/volunteer programs and initiatives.   Barrie joined DWT in 1982. Prior to joining the firm’s Pro Bono and Social Impact department in 2019, she spent 28 years in the firm’s marketing and business development, and administration departments.

Barrie is also a co-founder of the Legal SASI (Sustainability and Social Impact) movement.

Energy Partner

 

Nixon Peabody LLP

Alison Torbitt

Board Member

 

Alison Torbitt is in the Energy and Environmental practice group and is also active in Maritime matters and the co-leader of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness team. She focuses on environmental transactional due diligence and compliance and renewable energy, counseling a large range of manufacturers, developers and financing parties to find solutions, mitigate and allocate risk associated with all aspects of environmental laws.

She counsels business and industry clients on compliance with federal, state and local environmental and energy laws, as well as defending against regulatory enforcement and third-party disputes. She is also co-leader of the firm’s Legally Green initiative and Co-leader of the Food, Beverage & Agribusiness team, thinking strategically about sustainability and the risks that clients face due to climate change, aging infrastructure, and the need for innovation and to stay ahead of these challenges.

EcoAnalyze & Vorgate LLC

 

Vice President

Gayatri Joshi

Executive Director

Gayatri Joshi is Vice President of ecoAnalyze and Vorgate LLC, which focuses on sustainability and data collection consulting and social impact. She works with law firms engaging in sustainability initiatives, helping to organize and track information. She helped develop and launch the LFSN American Legal Industry Sustainability Standard (ALISS), an online sustainability assessment for law firms. As Executive Director of the LFSN, she also provides education, resources and best practices in sustainability.

 

 CORPORATE ADVISORY


VP, Global Social Responsibility Officer

 

Milliman

 

Founder & CEO of Amity Advisory

 

Pamela Cone

Board Member 

Pam joined Milliman in 2003 and served as the Chief Marketing Officer for 15 years.  In 2018, Pam turned her attention to serving as the firm’s Global Social Responsibility Officer.  Milliman is the largest privately held actuarial consulting firm in the world and has been embracing its role in “giving back” to society since its inception in 1947, but has only recently begun tracking, measuring and setting its strategic goals to reflect its mission of “protecting the health and financial well-being of people everywhere.”

Prior to joining Milliman, Pam’s previous experience included 12 years with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, a Seattle-based national law firm, where she served as director of client services and development. Prior to DWT, Pam served two other law firms in marketing and communications roles.

In addition to her role at Milliman, she launched a CSR & Sustainability Consulting firm called Amity Advisory, which focuses on helping professional service firms assess, evaluate and build social impact and sustainability programs – moving from transactional “random acts of kindness” to robust transformational, collaborative programs.

 

Our Board Members are elected from Leadership Council of firms. The Leadership Council is the governing board of firms that provides guidance to the Law Firm Sustainability Network’s growth and development and provides financial sponsorship. Firms who have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability are eligible for the Leadership Council. Those who wish to participate on the Leadership Council or on the Board should contact us here.