May 2025 Newsletter

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by

Legal Voices for the Future
in

Dear Members

Welcome to LVF’s May newsletter! This edition of Legal Voices for the Future’s newsletter includes: 

  • Our upcoming LVF Education and LVF Community events 
  • Opportunities to increase your understanding of the climate and biodiversity crises  
  • Our first member’s blog post! Carol Yuen has written about LVF’s trip to the SOIL Exhibition. 

As we focus on sharing knowledge and increasing our education on the topics of climate and biodiversity in this newsletter, we were reminded of G.K Chesteron’s quote: “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another”. LVF’s objective is to give a voice to a new generation of legal professionals on the climate and ecological crises and to educate this new generation so that we can act as a force for good. We hope you enjoy these resources and do let us know if you decide to embark on any of the courses! 

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See you next month, 

Second April Knowledge Session with Verity Thompson

Our member, Adrianna Zawilska, attended our second April Knowledge Session on 30 April on ‘Protecting the World’s Oceans: the International Maritime Organisation & Climate Change’ led by Stewardship Committee member Verity Thomson at Stephenson Harwood. Adrianna summarises the session below and has found some interesting extra resources if you would like to learn more about this topic! 

 If you missed the session, we have uploaded the recording to our YouTube channel. 

Presentation on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

Verity kicked off the session with an introduction to the IMO, established in 1948 as a United Nations Specialised Agency. The IMO’s purpose is to promote safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient, and sustainable shipping through cooperation. Verity highlighted key milestones, including the 1960 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the 1973 MARPOL Convention, which addresses marine pollution.

Presentation by Rachel Hoyland

In the second part of the presentation, we were joined by Stephenson Harwood’s very own maritime decarbonisation expert, Rachel Hoyland. Rachel delivered a presentation on how emissions regulations impact the ecosystem of private contracts in shipping. Drawing on her industry insight, Rachel discussed the IMO’s Net-Zero Framework 2025 and its implications for the shipping industry. She focused on the potential challenges the industry might face in applying the Framework and explored possible solutions.

Michelle Toering Sanders

We were delighted to have guest speaker Michelle Toering Sanders, Canada’s representative at the IMO, who shared her insights on the IMO’s role in combating climate change. Michelle’s expertise in policy development, both nationally and internationally, provided valuable context on the challenges and opportunities in maritime environmental regulation.

Michelle offered us a rare behind the scenes glimpse into the IMO, shedding light on the intricate workings and negotiations between states. She discussed the delicate balance required to ensure the framework does not appear as a levy or a penalty. One of the key sticking points was the need for decarbonisation without penalising developing countries. States had to agree on a percentage that would minimise the impact on the end consumer, particularly concerning essential goods like food, while still being significant enough to make a real impact on reducing greenhouse gases and overall global emissions.

Michelle’s insights highlighted the complexities and nuances involved in negotiating the IMO’s net-zero framework, emphasising the importance of finding a fair and effective solution that addresses both environmental and economic concerns.

Creative Content

It’s the first time we have had a song as our creative content!

To reflect on the contents of the presentations and what lies at the very heart of the Framework—preserving marine life and oceans—we listened to the emotional Whale Sounds.

We were then asked to discuss our views on the IMO’s framework. The conversations ranged from what we anticipated would work and where the IMO might struggle with implementation, to what surprised us the most about the workings of the IMO. We also had the opportunity to ask Michelle any questions about her journey within the IMO and diplomacy.

We are very grateful to Verity for leading the session, the speakers for sharing such valuable information on their experience and Stephenson Harwood for hosting.

We have been sent further resources from Rachel:

If you’d like to read more:

–        Listening for Whale Sounds 1,000 feet Deep in the Antarctic Ocean

–        Listed the UCL Minds podcast on The IMO Net- Zero Framework

–        Read the IMO announcement on the Framework

–        Watch a piece by the Economist on how noise pollution affects our oceans

–        Watch a trailer for Sonic Sea, a documentary about the devastating impact of industrial and military ocean noise on whales and other marine life..

We are very grateful to Adrianna for taking the time to attend our knowledge session and provide this insight to the session. Reach out to Adrianna if you want to continue to share what you learned at the session. If you would like to help us with our future newsletters let us know!

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Upcoming events

LVF Education 

  • LVF’s May knowledge session will be on scaling nature based investment through harnessing institutional capital. The session will be hosted by our member Varnika Chawla. You can sign up for the session here.
  • LVF’s June knowledge session will be on the groundbreaking ECtHR case – Klima Seniorinnen. This session will be hosted by our member Ginny Bicciolo from Hausfeld. Details will be circulated in advance of the session! 

Details of our other knowledge sessions are below, and you can also always find more about our upcoming events on our website and Ticketsource page, and details of our past events on our website.

LVF Community

  • London Climate Action Week 🌍- Legal Voices for the Future are working with the Fleet Street Quarter, ELF, LSA and others to prepare events for London Climate Action Week this June! Keep an eye out for our emails and LinkedIn posts on these events! 
  • Earthfest – June 7 (Kings Cross) 🌱 – join members of the Stewardship Committee at Earthfest! We will be heading to Kings Cross on 7 June to enjoy a day of talks, music, eco fashion, sustainable inventions and solutions and a green kitchen! If you would like to join us, buy your tickets using this link! We will be in touch to organise our meet up!  
  • Picnic and book club discussion 📚 – July – join us for a picnic where we will also be discussing our books of choice from our first book club and swap. We will also be deciding our new theme for the second half of the year. You can find the list of books here! More details to be shared closer to the time! 

Other events

  • 15 May, 4.00-5.30pm (BST) – online – TCLP Climate Contract Training Launch Webinar: Join The Chancery Lane Project to celebrate the launch of their Climate Contracting Training, a free, open-access learning programme designed to help legal professionals embed climate action into contracts and commercial strategy for their clients — whether internal or external. It’s based on real-world challenges, co-designed with lawyers globally, and shaped through a pilot with firms in the UK, US and Latin America. This session will feature pilot champion speakers from the UK, US and Mexico, plus a behind-the-scenes look at how the training was built and a short live demo. Register for free here. 
  • 15 May, 6-7pm (BST) – in person and online in London – Oil, Decolonisation, and the Future of the Climate Emergency: This lecture explores oil’s influence on national independence struggles, from the 1955 Bandung Conference to the rise of OPEC and the nationalisation of crude reserves. Sign up for free here.
  • 17 May, 3:30-4:30pm (BST) – in person in London – Climate Change for a Fairer World with Tony Juniper and Natalie Bennett: environmentalist Tony Juniper will discuss his new book, Just Earth, with the former leader of the Green Party, Nathalie Bennett, who also authored Change Everything. Book here (note there is a cost!)
  • 19 May, 5.00-7.00pm (BST) – in person in London – TCLP Climate Contract Training Launch Drinks: Join The Chancery Lane Project to celebrate the launch of their Climate Contracting Training, a free, open-access learning programme designed to help legal professionals embed climate action into contracts and commercial strategy for their clients — whether internal or external. Join TCLP for drinks, conversation, and a first look at the course. There will be reflections from Shoosmiths and the TCLP team, followed by plenty of time to connect informally. Sign up for free here. 
  • 29 May, 4:15-6pm (BST) (in person in Dublin and online) – Climate Conscious Lawyering: The speakers will discuss the relevance of climate consciousness for solicitors and barristers, both in the Irish context and more broadly. Sign up for free here.
  • 17-21 June 2025 – in person or online – UKELA Annual Conference 2025: You can attend the UKELA annual conference in person or online. Students can receive discounted tickets if they are also UKELA members. Find out more about the event and ticket options here. 

Looking for something different? 

  • From 2 May – 10 August (London): Unearthed: The Power of Gardening🌼: This exhibition at the British Library celebrates gardening as a force for creativity, resilience and community through the remarkable stories of the people and plants that shape our gardens.
  • 13-14 June 2025 (Wimbledon Park) – Wellenergy Festival 🧘: If you’re looking for a wellness focussed event in London with talks on health and mindfulness or the value of community, which is increasingly important in the current climate (no pun intended!), you can still find tickets to join the Wellenergy festival here. 
  • 20-22 June – Unearthed festival (Wales) 🌱: Unearthed festival has a focus on sustainability and locally sourced food and is known for its wellness activities. You can camp or attend for the day in the Pembrokeshire countryside. Tickets can be found here.

If you go to any of these events – let us know! We’d love to hear your experience and share it with other Legal Voices members on our Linkedin Community Group and website.

Learning opportunities

[Image description: scrabble tiles on a wooden table spell out the word learning. There are books stacked behind. Reference: PICRYL] 

LVF Education focuses on using our knowledge sessions to improve our understanding of a variety of topics which intertwine with the dual climate and biodiversity crises and their intersection with various areas of law. If you would like to continue expanding your knowledge outside of our knowledge sessions, while LVF is not promoting the following organisations or courses offered, there are a number of free online courses / webinars which may be of interest for members: 

  • LVF Stewardship Committee member Carol Yuen recently spoke at a roundtable discussion on the outcomes of COP29, hosted by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law at the National University of Singapore. Carol shared insights into youth participation at COP29, drawing from her experience in Singapore’s Climate Youth Development Programme. She highlights key engagements at the Singapore Pavilion, including discussions on blended finance solutions and transition credits. The recording is available here. 
  • Did you enjoy our recent knowledge session where we discussed the ocean environment? If so, you might enjoy this free course on Art and Stewardship of the Ocean which offers an “exploration of art’s transformative potential in ocean governance”. You can enrol here and complete the four hour course.
  • Did you enjoy our September knowledge session led by Stewardship Committee member Riley Forson on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (which you can re-watch here)? If so, you could complete the introductory UN Environment Course on CITES. You can find the course syllabus here or sign up to any of the UN Environment Courses here. 
  • The UNEP also offers courses on topics like Nature-based Solutions for Disaster and Climate Resilience or on Marine Litter. You can find the different courses available on the website. 
  • The Open University also has a course on Climate Change: transitions to sustainability. The course looks at globalisation and climate change, governance, citizenship and sustainability and more! It is free to enrol.  
  • If you are interested in climate change and psychology, why not complete the OU’s course on Introducing Climate Psychology: facing the climate crisis. You can still enrol here. 
  • CARE Climate Change has had over 4,900 course participants to date, why not sign up to complete a course! CARE have a wide variety of courses from those focussed on climate resilience, to considerations of gender in nationally determined contributions. Have a look through the course catalogue. 
  • If you are interested in biodiversity or animal rights, you can sign up to enrol in the next cohort of ICARE’s Contemporary Issues in Animal Rights Law Course. Sign up here! 

Carol Yuen: Reflections on soil

LVF Stewardship Committee member Carol Yuen has written a fascinating blog post about LVF’s trip last month to the SOIL Exhibition at Somerset House in London, which you can read here. 

In this post, Carol includes photos and descriptions of the artwork included in the exhibition, a great reminder of the power of art to make us think more deeply about environmental issues. This is something which LVF is very passionate about, given lawyers don’t often get to use their creative side – it’s why we have the creative content part of our knowledge sessions!

Carol notes that the displays made her think deeply about the importance of soil. As she writes: “We are only a tiny part of the planet’s complex ecosystems. As the exhibition called for, thinking about soil allows us to reconsider our relationship with the soil and build reciprocal connections, differently from the extractive associations that we’ve historically had with soil.”

We’ll be organising more community events so keep an eye out for those as we’d love to see you there!

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