Dear LVF members
Happy New Year! As we say goodbye to 2025, we look forward to a new year with fresh opportunities for our members. We also say goodbye to some of our committee members and welcome onboard our new 2026 LVF Stewardship Committee.
We are really looking forward to 2026 and can’t wait to continue educating junior lawyers and connecting with peers in the LVF community. LVF’s 2026 newsletter is a bumper one, and includes:
LVF’s new Stewardship Committee
- LVF’s new Stewardship Committee
- Our member’s survey – we’d love to hear your views!
- Details of upcoming events
- New member blogs – on International Law; and on Environmental Permitting
- Job/volunteering opportunities members may be interested in
- LVF’s 2026 reading list
See you next month,
LVF’s new Stewardship Committee
We are delighted to announce LVF’s Stewardship Committee for 2026!
After being at the helm of LVF for the past year, our Co-Chairs, Emma Short and Harriet Hall, are stepping down. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their hard work and inspiring leadership, and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.
We are also saying goodbye to Catriona Campbell, Yomna Elewa, Hadrien Espiard, Orla Heatley and Verity Thomson. We would also like to thank each of them for their hard work and their passion for LVF over their time on the committee. We wish them all the best for the future, and look forward to continuing to work with them as part of LVF’s Advisory Board.
As we say goodbye to some Committee members, we look forward to welcoming the 2026 committee! The Stewardship Committee has selected this year’s Chair team. Existing Committee members Dominika Leitane and Marina Soares are now Co-Chairs, and Carol Yuen is the new Deputy Chair. Though they have big shoes to fill, they are excited to get started and we know that LVF will continue to flourish under their guidance.
Existing Committee members Riley Forson and Olivia Lunn are staying on for another term. They have done fantastic work for LVF, and we are thrilled to have them on board for another year.
The Stewardship Committee is also expanding! In 2026, we will have new Committee members: Martina Menegat, Caroline Borowski, Lucia Williams, Ben Potgieter, Anna Tranter, Emily Bradeen and Melinda Szekeres. We are really proud to have them on the team and confident that they will make amazing additions to the Committee.
Marina, Dominika and Riley are all entering their third and final year on the Committee. We are so grateful for their years of stewarding LVF and look forward to seeing what they, and the rest of the 2026 Committee, achieve this year!
We said thank you to outgoing members and welcomed incoming members with a meal at Tofu Vegan (pictured below).
From left to right: Yomna, Carol, Harriet, Cat, Hadrien, Marina, Riley, Dominika, Ben, Melinda, Olivia, Martina, Anna, Lucia and Emma (missing Orla, Emily and Caroline!).
Member’s Survey & newsletter poll
We want your feedback! Our Member’s Survey is still open. If you have c.10 mins, we would really want to know your views on what you would like to see from LVF. Access the survey here.
Upcoming events
LVF Education
February Knowledge Session – Legal Systems Change: Join us in person at the University of Law’s Moorgate campus or online on 26 February for our first knowledge session of the year on Legal Systems Change. The session will be hosted by LVF member Vicky Vanderstichele and we will be discussing what systems theory is and how we use it to understand how we can cause systemic change, for example in ESG regulation, and what potential barriers to systemic change exist. We will be reviewing an extract from the Dawn of Everything for our creative content. Sign up to join here.
March Knowledge Session- Central Banks and the Climate Crisis: Join us in person or online at the Grantham Research Institute for our March Knowledge session on Central Banks and the Climate Crisis hosted by our Stewardship Committee member Martina Menegat. Martina will be discussing how central banks integrate climate considerations into their mandates and why these considerations are important, as well as reflecting on how these considerations have evolved and how lawyers can creatively interpret and use central banking law to support climate objectives. Watch out for our sign up link soon!
LVF Community
- Poetry reading evening: we are preparing to host our first LVF poetry reading evening to celebrate our third birthday. The evening will offer an opportunity to listen to climate conscious poetry and share your own poems, no prior experience required! Watch this space for details about the event and how to sign-up.
You can also always find more on our website and Ticketsource page, and details of our past events on our website.
Other events
27 January 4-5pm: In Conversation with Monica Feria-Tinta: Mischon De Reya is hosting Monica to discuss her book and the 10 cases explored therein. The event is held in person and online. You can register here.
28 January 6-9pm: The Conduit, Climate Tech Time (tickets from £10.75): Climate Connection is hosting the largest group of climate tech practitioners to engage in meaningful conversions to discuss the role of technology in the climate crisis. The event will have a series of short presentations, group discussions and networking opportunities. You can register here.
3 February 7-8:30pm: Hong Kong Theatre LSE: Barriers to Climate Action: costs, distributional issues and politics: Adair Turner, who has served on the Committee on Climate Change, will be discussing potential barriers to climate action in this lecture. You can sign up for free here.
9 February: 6:30-8pm: Hong Kong Theatre LSE: Keeping global warming below 2 degrees: a feasible action plan: Adair Turner will also be hosting a lecture on global warming and maintaining the 2 degree goal. You can register for free here.
11 February: 17:30-20:30 Women in Carbon: From Pledge to Practice: Decarbonising the Legal Profession. The panel discussion will cover key themes including credible climate claims, evolving standards and verification, Scope 3 challenges, and the growing regulatory and commercial pressures shaping legal sector action. Register to attend here.
17 February: 6-7pm: The Price of Pixels Unmasking the Environmental Impact of Our Digital Lives : Gresham Institute:This lecture explores the destructive rare earth mineral mining powering our devices, the vast energy consumption of data centres fuelling climate change, and the toxic e-waste contaminating. You can register here
19 February 6-7pm: The Ground We Stand On: Gresham College: This lecture will consider land – both rocks and soil, and build up a picture of what the land we stand on is doing, on both short and very long timescales. You can register here.
27 February 6-7pm: Climate Risk and Insurance:Gresham College lecture by Professor Raghavendra Rau. The lecture is held in person and online. Registration information here.
22-25 May 2026: UKELA’s Wild Law Weekend: UKELA is organizing a weekend in Northumberland that will include a mixture of talks, a visit to a local site and the option to hike in the spectacular local countryside. More information and registration here.
Until November 2026: Gathering Around at the Tate: this exhibition highlights the connection between environmental and social justice, inviting us to reimagine our relationships with the natural world and each other.
May 2026: Henry Moore Monumental Nature, Kew Gardens: the largest outdoor exhibition of Moore’s work ever presented, featuring over 100 pieces including 30 monumental sculptures set throughout the Gardens.
Ongoing during 2026: Birkbeck and LSE have a number of events as part of their climate festivals running throughout the year.
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.
New member blogs
We recently published two new posts on our blog:
- “In Defence of International Law by Lucia Williams – Incoming LVF Stewardship Committee member Lucia Williams has written a blog post titled “In Defence of International Law”, in response to recent geopolitical developments. This short article is meant as a reminder of the crucial importance of the rule-based international order, which finds its roots in the international agreements which followed WWII, to maintain global peace and prosperity.
- ‘UKELA South West and LVF Event on the Environmental Permitting Regime’ by Philippa Shepherd and Sasha Anisman – a write up of our November 2025 KS with Burges Salmon in Bristol discusses the content of the session, which brought together legal and technical experts to explore the evolving Environmental Permitting Regime (EPR) and its implications for both industry and the relevant regulators. The recording of our Bristol Knowledge Session with UKELA on the Environmental Permitting Regime is now available here.
If you would like to write a blog for us, you can find our blog post guidelines here and get in touch via legalvoicesforthefuture@gmail.com.
Job / volunteering opportunities
For those who have started 2026 thinking about pursuing a new job or internship opportunity, the following may be of interest (please not we are not endorsing these roles):
Legal Counsel, Hitachi Energy – UK (remote) – find out more and apply here.
Climate Communications Interns, The Sabin Centre – US (remote) – apply here (applications accepted on a rolling basis).
Research Fellow, Council on Strategic Risks – Washington, US – find out more here and apply before 6 February.
Junior Associate, Oceans, Ocean Vision Legal – Remote – apply here.
Senior Lawyer ( Public International Law), Net Zero Lawyers Alliance – Remote or Hybrid (UK-based) – find out how to apply here (applications accepted on a rolling basis).
Lawyer, Energy, Client Earth – Berlin – apply before 26 January here.
Internship to EU Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization – Trade Section – apply before 23 January here.
Early Career Climate Fellow on Climate Justice, African Group of Negotiators Experts Support / Equal Right Organization – Nairobi, Kenya – apply before 23 January here.
Communications Associate and Policy Associate, the Voluntary Carbon Markets Initiative (VCMI) – Remote – apply for either role here by 13 February.
Advocacy and Litigation Officer, Harvest – Remote – find out more here and apply by 17 February.
Short-Term Consultancy -Decolonization Journey, Greenpeace – MENA region (remote) – apply here by 31 January.
Environment and Energy Paralegal – LexisNexis – London, UK – apply here.
You can also find more opportunities via The Planetary Lawyer Project on LinkedIn here or follow one of our founders, Margherita Cornaglia, who often reposts exciting opportunities.
We also have a list of organisations who may be offering volunteering, job or internship opportunities on our website. We wish any members who are considering new roles this year the best of luck with their applications!
LVF’s 2026 reading list
- ‘Feral’ by George Monbiot: George Monbiot – who very kindly agreed to be interviewed by us for our careers event in October 2025 – writes about his personal journey to reconnect with nature and explore the benefits of rewilding, which ultimately led him to be involved with setting up the charity Rewilding Britain in 2015. Although published over a decade ago (in 2013), the book is still hugely relevant – both as a warning of the harm unbridled capitalism can cause, and as an inspiration to take action on protecting nature.
- ‘Is a River Alive’ by Robert Macfarlane: At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings – who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. This book takes the reader across the globe to consider different river waterways, their current and past roles in culture, history and environmental transformations.
- The Role of Advisory Opinions in International Law in the Context of the Climate Crisis (available to download for free): This book considers the role of climate litigation, the transition from national litigation to international courts and the ICJ advisory opinion and whether these mechanisms are a solution to the climate challenge.
- ‘A Barrister for the Earth’ by Monica Feria-Tinta: spoke at our careers event, here is what LVF Committee members had to share about Monica’s book: “through beautifully crafted narratives, Monica invites readers to rethink the conventional, human-centered approach to legal rights, offering a fresh, ecocentric perspective where we view ourselves as a part of a larger tapestry of life on Earth. This book voices world-views and reasoning which have long been overlooked, and asks us to question ourselves and our systems. Monica ties together many different strands – indigenous thinking, legal frameworks, geopolitics – and invites us to unravel and explore them, both when we’re reading the book but afterwards too. Through powerful words of hope and unwavering dedication to our planet, this book is essential reading for the next generation of nature-conscious lawyers”
- ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree: Isabella Tree tells the story of the ‘Knepp experiment’, a pioneering rewilding project in West Sussex, using free-roaming grazing animals to create new habitats for wildlife. Part gripping memoir, part fascinating account of the ecology of our countryside, Wilding is, above all, an inspiring story of hope.
- ‘Rescuing Ladybugs’ by Jennifer Skiff: Jennifer Skiff takes the reader around the world with amazing individuals who have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of animals. Rescuing Ladybugs highlights the true stories of remarkable people who didn’t look away from seemingly impossible situations and instead worked to save animals. An emotional and inspiring book for those motivated to protect biodiversity.
- ‘Rattling the Cage’ by Steven Wise: the late founder of the Non-Human Rights Project, Professor Steven Wise’s book on the case for animal rights, particularly in the context of great apes, is set out comprehensively and persuasively in this book. It remains a central part of the debate on animal rights and is the founding pillar of the work of the Non-Human Rights Project. An essential read for anyone who is interested in or passionate about animal rights.
The theme for LVF’s next book club is ‘Rivers’. Have a look at this blog post for the book choices, and we’ll let you know the date for discussion soon. Join our Book Club whatsapp group using this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JGXMwaK0m721zQyFKxB64U.
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