Student-led climate group names and shames elite legal firms over fossil fuel work
A group of eco-conscious law students has issued a damning report card on the world’s most powerful law firms, accusing many of fuelling the climate crisis through their continued work with major polluters.
The 2025 Law Students for Climate Accountability (LSCA) scorecard — released this week — ranks 100 top law firms from A to F based on their involvement with fossil fuel clients over the past five years. In a stark assessment, 71% of firms received a failing grade (D or F), with 38 landing at the very bottom.
Among those given an ‘F’ were some of the most recognisable names in global law: A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, White & Case, Hogan Lovells, Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Norton Rose Fulbright. According to LSCA, their work “reflects the legal industry’s clear and substantial role in exacerbating the climate crisis.”
Founded in 2020 to shine a light on the legal profession’s ties to fossil fuel interests, LSCA’s latest findings are more expansive than ever, incorporating input from UK university students at institutions including UCL, Bristol, Queen Mary University of London and Southampton.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe group says the report is designed to help climate-conscious students choose law firms that align with their values — and to pressure firms into making serious changes. “Sustainability isn’t just about paper use or eco-friendly offices,” the report reads. “It’s about who you represent and what deals you enable.”
Although many UK firms proudly trumpet their environmental commitments, LSCA says the data often tells a different story. “Some firms promote sustainability on their websites while simultaneously facilitating fossil fuel projects,” the group says, singling out Ashurst, Pinsent Masons, Simmons & Simmons, and Slaughter and May for scrutiny.
However, the report wasn’t entirely bleak. A record 14 firms were awarded an ‘A’ grade, praised for avoiding fossil fuel clients and doing significant work with renewable energy companies. These included BCLP, Cooley, Dechert and Ropes & Gray — described by LSCA as “legitimate choices” for students seeking a green career in law.
Even firms that failed overall were credited for some “mitigating work” in the renewables sector. Hogan Lovells, Latham & Watkins, and Squire Patton Boggs were among those noted for representing clients in the clean energy space. Still, LSCA insists this does not excuse their broader fossil fuel engagements.
The scorecard — now in its fifth edition — reflects growing student activism around environmental accountability in the legal sector. As graduates become more selective about employers, firms are facing mounting pressure to clean up their client lists.
LSCA’s message to the industry is blunt. “Law firms can either honour their climate commitments or swim with the political currents and sell the rest of us down the river.”
With the legal industry facing increasing public scrutiny, this year’s report could mark a turning point — particularly if future recruits begin to walk away from firms whose climate records don’t match their glossy brochures.
For firms hoping to attract the next generation of lawyers, the challenge is clear: ditch the double-speak, and prove your climate credentials where it really counts — in courtrooms and boardrooms, not just PR campaigns.
