Saying that "a culture of environmental sustainability is becoming
an important indicator of professional excellence for lawyers and law
firms," Boston Bar Association President Lisa C. Goodheart today announced that she
has appointed a 19-person Task Force on Environmental Sustainability. The Task
Force will be co-chaired by Michelle N. O'Brien, a shareholder at Mackie Shea O'Brien and
Benjamin Ericson of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General.
"Providing first-rate service to clients is just one critical component
of professional excellence for lawyers in 2011," said Goodheart. "Two other
essential components are doing meaningful pro bono work, and making serious
efforts to advance diversity and inclusion. Going forward, we need to
recognize a commitment to environmental sustainability as another key component
of excellence in the legal profession."
Goodheart has charged the Task Force with expanding the BBA's pro bono and community service capacity to
include volunteer opportunities that benefit the environment, and also gathering
and sharing information about best practices for greening the practice of
law for lawyers in a variety of practice settings. Operating under the mantra, "all
of us need to take ownership of environmental sustainability, regardless of the size
or nature of our practice," the new BBA Task Force is expected
to provide opportunities for engagement by members of all 24 of the BBA's Sections.
"Environmental sustainability needs to be woven into the fabric of
everything we do as lawyers," said Goodheart. "My ultimate goal for this Task
Force is simultaneously a modest and ambitious one. My vision of success for
this initiative is that a commitment to environmental sustainability will become
part and parcel of our broader and ongoing conversations about excellent
lawyering."
In addition to Michelle O'Brien and Benjamin Ericson, the Task Force on
Environmental Sustainability will also include Amy Boyd, Foley Hoag; Christopher
Davis, Ceres, Inc.; Gary Davis, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental
Affairs; Jonathan Ettinger, Foley Hoag; Pamela Harvey, MA Department of
Environmental Protection; James Hunt, City of Boston; Carolyn Kaplan, Nixon
Peabody; Mike Koehler, Keegan Werlin; Cynthia Lewis, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; Michael Mooney, Nutter, McClennen & Fish; Colin Owyang,
National Grid USA; Carolyn Rosenthal, Goodwin Procter; Dylan Sanders, Sugarman,
Rogers, Barshak & Cohen; Julie Taylor, Noble & Wickersham; Danah Tench,
Environment Northeast; Robert Tuchmann, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr;
and Colin Van Dyke, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and
Popeo.