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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

ESG REALITY CHECK – As companies focus more on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, firms with ESG practices are looking at a significant growth opportunity—if they can win their clients' work in the first place. And it's not as easy as having the best legal experts on staff. Dan Packel reports that clients want firms that 'walk the walk'—in other words, ones for whom ESG is not just a practice but a way of life. Clients are looking for firms with young, diverse talent, where ESG is a part of the leadership strategy and not just delineated to volunteer groups. And of course, many want to see firms that have made a positive, real-world impact on issues like the environment and diversity. "What they're looking for is not the pure regulatory advice," said former Baker & McKenzie global chief strategy officer Julia Hayhoe. "They want firms that are taking a role in policy-shaping forums."

LEGAL TECH ALUMNI – While the pandemic played a large part in legal tech education becoming more prominent, legal tech companies have also played a big role in expanding law schools' curricula. Victoria Hudgins reports on the legal tech founders that have fostered more legal tech awareness and education at their alma maters. Of course, there's a benefit for these legal tech companies—namely, access to alumni networks and exposing more students to a different career path, which could go a long way in addressing the legal tech market's lack of diversity. But it's not a one-way street—law schools also gain access to a well of legal tech expertise and fellowship programs that give their students real-world experience in a legal tech startup.

FIRST UK, NOW AUSTRALIA? – A group of Uber drivers in Australia has filed a suit against the ride-hailing company in a bid to get a federal court to rule that Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors, and therefore entitled to certain benefits, including sick pay, holiday pay and pensions. Christopher Niesche reports that the group alleges that Uber is violating the Australian Fair Work Act by failing to keep records of drivers' employment and not handing out pay slips. A ruling on the matter will likely have to consider how to classify those workers. The suit comes less than six months after the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that Uber drivers within its borders are "workers"  entitled to minimum wage, paid holidays and other legal protections. The ruling was a setback for Uber, which has successfully resisted such changes in the past, most notably in California.

EDITOR'S PICKS

With Norms 'Largely Broken Down,' Senators Want Courts to Resolve Executive Privilege Fights