Workers increasingly expect their employers to take a stand on social issues, and so does the public at large—realities that are putting legal departments under pressure as they assess which stands their companies should support and which might alienate stakeholders.

Against that backdrop, many general counsel are trying to determine which causes are in their company's lane and which are not—though hewing to causes that closely relate to a company's business is no guarantee of avoiding controversy.

"Legal departments should think through and anticipate as best as they can what is the nexus between societal causes and the core business and how the company can make a real impact rather than just a symbolic effort," said Sonny Abbasi, general counsel at Maxwell, a digital mortgage platform.