The American Lawyer Honors Sarah E. Fortt as South Trailblazer

Sarah E. Fortt, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practice, has been named to the American Lawyer’s (ALM) 2022 list of South Trailblazers which honors change makers in the legal profession.

Fortt guides public and private companies, large and small, local and international, and their boards through the stages of their ESG journeys including corporate governance, crisis management and response, disclosure obligations, and regulatory requirements. Fortt’s published profile highlights her work pioneering “one of the first cross-functional ESG groups at a US-based global law firm” which arose out of the need for law firms to respond to “evolving ESG trends, including addressing increased regulatory and jurisdictional complexity relating to climate change, human rights, diversity and corporate culture.”

In Fortt’s published profile, she discusses the genesis of the path that has made her a trailblazer saying candidly, “the reality is that every woman of color who chooses to walk into a room where she is underrepresented is a trailblazer,” and that she wanted to become “part of a sanctuary for diverse lawyers across our industry.” In addition to being a trailblazer, Fortt is a key thought leader in US corporate governance and on matters regarding environmental and social corporate risks and opportunities. She serves on the advisory boards for PracticalESG.com and the ESG Professionals Network, as well as the editorial board of Insights: The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor and regularly authors articles on ESG-related topics for leading publications.