Role is "a deliberate investment in expanding the firm's leadership on ESG and sustainability law"
Chapman Tripp has introduced its first-ever director for climate, sustainability and ESG with the appointment of Kate Wilson Butler.
In the new role, Wilson Butler will lead the firm’s climate, sustainability and ESG practice, working with practice co-chairs Nicola Swan and Alana Lampitt. The firm said that the creation of the role “cements the firm’s focus on climate change, sustainability and ESG across its corporate, finance, litigation, risk and environment practices.”
“This is a deliberate investment in expanding the firm’s leadership on ESG and sustainability law. This area is fast moving and highly dynamic and so too is the nature of advice required to navigate it,” CEP Pip England explained.
Previously, Wilson Butler was the Sustainable Business Council’s head of climate action, where she championed climate change policy and strategy in cooperation with major companies in New Zealand. She also completed a nine-year stint with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand and offshore tackling climate change, trade and economic issues; she was appointed private secretary to the Minister for Climate Change during this period.
“We are responding to market and client demands by increasing our capability to support our clients in ways that challenge the perceptions of a traditional law firm,” England said. “Kate’s appointment is particularly exciting given her strong government and international experience.”
