The Legal 500 Green Guide isn’t just for firms as a whole anymore.
If you\’re helping lead your firm\’s sustainability efforts through your legal work, internal initiatives, or wider advocacy, you might be eligible for individual recognition through The Legal 500 Green Ambassadors programme.
It’s a relatively new initiative that highlights lawyers making a real impact on the green transition. And, unlike the main Green Guide, this one puts you personally in the spotlight.
What is a Green Ambassador?
A Green Ambassador is a lawyer (not just partners – associates, GCs and legal ops professionals too) who has shown leadership on environmental, climate or ESG-related issues.
This might include:
- Leading on client work that supports climate goals or sustainability.
- Advising on green finance, ESG regulation, or environmental risk.
- Playing a key role in internal firm-wide sustainability initiatives.
- Writing, speaking or campaigning on climate law or ESG topics.
- Advocating for greener practices within your firm or your sector.
Some individuals are named as Green Ambassadors as part of their firm’s Green Guide listing. But many are now recognised through individual submissions, either self-submitted or nominated by their firm.
Why it matters:
- It raises your profile. This is public, editorial recognition. It shows clients, peers and future employers what you’re focused on, and what kind of work you care about.
- It’s independent. Editors decide based on the evidence submitted, not your job title or firm size.
- It supports your firm’s credibility. Having recognised individuals in your team reinforces your firm’s overall ESG story.
- It helps you connect. Legal 500 is starting to build a network around the Ambassadors programme, with editorial opportunities and events in the pipeline.
Preparing a submission for Green Ambassadors
Submissions open at different times depending on your region. Each round typically runs for a few weeks.
- Europe: January to February
- UK: May to June
- Asia Pacific: July
- US: November to December
All entries go through the Legal 500 submission portal (the same one used for practice-area rankings). You don’t need referees, and there’s no fee.
Your submission should be short (around 500 to 700 words) and focused on your individual contribution. It’s not about titles or generic bios. Editors want to know:
- What you do and where you work.
- What kind of client work you’ve led or shaped.
- How you’ve contributed internally, whether that’s through policies, initiatives, or pushing for change.
- Any external work you’ve done like public speaking, mentoring, thought leadership.
- Why your work matters, and what impact it’s had.
You can prepare a submission on your own behalf, or be nominated by your firm. Either way, the work needs to be clear, specific, and connected to real, significant outcomes.
Who can submit to Green Ambassadors?
This isn’t just for energy lawyers or environmental specialists. Green Ambassadors come from all over the profession:
- Corporate and commercial
- Finance and regulatory
- Planning and infrastructure
- Disputes and investigations
- Public law, human rights and pro bono
- In-house legal and legal ops teams
If you’re doing meaningful work in this space, whether with clients or internally, it’s worth putting yourself (or a colleague) forward.
How Green Ambassadors differs from the Green Guide
Think of the Green Guide and the Green Ambassadors programme as separate but complementary.
The Green Guide looks at law firms by region, office or jurisdiction, and focuses mainly on client mandates and internal actions across a whole team.
Green Ambassadors is about people. It highlights the lawyers who are leading the work, shaping thinking, or pushing for change.
Why this matters right now
There’s a lot of noise around ESG in the legal sector. But not all of it leads to action. The Green Ambassadors programme helps highlight the people who are actually doing the work.
It’s a way to recognise the individuals driving change, not just through strategy documents or policies, but through day-to-day legal advice, leadership and influence.
If you’re that person, or if someone in your team is, you should seriously think about putting your name forward.
Not sure where to start?
We can:
- Sense-check eligibility and help shape your story.
- Draft or edit submissions.
- Align your Green Ambassador and Green Guide messaging strategy.
- Position individuals within a wider ESG or BD strategy.
Get in touch for a chat.
