Sarah Fortt and Betty Huber join Latham & Watkins as partners

Sarah Fortt and Betty Huber join Latham & Watkins as partners

International firms hire environmental experts as the movement becomes increasingly important to their clients

US-based Sarah Fortt and Betty Huber have been hired by Latham & Watkins as partners to co-chair its environmental, social and governance (ESG) practice along with London partner Paul Davies in the US.

While Fortt worked with Vinson & Elkins, Huber served Davis Polk & Wardwell. Both led the ESG teams. Fortt will now split her time between Latham's newly-opened Austin base and its office in Washington DC, Huber will be based in New York.

The duo will be members of Latham's capital markets and public company representation practice group within the corporate department. They will advise public and private companies, financial institutions, investment funds and their boards on a range of ESG matters.

Commenting on the hires, Ian Schuman, chairman of the firm's capital markets and public company representation practice, said there were "perhaps no areas of the market with a greater need to intelligently and proactively address ESG issues than in the public company boardroom and in the context of major transactions."

"We are at the centre of these discussions with the clients on a daily basis and are pleased to continue investing and extending our capabilities in this critical and growing space with the addition of these two fantastic partners," he added.

Both, Fortt and Huber, specialize in advising companies and their boards on ESG-related corporate governance, disclosure obligations and regulatory requirements,

In a statement, Latham said that Fortt regularly worked with boards on managing their approaches to crisis management and preparedness, succession planning and board education related to ESG and human rights.

Similarly, Huber had 25 years of experience advising on ESG matters in connection with hundreds of transactions. She specialized in areas including human rights, sustainable finance, 'net zero' commitments and targets, and shareholder activism.

Huber spent almost 18 years at Davis Polk, including more than a decade as co-head of the firm's environmental group and three years as co-head of its ESG team.