(Marketwired) - The Law Firm Sustainability Network (LFSN) has launched the American Legal Industry Sustainability Standard (ALISS), an online self-assessment tool that measures law firms' environmental sustainability. ALISS allows law offices to take stock of their efforts to promote energy efficiency, conservation of energy and resources, recycling, and related measures, and to identify opportunities to enhance their sustainability programs and practices.

ALISS is currently in the pilot phase of its launch, with 12 law firms now in the process of completing their sustainability self-assessments. Those participating in the ALISS pilot include the LFSN Leadership Council firms Alston & Bird; Beveridge & Diamond; Blank Rome; Nixon Peabody; Seyfarth Shaw; and Wendel Rosen, as well as LFSN law firm members Kirkland & Ellis; Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox; Morrison Foerster; Paul Hastings; Pillsbury; and Robins Kaplan. Following completion of the pilot in April, the LFSN will make ALISS available to all of its members in May.

"We're very excited about the launch of ALISS, and we encourage all firms to participate. We believe it's important for firms to gain recognition for the good work they're already doing and at the same time provide guidance on additional steps they could be taking. We believe that ALISS accomplishes both of these goals," says Peter Masaitis, co-President of the LFSN and partner at Alston & Bird.

The ALISS system is designed to measure aspects of sustainability that are meaningful to law firms while also being transparent, simple to complete, flexible and dynamic. ALISS is an honor-based self-assessment tool that is intended to be detailed enough to identify specific areas of strength and opportunities for improvement for each participating firm. ALISS was developed by a group of LFSN member firms based on their review and assessment of sustainability best practices in the law office setting.

The ALISS system awards weighted points for various activities covering five broad categories: Internal Sustainability, External Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement, Measuring & Reporting, and Innovation. Each of these categories is further broken down into sustainability topics, such as Policy, Energy & Utilities, Volunteerism, etc. Based on the number of points they receive through the ALISS self-assessment, participating firms will be awarded an ALISS Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze or Reporter designation. The point system allows for flexibility in measuring a law firm's sustainability activities while ensuring that firms will only achieve Awards through the implementation of significant sustainability programs. 

Dan Krainin, co-President of the LFSN and principal at Beveridge & Diamond, said, "The launch of ALISS is an important step in law firm sustainability and reducing environmental impacts within the legal profession. We believe that the significant work LFSN members have put in to the development of ALISS has resulted not only in a valuable tool but also a potentially transformative one."

The LFSN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose membership includes many of the top U.S. law firms and legal departments committed to promoting the benefits of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility throughout the legal industry. The LFSN's mission is to develop key performance indicators, foster knowledge-sharing, develop best practice guidelines, and recognize and promote sustainability innovations in the U.S. legal sector. 

For further information, please visit www.lfsnetwork.org

Law Firm Sustainability Network

Law Firm Sustainability Network

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