Sustainability & ESG Director to Join Paul, Weiss in London

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP announced today that Robert Powell will join the firm in London as Sustainability & ESG Director. In this role, Powell will build and oversee the London office’s operational ESG commitments and work closely with the firm’s global Sustainability and ESG Advisory Practice. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Robert to Paul, Weiss, where he will further enhance our terrific culture and support us on a wide array of pertinent ESG issues and opportunities,” said Neel Sachdev, co-head of Paul, Weiss’s London office. “As the firm’s London office continues to grow, embedding ESG into the fabric of our business and culture is a primary focus both for our talent and clients.”

Powell will bring extensive experience across a wide range of ESG matters. He previously served for nearly 10 years as director of pro bono, corporate responsibility and sustainability at a global law firm. In that role, he conceptualized and delivered a number of award-winning ESG programs and recently was recognized as 2024 Social Mobility Champion of the Year at the Legal 500 ESG Awards.

“I am thrilled to join Paul, Weiss, an industry-leading firm with an extraordinary Sustainability and ESG Advisory Practice and a long history of playing a leadership role in tackling urgent issues in business and society,” Powell said. “I look forward to working with colleagues across the firm globally and supporting the most preeminent and sophisticated corporations and private capital firms in achieving their ESG goals.”

Powell completed the Sustainability Business Management program at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). He is a member of the City of London Corporation’s Sustainable Skyline Taskforce and is chair of the Trailblazer Group for the Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability (CRS) Apprenticeship, the UK’s first vocational pathway into corporate responsibility and sustainability. He is also a frequent speaker on the sustainability circuit, is chair of the board of trustees for Workwhile and a member of the board of trustees of Special Olympics Great Britain.