Skip to main content

From blogs to tweets to a predictions market, the Copenhagen climate change summit starting today is bringing the creative side out of law firms as they embrace 21st century technologies to keep their clients and stakeholders informed of their activities.

Norton Rose Group, which is merging with Deacons Australia 1 January, has set up a twitter account and Australian partner Elisa de Wit, along with Norton’s seven other climate change lawyers observing the event, will be updating the firm’s ‘followers’ regularly on the progress of the talks. However, for those that do not need the information as fast as the legal team can tweet (or who like to read fully-formed sentences), the observers are also posting on a blog created especially for the event.

Allens Arthur Robinson has also created a climate change blog in response to the summit and Melbourne-based lawyer Fergus Green will be contributing to it during the event which ends 14 December. Allens has used a video of Green on their website to explain his role at the event to clients.

Baker & McKenzie has taken a novel approach, sponsoring the Copenhagen Prediction Market (COPPM). The project is being run in association with The Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets and is an attempt by Bakers to inform its clients of the likely outcome of the conference before the outcome is known by the participants themselves.

“Baker & McKenzie is supporting the COPPM because we think that not only is this an interesting and novel concept for monitoring negotiations of considerable global importance, but also because it provides an indication to our clients of the thoughts of those closest to the outcome of the negotiations," said Paul Curnow, who will be attending Copenhagen.

During the Conference the COPPM will trace and display the beliefs and expectations of thousands of participants and provide an insight into where negotiations may go. If the COPPM is successful in forecasting the outcomes of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, it may prove to be a useful tool to predict outcomes of other negotiations in the future, Curnow said.

Related stories:

Firms focus on CPRS more than Copenhagen

Related Articles

Japanese firm TMI forms alliance with Australia’s JWS, eyes Sydney office

by Sarah Wong |

Japanese law firm TMI Associates has established a strategic alliance with Australia’s Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) marking the first partnership of its kind between major law firms from these two nations.

Clifford Chance launches Shanghai FTZ joint operation with local firm

by Charlie Wu 吴卓言 |

Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance and Shanghai He Ping Law Firm have established a joint operation office in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ), following approval from the Shanghai Justice Bureau.

SUBMISSION OPEN: ALB Firms to Watch (Thailand) 2025

Submissions are now open for ALB’s Thailand Firms to Watch 2025. This list will highlight the most promising and innovative law firms in Indonesia that are making a mark in the legal industry. The list will be published in the December 2025 issue of ALB Asia.