Rebecca Perlman

Partner ESG & Impact
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

London +44 20 7469 2176

Rebecca Perlman

Practices

Overview

Rebecca is brilliant, never in all my years of practice have I met another lawyer like her. She has an energy like no one else I have ever met. Your perfect lawyer is Rebecca.” - Chambers Global, ESG Rankings

Rebecca Perlman is a partner in the ESG & Impact Practice Group in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. Rebecca has more than twelve years of experience advising clients on ESG-related regulation, soft law standards and voluntary compliance frameworks, ESG market disclosure and reporting, and matters relating to accredited organisations such as B Corps.

Rebecca helps clients with ESG-related risk management, investor demands, stakeholder engagement and corporate sustainability strategy and governance. She frequently advises on ESG issues in the context of transactions and has extensive experience advising on sustainable and impact investment transactions, in particular.

Rebecca is one of only four lawyers globally ranked as a Band 1 advisor for ESG by Chambers Global. Rebecca has also been recognized as a market-leading ESG practitioner by Financial News, The Legal 500, Real Deals, Global Legal Experts, NatWest and The Lawyer’s Hot 100.

Rebecca is a non-executive director of the Impact Investing Institute and The Big Issue CL CIC. She is a member of the City of London Law Society’s ESG Committee and of the Global Impact Investment Network's Policy Innovation Group. She is also the Lead Expert (Legal) to the CFA UK’s Impact & Investing Panel.

Rebecca has extensive experience counseling clients on:

  • sustainability-related market disclosure and reporting, including in relation to the application of and compliance with the CSRD, ISSB standards, SFDR and the EU Taxonomy;
  • board and management structures for governing ESG and sustainability risks and opportunities, as well as related policies, targets and metrics;
  • the design and development of ESG and climate investment strategies, product classification and labelling frameworks, and risk management programs;
  • ESG issues in downstream M&A transactions, including in relation to ESG due diligence and the negotiation of ESG-related provisions to support compliance with fund-level obligations (e.g. under SFDR);
  • the integration of ESG considerations into supply chain frameworks, including as part of procurement, contracting and onboarding processes;
  • ESG contentious risks, including regulatory inquiries and enforcement proceedings regarding ESG and climate-related claims.
Partner and Head of ESG, Herbert Smith Freehills

More

Thought Leadership

Publications

Greenwashing and Socialwashing: Key Global Developments, ICLG ESG Laws & Regulations, Jan 6, 2023

Activism Rising: The Role of Shareholders in Shaping ESG Strategy, ICLG 2022 Global ESG Law Guide, Dec 20, 2021

How can ESG finance improve for its corporate stakeholders?, The Treasurer,  Sep 22, 2021

Closing the Loop: Integrating Circular Policies, PLC Magazine, Aug 15, 2021

ESG and the Infrastructure Sector, Financier Worldwide, Mar 1, 2021

ESG and Corporate Strategy: A Cross-Sectoral View, The International Comparative Law Guide on ESG Law 2021, Global Legal Group, Dec 1, 2020

Responsible Investment: The Global Regulatory Landscape, The Standards Board for Alternative Investments (SBAI), Nov 1, 2020

ESG in private equity: a time to shine?, Financier Worldwide, Aug 1, 2020

Recognition

Ranked Band 1 for ESG by Chambers Global

Ranked as a Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500

Ranked as a leading practitioner in The Legal 500’s UK and EMEA Green Guides

Ranked as one of 25 Rising Stars of the Legal Industry by Financial News

Ranked in Real Deals' list of Future 40 ESG Innovators 2023

Recognized as the UK’s Sustainable Investment Lawyer of the Year by Global Law Experts 2023

Listed in NatWest's WISE100 list of the UK's most influential women in impact investment

The first ESG lawyer to be ranked in The Lawyer’s Hot 100

Memberships & Affiliations

Board Member, Impact Investing Institute

Board Member, The Big Issue CL CIC

Committee Member, City of London Law Society’s ESG Committee

Committee Member, Global Impact Investment Network's Policy Innovation Group

Lead Expert (Legal) to the CFA UK’s Impact & Investing Panel

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2014, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales

Education

  • University of OxfordB.A., History