When should you call in the lawyers?

A few years ago, I used to joke that the legal team were the true creatives of sustainability reporting. Sarcasm intended.

But if you’ve ever been in the trenches of drafting one of these lengthy commitment-packed reports, you know there’s truth hiding under that eye-roll.

Because here’s the thing: sustainability is now a risk management exercise. You’re opening your company up to scrutiny from investors, regulators, NGOs, and journalists.

Which means sooner or later, the lawyers are coming. And the real question is: when do you bring them in?

I’ve seen more than one report fall apart in the final days because legal was looped in at the end, only to declare a claim “unsubstantiated,” “misleading,” or my personal favorite, “potentially actionable.”

Imagine months of work, dozens of stakeholder interviews, late-night edits—and then boom, whole sections redlined into oblivion. In some cases, entire reports have been shelved after getting the legal treatment (think DEI reports in spring 2025). That’s when sarcasm about their “creativity” stops being funny and starts being painfully true.

It turns out lawyers aren’t party crashers; they’re risk spotters. Their job is to imagine the uncomfortable “what ifs”: What if a regulator asks us to prove this? What if an influencer calls it greenwashing on social media? What if an investor sues? Not glamorous work, but essential.

So, when should you bring legal in? Earlier than you think.

At kick-off: Looping legal in on the initial framing keeps you from wandering into dangerous waters you’ll just have to paddle back from later. They can also help you spot issues before they arise (note from the front lines: low-carbon/carbon-neutral and climate change are already attracting legal scrutiny)

After draft one: The legal team can also help you flag language issues before the draft makes it to senior management. Also anytime you’re putting a number on a pledge (“50% emissions cut by 2030”) or describing progress as fact, legal should have eyes on it.

Before final approval: This is non-negotiable. Legal needs to review not only the content but also any associated images. Skipping legal here is like skipping the seatbelt because you’re only driving a mile. A really, really bad idea.

Is it frustrating? Absolutely. Legal edits can feel like someone took a Sharpie to your best artwork. But pulling them in early often means fewer last-minute massacres.

Oddly enough, lawyers can sometimes sharpen your message. Because being forced to back up every claim with proof can help your report sound less like marketing fluff and more like an honest account of progress. Messy, complicated, imperfect progress.

Think of legal not as the creativity killer, but as the safety net under your high-wire act.

Because the alternative—falling without one—is a mess no clever sustainability metaphor can clean up.