Dec. 7 - As political leaders converge in Paris this month to draft a global climate change pact, large U.S. law firms are also in the mix, hoping to influence the debate and drum up new business. It marks the 21st annual meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or for short-COP-21. The conference, which is scheduled to run to Dec. 11, is expected to attract 45,000 participants. Many of these will be current and potential Big Law clients. "Outside of a formal negotiating process, there's a huge global gathering of the business community, aca-demia, environmental NGOs, and investors all doing their own events," said Rick Saines, who heads Baker & McKenzie's North America Climate Change and Environmental Markets Practice. "It's a great opportunity for law firms to be right in the thick of it."
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