At the start of 2020 when COVID-19 was gaining attention in China, we fielded a benchmark study of corporate legal leaders globally. A surprise finding: Respondents named ESG among three top areas to consume their focus in 2020. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) followed cybersecurity/data privacy and complex regulation—the first time ESG or similar terms had ever been mentioned in our benchmarks.

In the same study, strategic thinking was ranked as the professional strength general counsel thought most important to them for the coming 12 months. Little did they know how rapidly ESG and strategic thinking would become critical.