ESG-in-Law Series Discusses Human Rights Issues in Global Supply Chains

March 2024 

By Patrick Miller

California Lawyers Association’s Environmental, Social and Governance Interest Group released two new episodes of our ESG-in-Law video series. The episodes featured discussions with Susan Maslow and Charity Ryerson. They both cover issues related to human rights in global supply chains. 

You can find these conversations at the YouTube playlist link for the ESG Committee. 

Patrick Miller spoke with Susan Maslow about the model contract clauses which are designed to develop a legal framework for companies to establish responsible procurement practices in their supply chains.

They discussed her work on the ABA’s Model Contract Clause Project, tensions between more fluid due diligence approaches and strict liability regimes, California’s adoption of the Caremark standard of director liability, and more.

Maslow is an experienced business attorney with a focus on complex transactional corporate law. She is a Co-Founder and Partner of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn LLP. She concentrates her practice primarily on the documentation of business transactions, corporate governance, private finance, service and supply contracts, and non-profit operations. Committed to delivering precisely drafted documents, Maslow believes getting parties with conflicting interests to agree in writing can be tremendously gratifying (financially and emotionally) for all stakeholders.

Patrick also spoke with Charity Ryerson about her work supporting communities and workers impacted by labor and human rights violations throughout global value chains. Among the topics of discussion were strategic litigation, federal agency enforcement actions, mandatory human rights due diligence developments in the European Union, model contract clauses, and more.

Ryerson is an attorney, legal designer, activist, and strategist with two decades of experience fighting corporate abuse around the globe. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL), where she leads a team of committed advocates who design, prototype and test new strategies to address corporate misconduct. Prior to founding CAL, she litigated complex international human rights cases under the Alien Tort Statute, Torture Victim Protection Act, and state tort law. 

Patrick Miller is a member of California Lawyers Association’s ESG Interest Group. He is the founding attorney at Impact Advocates APC, a Los Angeles-based law firm that focuses on commercial litigation and international arbitration, as well as ESG advisory services such as implementing responsible supply chain frameworks.