Interviews
#5QuestionswithMaxwell Green Edition: Christine Falcicchio
In this #5QuestionsWithMaxwell interview, we feature Christine Falcicchio, Global Co-Chair of the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations.
As Global Co-Chair, she puts her focus on leading efforts to implement sustainable practices in dispute resolution through strategy and innovation, expanding outreach globally, as well as helping build tools to measure and reduce carbon emissions in arbitrations.
Moreover, she is the Founder of Sopra Legal, a legal services firm which specializes in creating hyperlinked digital legal submissions and eBriefs for law firms, corporations, and government entities. By transforming documents into interactive formats that are intuitive for judges and arbitrators to navigate, Sopra Legal streamlines proceedings while reducing paper waste.
In this Interview, Christine shares her observations on the increased awareness on sustainability in arbitration, changed perceptions and the significant role that service providers and the legal tech community play in supporting sustainable practices.
Download the PDF version of her interview or read the full interview below:
Q: Christine, you have been involved with the Campaign for Greener Arbitration since its early days, what would you identify as the most significant change in how the arbitration community engages with sustainability today?
The most significant shift I have observed is the move from awareness, which felt abstract, to accountability, which feels concrete and personal. Early on, sustainability in arbitration was largely aspirational but seldom implemented.
The Campaign’s founder, Lucy Greenwood, posed the challenge to conduct more sustainable arbitrations shortly before COVID forced practitioners to do so. The pandemic normalized virtual hearings and electronic submissions. This established a new standard for sustainable proceedings.
Today, many of these changes have carried on by a coming together of global forces – from political climate targets, particularly post-COP26 and COP28; changes to ESG regulation such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive; and a post-COVID digital transformation that proved remote hearings aren’t just feasible, they are often preferred.
It is remarkable how the arbitration community, typically slow to change, has responded. Institutions are revising their procedural rules to allow for greener practices, parties are openly discussing sustainability in procedural hearings, and arbitrators are increasingly taking a proactive role in encouraging efficiency and reducing unnecessary travel. All of these changes not only benefit the environment, but oftentimes they lead to cost savings as well. There is a long way to go, but we are seeing the beginnings of cultural change.
Q: How have you seen the perception of sustainability shift within the arbitration community over the past 5 years? Are clients now driving more of this conversation?
Absolutely, and the shift is both top-down and bottom-up. Over the last five years, particularly since the pandemic, clients have become far more vocal about aligning their dispute resolution choices with broader ESG goals. There is often an expectation or directive for outside counsel to implement more environmentally conscious practices. That shift has helped normalize discussions around electronic documents, virtual or hybrid hearings, and sustainable travel. Sustainability is no longer a niche interest; it is becoming a business imperative.
This is happening against the backdrop of regulatory and political momentum. Many governments are putting sustainability at the heart of trade and investment policy. While certain entities are perhaps backsliding in their approach to recognizing the validity and importance of sustainability, many others are staying the course. Greenwashing scrutiny is intensifying, and arbitration, especially investor-state, is under the microscope. The reputational risks of ignoring sustainability are growing. As a result, sustainability has evolved from a “soft” consideration to a governance issue with legal and strategic implications. The conversation has matured significantly, and clients are often the ones setting the tone.
In sum, what was once was a niche concern is now viewed as an ESG-led governance imperative. Clients are often requiring it, and institutions are embedding it, all of which is helping to bring sustainability to mainstream operational practice.
Q: If you could change one norm or standard across the legal industry to advance sustainability meaningfully, what would it be?
I would change how we think about the necessity of in-person proceedings. While in-person hearings and meetings remain important and are essential in certain situations, travel-intensive proceedings should no longer serve as the default approach. A hybrid-first or digital-first approach can significantly reduce our carbon footprint without compromising quality and outcome. Making virtual options during a matter the norm, supported by strong protocols and tech infrastructure, would have a profound impact industry-wide. The Campaign’s Green Protocol for Arbitral Proceedings, along with our Model Procedural Order, offer comprehensive guidance on this approach.
Q: How has your work with CGA influenced or shaped Sopra Legal’s internal operations and client-facing strategies?
The Campaign has provided a philosophical framework to many of the practices I had already integrated into Sopra Legal since I launched the company. Internally, we operate as a paperless firm and minimize travel by prioritizing remote collaboration. On the client-facing side, I am transparent with our clients about our sustainability commitments and encourage them to consider our services even when their arbitrators may not have specifically requested hyperlinked submissions in PO1. The Campaign has helped us align our core values with our service offerings, and clients increasingly see that alignment as a differentiator.
Q: How can legal tech providers support the Campaign’s mission? Are there tools or platforms you believe are currently underutilized in this space?
Sopra Legal and my fellow legal tech community play a significant role in making sustainable arbitration truly scalable. Service providers support the Campaign’s mission by developing and promoting tools that reduce reliance on paper, streamline virtual hearings, and track the environmental impact of proceedings. I am encouraged by the growth of platforms that enable remote collaboration, which are already a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional on-site data storage and in-person meetings.
At Sopra Legal, we go a step further. While many cloud-based platforms depend on large, energy-intensive data centers, our approach eliminates that ongoing infrastructure demand by simply transferring files for users to save locally on their own computers. This minimizes reliance on external servers and reduces the hidden carbon footprint associated with continuous cloud storage.
For my daily practice, integrating paperless devices such as the reMarkable tablet for notetaking has made a meaningful difference.
There is a genuine opportunity now for legal tech service providers to lead, not just support, this transition.
