Today, I am happy to announce the launch of Green Economy Law Professional Corporation: a corporate and commercial Toronto law firm founded for the purpose of working with companies and entrepreneurs building a sustainable new green economy.
The last few years have seen many green economy companies start up and grow to incredible heights. The electric vehicle company Tesla Motors and plant-based burger company Beyond Meat are two of the most publicized examples, but there are many, many more. What each of these companies demonstrates, and will continue to demonstrate over time, is that for-profit companies and entrepreneurs working to build a sustainable economy are not acting out of some charitable impulse, but rather, that (1) the creation of a sustainable, low-carbon economy will be an enormous generator of wealth in the coming years; and (2) profit derived at the expense of, and without concern for, the environment that human life depends upon for its very existence is both immoral and a bad long-term business strategy.
So how did I get here, launching a corporate law firm specializing in green economy companies? Well…
It all began in the early 2010s when I was working as an intern with the Toronto-based concert promotion company Embrace Presents. One day I was talking to the CFO, and he told me that, while my plan to get an MBA and go work in the concert industry wasn’t bad, I should really get a law degree. “Get a law degree, then come back to this business and you’ll be a shark,” he said. This got me thinking seriously about law school. I ultimately decided to go for it. I applied to a couple law schools in Ontario and New York and got some acceptances. And so…I decided to go and join the Israel Defense Forces for a year and a half as a combat soldier in the Nachal infantry brigade.
By the time I finished my army service, I had accepted an offer to go to the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City. But by then, I began reconsidering my plan to work in the music business. Having watched the Syrian civil war raging nightly from army bases atop the Golan Heights, the idea of dedicating my life to negotiating performance contracts just didn’t seem as appealing as it once did. Doing something around climate change, which was already a huge concern of mine, seemed a much worthier goal.
But did I really want to become an environmental lawyer? This would involve either working in government, at a non-profit, or in civil litigation. None of these seemed all that appealing to me, especially since in any of those roles, the work would, for the most part at least, revolve around stopping environmentally destructive behaviour. What really excited me though were all the solutions people like Elon Musk were coming up with to deal with the challenges facing humanity. There were so many ways to do things better; to be creative and inventive. That’s where I wanted to be.
And so I came up with the idea of a starting a law firm that would work with those companies providing solutions to move us away from environmentally destructive lifestyles, and towards better, cleaner, more exciting means of sustainable living.
At the moment, Green Economy Law Professional Corporation is just me, Marc Z. Goldgrub, but I will be bringing on a law clerk to help out in the next week or two. And hopefully as the work and client list grows, I’ll be able to bring on more lawyers and staff, and grow the firm into a real contender. That’s the dream. It’s going to take time and a lot of work, but here’s where it starts…