Reed Smith partner Jennifer Smokelin has been named by the Pittsburgh Business Times one of the ‘20 People to Know in Law’ for 2023. Smokelin, a partner in Reed Smith’s global Energy and Natural Resources Group, also serves as co-chair of the firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice and co-leads its Global Sustainability Plan.
The Pittsburgh Business Times’ 20 People to Know series “connects the Pittsburgh business community with influential businesspeople working in key industries,” introducing its readers to some of the region’s “behind-the-scenes players, key leaders and up-and-comers.”
A highly regarded thought leader in U.S. and international environmental, energy transition, and climate change law, Smokelin was profiled by the Pittsburgh Business Times on Oct. 5 for her work advising clients on emerging environmental and energy issues, including greenhouse gas legislation and carbon reduction plans.
In the profile, Smokelin described how the first UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 inspired her to choose her particular field of law. The framework was signed by the U.S. and 153 other nations at the Rio Earth Summit, the year Jennifer graduated from law school. “I saw this as the first step in tackling the legal challenge of a generation — my generation — and was awed,” Jennifer said.
In the profile, Jennifer also offers advice for lawyers at the beginning of their careers, and how “building a great community for the next generation is what it’s all about!”
Jennifer also discussed her work with Reed Smith lawyers Todd Maiden in San Francisco and Elle Todd in London as ‘sustainability partners’ driving the firm’s sustainability plan forward.
“We are especially proud that the plan established the first-ever sustainability billable-hours policy in the legal industry, allowing for up to 25 hours of sustainability-related leadership, advocacy, training or development programs,” Jennifer said.
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