Resources
2025 Annual Litigation Trends Survey
This report details steady lawsuit numbers and major trends, including growing ESG concerns, providing statistical data that expert witnesses can use to support testimony on the prevalence and nature of ESG-related litigation in the US.
Read more at Norton Rose Fulbright
25 ESG Regulations Investors Can’t Ignore in 2025
This report is a critical resource for ESG expert witnesses, providing a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of global regulatory trends. It details key requirements like the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards. For litigation, this document provides a foundational understanding of the legal and reporting landscape. It can be used to establish industry standards, assess corporate compliance, and identify potential "greenwashing" claims. The detailed breakdown of regulations by region, including the EU, UK, Canada, and the U.S., provides the necessary context to offer credible and authoritative testimony in legal proceedings involving ESG disputes.
Read more at Clarity AI
A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen The Use of Non-Financial Metrics by the Investment Industry
The Fraser Institute’s report, A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen by Bryce C. Tingle, is critical for ESG expert witnesses as it highlights the unreliability of ESG ratings, used by 88% of fund managers overseeing $3.16 trillion. Empirical studies show these ratings lack validity, varying widely across agencies, failing to predict environmental or social performance, and not correlating with financial returns or reduced risk. For expert witnesses, this underscores the need to scrutinize ESG data accuracy in litigation, assess fiduciary duty breaches, and evaluate corporate governance practices. The report’s findings could support lawsuits challenging misleading ESG claims, impacting accountability and compliance frameworks.
Read more at Fraser Institute
ESG Engagement & Litigation
This document tracks recent climate-related litigation trends from key reports, providing precedents and objectives that expert witnesses can use to bolster arguments in ESG lawsuits.
Read more at Woodsford
ESG Forecast: Trends for 2025
It highlights anti-ESG activism targeting US companies, aiding expert witnesses in testifying about backlash-related litigation and its implications for corporate governance.
Read more at ESG Forecast: Trends for 2025
ESG litigation trend report: Climate change litigation - from general duties to specific obligations
A key trend in climate change litigation is the shift from targeting states to including companies. This litigation, often based on a duty of care to prevent dangerous climate change and enforce human rights, has been clarified by recent case law. Companies should proactively adopt transparent ESG governance to mitigate litigation risks, including class actions.
Read more at Loyens & Loeff
ESG: Risk, Litigation, and Reporting Update (April 2025)
This update discusses false-advertising in ESG and DOJ actions, providing recent case examples that expert witnesses can reference to illustrate litigation risks and regulatory enforcement in the US.
Read more at Gibson Dunn
Fossil Fuel Companies Intensified Hundreds of Heatwaves Worldwide This Century: Study
This study provides critical, quantifiable evidence linking the world's largest fossil fuel and cement producers to specific, intensified heatwaves. From an ESG standpoint, this is a pivotal development in attribution science. It allows us to directly connect the emissions of "carbon majors" like ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP to tangible climate damages. This data strengthens the basis for climate litigation, enhances corporate accountability, and provides a more precise framework for assessing climate-related financial risks, which will be invaluable in future legal and regulatory proceedings.
Read more at Earth.org
Global Disputes Forecast 2025
It identifies key dispute trends such as ESG disputes alongside cybersecurity and AI, useful for expert witnesses to contextualize US-specific ESG litigation within broader global patterns.
Read more at Baker McKenzie
Half-Yearly AM ESG Roundup
The roundup covers US regulatory developments and SEC enforcement trends in ESG, essential for expert witnesses to draw on current legal and compliance insights in litigation.
Read more at Ropes & Gray LLP
Skadden Offers a Review of ESG in 2024 and Key Trends for 2025
The report reviews 2024 ESG developments and forecasts 2025 trends, including potential impacts from US political changes, enabling expert witnesses to provide informed opinions on evolving litigation landscapes.
Read more at Skadden
Stuck in the Middle with ESG: What Companies Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond
It analyzes balancing pro- and anti-ESG pressures leading to increased litigation, helping expert witnesses explain stakeholder dynamics and risk management in US cases.
Read more at Teneo
SUSTAINABILITY & ESG TRENDS 2025
It emphasizes the critical need to manage ESG-related litigation, driven by NGOs and litigation funders, offering insights into emerging cases that can help expert witnesses analyze risks and strategies in US ESG disputes.
Read more at Clifford Chance
US Sustainable Investing Trends
The report outlines trends like greenwashing and social risks in US sustainable investing, offering data on misleading practices that expert witnesses can cite in fraud or disclosure litigation.
Read more at US SIF