Gowling WLG's Head of Assurance, Environment and ESG Strategy, Fiona Nicholls, is named in 'The Lawyer Hot 100' list for 2025.

The list, compiled each year by The Lawyer magazine, recognises individuals for their excellence in the legal profession – celebrating 'the profession's movers and shakers' across all areas of the industry.

The selection concentrates on those impacting the industry right now, shining a light on a diverse mix of legal professionals. Whether criminal law or corporate dealmakers, there's even the possibility for the professional with no legal qualifications to make it on the list.

Fiona commented: "It's a real privilege to be amongst the names on The Lawyer's Hot 100 list this year. In the business, we've made great strides when it comes to social and environmental sustainability over the years, not just internally but through our legal advice and expertise. We're also a founding member of Legal Charter 1.5, a unique and award-winning programme that connects our climate ambitions with our clients and brings ESG professionals across law firms into one room. It's really exciting to see what can happen."

Fiona's place in this year's list is thanks to her commitment to social, environmental and financial sustainability, her multi-faceted role within the firm and collaboration with others to catalyse impact. Her key highlights from the past year were noted as leading the launch of Gowling WLG's first-ever sustainability report and commitment to science-based targets through the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). She also drove the firm's participation in the UN Global Compact's Human Rights Accelerator while also driving the firm's action on the Legal Charter 1.5 initiative.

In her personal life, Fiona's commitment to greener actions is no different than at work. She's retrofitted her home with cork insulation and switched a gas combi boiler for an air source heat pump and solar panels. It's clear that her passion for a healthy planet shines through at home and in the office.

Gowling WLG has made its commitment to ESG a clear priority and will be releasing its 2024 sustainability report in the coming weeks, summarising progress and outlining new commitments. Continual improvement in these areas is assessed through internal audit and assurance, adopted quality standards and external audit through BSI and EcoVadis.

The Lawyer's full Hot 100 coverage can be found on its website.