b'GOVERNANCE| LEGAL SECTOR| 2021SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTRISK MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS CONTINUITY,ETHICS AND CODE OF CONDUCTGood risk management and ethical behaviours based on solid and visible organisational values are key ingredients to a firms long-term reputation and its ability to operate. The Australian Legal Sector Alliance assesses the following aspects of governance:codes of conduct, ethics and grievance mechanisms risk management and business continuity planning.Good organisational governance is something we often take for granted in Australia, but it is critical to delivering sustainability policies and commitments. Good governance is also necessary for compliance with regulatory, professional, industry and voluntary standards. The flow of well publicised corporate and political scandals continues in the last twelve months where poor governance has allowed breaches of the law and a loss of community trust and organisational reputation. Most of these issues have arisen where systemic governance failures have allowed behaviours and transactions to occur that were in conflict with otherwise documented public policies and values. A law firms code of conduct promotes a good social, ethical and professional culture by documenting how people are expected to act. The process of assessing the behaviour of employees becomes more consistent when a code of conduct is used as a reference point.Codes of conduct for law firms are also reinforced by regulatory requirements of the legal profession. Risk management not only considers a firms significant regulatory, financial and reputational risk but also the risk of delivering their commitments and the objectives in their strategic plans. These are all elements that reflect on the overall sustainability of an organisation and the ability for it to meet it social purpose and responsibility. Increasingly climate change creates both market and reputational risks for business advisors like law firms.2021 AusLSA Member PerformanceAll reporting firms have a specific code of conduct in place that deals with ethics, including bribery, corruption, fraud, workplace bullying and sexual harassment and had a documented complaints and grievance mechanism to address both internal and external issues. All AusLSA members, except one, also provide specific training to partners and employees regarding their code.All reporting firms except one have developed and operate a formal risk management plan that is reviewed regularly by the leadership team. All reporting firms also have a documented Business Continuity Plan or Emergency Response Plan which is regularly tested with two firms having one in development. Like the rest of the world Australian businesses and law firms were caught by surprise by the level of disruption caused by the COVID pandemic. In the case of Australian law firms however, their generic approach to continuity combined with their existing flexible working capacity and wellbeing initiatives worked well to mitigate the worst business and human impactsCOMPLAINTS & GRIEVANCE CODE OF CONDUCT CODE OF CONDUCT TRAINING PROCESSES Yes 100% Yes 97% No 3%82'