b'GOVERNANCE| LEGAL SECTOR| 2022SUSTAINABILITY 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 andbusiness 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 continued in the last twelve months in organisations where poor governance 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. Regulatory requirements of the legal profession also reinforce codes of conduct for law firms.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 ability to meet its social purpose and responsibility. Increasingly climate change creates both market and reputational risks for business advisors like law firms.2022 AusLSA Member PerformanceNinety-three per cent of reporting firms have a specific code of conduct in place that deals with ethics, including bribery, corruption, fraud, workplace bullying and sexual harassment. The remaining seven per cent of firms were currently expanding their codes of conduct to include all these components. Ninety-five per cent had a documented complaints and grievance mechanism to address internal and external issues. All AusLSA members, except two, also provide specific training to partners and employees regarding their code. The remaining two were currently developing this training. Ninety per cent of firms have developed and operate a formal risk management plan that is reviewed regularly by the leadership team. Eighty-eight per cent of reporting firms also have a documented Business Continuity Plan or Emergency Response Plan, which is regularly tested, with two firms developing one. 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 and by subsequent economic activity and global security concerns. In the case of Australian law firms, however, their risk management and approach to continuity combined with their existing flexible working capacity and wellbeing initiatives worked well to mitigate the worst business and human impacts. COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCE CODE OF CONDCTCODE OF CONDUCT TRAININGMECHANISMSYES IN DEVT YES NO YES NOPOLICY93% 7% 88% 12% 98% 2%82'