Sarah E. Fortt

Partner
She/Her/Hers

Washington, D.C. / Austin
sarah.fortt@lw.com
+1.202.350.5152

PRACTICES

  • Capital Markets
  • Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
  • Public Company Representation

BAR QUALIFICATIONS

  • District of Columbia
  • New York
  • Texas

EDUCATION

  • JD, Yale Law School, 2010

PROFILE

Sarah Fortt, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Practice, helps clients navigate potential risks and opportunities relating to climate change, human rights, and corporate culture. 

Sarah advises public and private companies and their boards on ESG-related corporate governance, disclosure obligations, and regulatory requirements. With an eye toward ESG and cultural matters, she regularly works with boards to manage their approaches to:

  • Governance 
  • Crisis management and preparedness
  • Succession planning
  • Board education 

She also counsels clients in high-stakes governance situations, including board- and C-suite-level ethical concerns, emergency board and C-suite transitions, shareholder activism, and board conflict, as well as corporate crises, such as cybersecurity and data security breaches.

Sarah draws on her background in executive compensation and sophisticated understanding of cross-organizational incentive structures to help clients create consistent, effective, and meaningful stakeholder communications.

Before joining Latham, Sarah led the ESG efforts at a global law firm. Sarah serves on the Advisory Board for PracticalESG.com and regularly authors articles on ESG-related topics for leading publications. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards for Insights and the Corporate Governance Advisor.

EXPERIENCE

Sarah’s experience includes: 

  • Providing companies with end-to-end solutions, policy considerations and disclosures for navigating environmental and social risks and opportunities, including those relating to climate change, human rights and corporate culture*
  • Advising a US bank on creating a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and net-zero plan and reports*
  • Presenting to S&P 500 boards of directors and members of management on corporate governance matters and key governance developments, including insights on crisis management and mitigation, succession planning, risk oversight, executive compensation, board communications and materials, and stakeholder engagement*
  • Supporting newly public and Fortune 100 companies in their preparation for annual shareholders’ meetings, including addressing shareholder activism and proposals, and assisting with stakeholder engagement efforts and disclosures*
  • Creating policy statements for trade groups and thought leaders regarding corporate governance and ESG matters, as well as Securities and Exchange Commission comment letters on key governance and ESG developments* 
  • Providing ongoing governance support, including conflict-of-interest considerations, director independence analysis, and implementation of governance policies and procedures*
  • Analyzing nonprofit and charitable organizations’ current practices and compiling governance recommendations*

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham