As the mandatory due diligence debate heats up in Europe and we look ahead to more countries turning the responsibility to respect into a corporate duty, companies will increasingly need to focus on setting clear expectations of their business partners. Putting the right provisions into contracts is going to become even more important.
In this conversation, Shift’s Rachel Davis and John F. Sherman III discuss a recent project of a Working Group of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association (ABA) that is trying to get ahead of the trend of new legislation and put companies on the right path in how they approach the role of contractual requirements.
You may also read more about the Model Clauses in a viewpoint by John Sherman, here.
This episode’s speakers
Rachel Davis is one of Shift’s co-founders and has led work at Shift over the last decade on standard-setting, human rights and sports, financial institutions, conflict and international law.
As Vice President, Rachel shapes our strategy and oversees a range of our collaborations with companies, governments, investors, civil society and other partners. Rachel leads Shift’s work to influence STANDARD-SETTERS of all kinds to integrate the UN Guiding Principles into the rules that govern business, including engaging with governments and the European Union on mandatory human rights due diligence. Learn more
As Shift’s General Counsel and Senior Advisor, John F. Sherman III focuses on the role of corporate lawyers in the implementation of the Guiding Principles in their role as wise legal counselors.
John is an internationally recognized thought leader on this subject. He chairs the business and human rights working group of the International Bar Association. He writes frequently in professional and academic journals and is a sought-after speaker at legal conferences and workshops, advocating for lawyers’ role in ensuring companies do business with respect for human rights. John is a founder of the IBA CSR Committee and was its co-chair from 2008 to 2010. Learn more
