Emma Elizabeth "Bessie" Antin Daschbach

Bessie Antin Daschbach spearheads the firm's multi-disciplinary Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) team, helping clients and the firm navigate ESG issues in support of sustainable growth. For over two decades, Bessie has steered her clients' cases to successful resolutions in litigation. She applies that deep experience to orient clients towards proactive sustainability and ESG solutions, including mitigating environmental and social risks.

Bessie holds a certificate in Sustainable Capitalism & ESG from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Executive Education. She is a long-standing adjunct environmental law professor at Tulane University School of Law, where she designed and teaches the Tulane Masters of Jurisprudence course on sustainability and ESG.

Bessie's long record in high-risk litigation strongly positions her to anticipate and resolve client sustainability and ESG issues. She began her career as a trial and appellate lawyer and accumulated more than twenty years of experience in litigation and arbitration around environmental, international, commercial, and construction disputes. She helped Louisiana landowners resolve claims against some of the largest oil and gas operators in land and groundwater contamination cases. She also led the landmark Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority–East case against nearly 100 oil and gas companies.

Before joining the firm, Bessie handled construction and commercial litigation at a national New Orleans-based firm and a full-service firm in New York City. For more than ten years, Bessie managed the environmental practice at another New Orleans-based firm and was instrumental in launching the firm's international arbitration practice. She also worked with the International Labor Organization in Bangkok, the United Nations Legal Affairs Codification Division, and the Open Society Justice Initiative in New York City.

• American College of Environmental Lawyers
  • Impact Task Force, 2023 – present
  • Justice Committee, 2022 – present
  • Pro Bono Committee, 2022 – present
• Land Trust for Louisiana
  • Board of Directors, 2023 – present
• Louisiana State Bar Association
  • Environmental Law Section
• New York State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association

• Professional
  • Selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Environmental Law, 2016 – 2024; Litigation – Environmental, 2022 – 2024
    • Ranking also featured by Biz New Orleans in their annual "Best Lawyers in New Orleans" supplement
  • Recognized on the Super Lawyers list by Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2022, 2024
  • Recognized as "Lawyer of the Year" by The Best Lawyers in America© for Environmental Law in New Orleans, 2023
  • Selected as Fellow by the American College of Environmental Lawyers, 2021
  • Recognized by Best Lawyers® for Environmental Law and Litigation, 2017 – 2020
  • Named to the "Women of the Year" list by New Orleans CityBusiness, 2016
  • Named to the "Leaders in Law" list by New Orleans CityBusiness, 2015
  • Named a "Top Lawyer" by New Orleans Magazine, 2014 – 2015
  • Selected as Fellow by Loyola University Institute of Politics, 2015
• Academic
  • Columbia Law School
    • Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
  • Tulane Law School
    • Order of the Coif
    • Civil Law Studies Award
    • McGlinchey Scholar

Bessie is an adjunct professor at Tulane University Law School, where she teaches Coastal and Wetlands Law and the Masters of Jurisprudence course on sustainability and ESG. She is also a frequent lecturer at Loyola University School of Law, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and the New Orleans Bar Association.

Recent industry presentations include:

• Panelist, "ESG – Survey of the Legal Landscape, Challenges & Opportunities CLE," Annual Symposium of the North Carolina Journal of International Law, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, April 5, 2024
• "What's new in ESG," Southwest Association of Bank Counsel (SWABC), Webinar, March 21, 2024
• Panelist, "Environmental Litigation," Global Access Week 2024, London, U.K., March 13, 2024
• Co-Presenter, "Louisiana Clean, Green Industry – Legislative Incentives and Economic Benefits," Louisiana State Bar Association's Utility Section CLE, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, December 1, 2023
• "Exploring Career Paths in Sustainability/ESG," Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17, 2023
• "The Cutting Edge of ESG, Understanding Varied State Measures, SEC Disclosure Rules, Insurance & More," Capitol Forum, Webinar, August 8, 2023
• "Legislating ESG," The International Legislative Drafting Institute, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 22, 2023
• Panelist, "Public Trust Doctrine: An Evolving Legal Theory for an Evolving Coastline," State of the Coast: Together Again, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 2, 2023
• Panelist, "Environmental, Social and Governance Aspects of Decarbonization," State of the Coast: Together Again, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 1, 2023
• Panelist, "Climate Risk Management Today," Women in Housing & Finance 2023 Symposium, Washington, D.C., May 25, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "The DEI in ESG," Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Foundation, Virtual Event, May 18, 2023
• "ESG: What Is It and What You (and Your Business) Should Know," 2023 Auto Finance Seminar: Driving Ahead: Auto Finance Insights from Industry Leaders, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 2023
• "ESG and Climate Change," International Seminar RISDOC V, The Challenge of Resilience for Urban Coastal Zones in Cuba and the Caribbean, Virtual Event, May 2, 2023
• "Captain Planet – The Forces Behind (and Against) ESG," Hinshaw U, Webinar, April 27, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Governance – Carrots or Sticks: It's Bugs Bunny Policy, But Investors Have Their Say," Loyola Environment Program Spring 2023 Roundtable Series, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 20, 2023
• Panelist, "Environment: Claims, Regulation and Compliance," Global Access Week 2023, London, U.K., March 8, 2023
• Panelist, "D&O: ESG and Other Risks," Global Access Week 2023, London, U.K., March 8, 2023
• "USA-CUBA Key Environmental Issues: Lessons Learned - Lessons Shared, Community Enforcement of Environmental Laws," American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL/FANJ), Havana, Cuba, February 9-10, 2023
• "ESG: What is it and why you (and your clients) should know," New Orleans Bar Association By Young Lawyers, Procrastinators' Programs CLE For Young Lawyers, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 21, 2022

• "At a Glance: SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Challenges," ACOEL, April 10, 2024
• "ESG at the SEC: Is It Leading or Lagging?," The Journal of Federal Agency Action, Volume 2, Number 2, March–April 2024 
• "ESG: Increasing Reach Into Supply Chains," Daily Business Review, August 23, 2023
• Co-Author, "What The ESG Divide Means For Insurers And Beyond," Law360, July 13, 2023
• Co-Author, "The Impact of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decisions on Insurers and Other Companies and Market Consequences of ESG Missteps," Insights for Insurers, July 5, 2023
• "Scope Of Fla. Anti-ESG Law: What We Know And Don't Know," Law360, June 27, 2023
• "ESG: What Is the Outlook?," The American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL), January 11, 2023

Media Mentions

• "Why GCs Shouldn't Sit on Complying With SEC Climate Rule," Law360, March 8, 2024
• "SEC Adopts Climate Disclosure Rules in 3-2 Vote," Hart Energy, March 6, 2024
• "Three-State Test Critical To Evaluating Carrier Climate Risk," Law360 Insurance Authority, February 12, 2024
• "The SEC Dropped ESG From 2024 Priorities. Now What?, Law360, October 18, 2023
• "California Gov. Newsom signs 2 major climate disclosure bills but worries about ‘overall financial impact’," ESG Dive, October 10, 2023
• "SEC Presses Ahead With Proposed ESG Disclosure Rules as GOP Lawmakers Cry Foul," National Law Journal, July 11, 2023
• "Texas ESG Ban Strains Insurance Industry, ClimateAction," Law360, June 26, 2023
• "Hinshaw Taps Ex-Jones Swanson Head To Lead ESG Team," Law360 Pulse, February 1, 2023
• "Wake Up Call," Bloomberg Law, January 31, 2023

• Salon22, Charter Member and General Counsel, 2022 – present
• American Heart Association, 2023 Go Red for Women Executive Leadership Team, 2022 – 2023