Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting
Department
Accounting
First Advisor
Ramgopal Venkataraman
Second Advisor
Yuan Ji
Third Advisor
Chandrani Chatterjee
Fourth Advisor
Mahmut Yasar
Abstract
The increasing frequency of climate-related litigation presents significant risks for high-emitting firms, leading many to adopt strategies that reduce legal exposure and associated costs. General Counsel (GC), due to their legal expertise, are increasingly integrated into top management to help firms navigate this complex regulatory environment. Using an ordered logit model, this study finds that firms with higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are more likely to have a GC to their executive team. The presence of a GC in top management leads to a lower likelihood of the firm being fined for violations as well as lower penalties of federal or state environmental laws. However, both these effects are attenuated for firms with high emissions. For firms with GCs below top management, there is no significant difference from firms with no GCs in any of the analyses. In the post-violation period, firms with GCs in top leadership show greater reductions in emissions and face fewer penalties compared to firms where the GC holds a less prominent role, suggesting a meaningful corrective influence. These findings underscore the dual role of GCs as legal experts and strategic leaders, highlighting their ability to align compliance oversight with broader managerial objectives.
Keywords
litigation risk; carbon emissions; general counsel; top management
Disciplines
Accounting
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Rahman, Mahmud, "Legal Expertise and the Litigation Risk from Carbon Emissions" (2025). Accounting Dissertations. 53.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/accounting_dissertations/53