Abbey Raish
Overview
Abbey Raish is a corporate partner in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and a member of the Firm’s Sustainability Practice Group. She advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and private equity firms on a broad range of sustainability-related matters, including corporate transactions, fund formation, regulatory compliance, corporate governance and sustainability strategies.
Abbey leverages her extensive transactional background to provide clients with tailored, commercial solutions. Previously a partner in the Firm’s Capital Markets Practice Group, Abbey has over a decade of experience regularly advising on complex transactional matters, including initial public offerings, debt and equity offerings, leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, SPAC transactions and cross-border deals. She also brings a wealth of experience guiding clients on disclosure and compliance, board and shareholder governance and general corporate law matters.
Abbey has significant experience navigating the rapidly evolving landscape of global climate regulation, including California’s climate disclosure laws, and routinely counsels clients on alignment with voluntary reporting frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Clients value her commercial vision and thoughtful, pragmatic approach to the development and implementation of effective climate solutions. Abbey is also a trusted advisor to corporate boards and executive teams, building practical, forward-looking sustainability strategies and responsible investment policies that drive value creation.
Throughout her legal career, Abbey has represented Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries and some of the world’s most sophisticated private equity firms, investment banks and financial institutions in both corporate transactional and sustainability matters.
Experience
Representative Matters
Sustainability Counseling
- Development and enhancement of sustainability-focused policies and procedures, with a particular emphasis on responsible investing, climate resilience and corporate governance
- Design and implementation of climate strategy, including climate commitments, emerging regulation and compliance strategy and carbon markets and carbon credits
- Disclosure and communications, including alignment with industry-leading frameworks such as TCFD, ISSB, PRI, EDCI, GRESB, SASB and SBTi
- Sustainability linked loans and financing frameworks
Capital Markets and Public Company Counseling
- Structuring and negotiating a wide range of financing, commercial and other transactions, including leveraged buyouts initial public offerings, secondary offerings, corporate restructurings, SPAC transactions, exchange offers, investment grade debt offerings, high-yield debt offerings, mergers, acquisitions and cross-border transactions
- Advisory on risk management and compliance program considerations, corporate governance matters, securities law issues, and stakeholder relations, including crisis management.
- Advisory on Exchange Act filings, SEC correspondence, stockholder engagement and listing exchange requirements
Funds Formation Counseling
- Advisory on structuring and launching funds across diverse industries — including technology, energy transition, climate and digital infrastructure, real estate and healthcare — tailored to varying stages of sustainability integration and regulatory considerations across jurisdictions
- Navigating the evolving landscape of investor expectations regarding sustainability integration and reporting across global markets
- Counseling on U.S. policy and legislative developments and the related risk landscape
M&A/Private Equity Counseling
- Sustainability diligence, delivering tailored insights aligned with firm- and fund-specific commitments and priorities
- Negotiating sustainability-focused representations and warranties, covenants and information rights
- Strategic exit planning, addressing disclosures, deal documentation, and key buyer considerations
Prior Experience
More
Thought Leadership
Publications
Author, “Environmental, Social & Governance Law ESG Integration in Contracts: Trends and Opportunities 2025,” ICLG's 2025 Environmental, Social & Governance Law Report, January 2025
Author “California Legislature Regulates Voluntary Carbon Market and Climate-Related Claims,” Kirkland Alert, October 5, 2023
Author “California Legislature Passes Landmark Climate Disclosure Bills,” Kirkland Alert, September 21, 2023
Author, “ISSB Releases Final Global Sustainability Disclosure Standards,” Kirkland Alert, June 29, 2023
Author, “California Climate Disclosure Bills Would Have Far-Reaching Implications for Companies Doing Business in the State,” Kirkland Alert, April 14, 2023
Author, “Voluntary Carbon markets Standard-Setter Issues ‘Core Carbon Principles,’” Kirkland Alert, April 6, 2023
Co-author, “What Cos. Can Expect from FTC’s Green Guides Updates,” Law360, January 12, 2023
Author, “SEC Proposes New Climate Disclosure Requirements,” Kirkland Alert, March 24, 2022
Speaking Engagements
Speaker, “Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance,” Environmental Law Institute, May 1, 2025
Moderator, “ESG & Impact Fireside Chat,” Kayo 2024 Women in M&A Summit, October 7, 2024
Moderator, “Staying out of the Enforcement Crosshairs: Exploring the Blueprint to ESG Reporting and Disclosures Compliance,” Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL), September 23, 2024
Moderator, “Navigating the Future: Understanding the impact of the US SEC Climate Rules,” PEI Responsible Investment Forum West, September 5, 2024
Speaker, “Climate Disclosures Workshop,” 63rd Annual Corporate Counsel Institute (CCI), June 6–7, 2024
Speaker, “ESG, From Backlash to Regulations: What Boards Should Know Now,” Diligent NextGen Board Leaders, May 21, 2024
Speaker, “SEC Climate Ruling Deep Dive,” Corporate Director Podcast, Diligent Institute, April 3, 2024
Speaker, “Briefing on SEC’s Final Climate Disclosure Rules,” Kirkland Webinar, March 12, 2024
Speaker, “Global ESG Regulatory Overview,” The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics ESG and Compliance Conference, November 30, 2023
Speaker, “Reputational Risk & Creating A Purposeful Corporate Culture: What Does Your Organization Stand For?” ALM’s Women, Influence & Power in Law, October 2023
Moderator, “Staying Ahead of the Curve: Navigating ESG Regulations & Sustainability Disclosures,” ALM General Counsel Conference Midwest, April 19–20, 2023
Speaker, "Raising ESG to the Board Level," Diligent, July 20, 2022
Keynote Speaker, “DEI Champions: Driving Change, Getting Buy-In and Leveraging Success,” Centerforce: Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership, November 9, 2022
Speaker, "How to Elevate Climate Leadership to the Board Level and Beyond," 2022 Climate Leadership Conference, May 25–26, 2022
Press Mentions
Quoted, “Finance Executives Hope Certainty is Ahead on ESG Disclosure,” Wall Street Journal, December 27, 2023
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- California
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
Education
- Northwestern Pritzker School of LawJ.D.2012
- University of PennsylvaniaB.A., International Relations2004