With global climate change becoming such a big deal - just the future of the world is all - is anyone surprised that the major law firms are turning it into a separate practice group? L.A.-based Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton is one of the latest entrants, with Randolph Visser, co-leader of the new group, figuring that 80 to 90 percent of existing clients are impacted in one way or another. Much of it involves changes in state and federal regulations. From the Recorder:

So far, work is coming to firms in several areas. There's litigation as environmental groups sue to invalidate environmental studies that don't include climate change information. Clients are also looking for advice on ways to reduce their own emissions and get credit for it. They're also asking firms to monitor the impact of rulings and legislation, such as AB 32, California's 2006 effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions, the first state attempt of its kind. "It's not as if people watched Al Gore's movie ["An Inconvenient Truth"] and suddenly started calling lawyers, but when California passed that bill, that really got our clients' attention," said M. Elizabeth McDaniel, Sheppard's co-leader of the new group. "At that point, it was obvious this was not going to be an isolated event but was the beginning of a trend."