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PRO BONO & CITIZENSHIP
Whether it is a multi-jurisdictional pro bono legal matter, fundraising for a worthy cause, or working with our own supply chain to embed best practice, we focus on building relationships so that we obtain the best possible result for everyone involved. Our work was recognised this year with the firm winning the Pro Bono Award in the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2019.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Whether we are supporting a charity through fundraising, or providing mentoring or scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged high school students, we offer multiple ways to facilitate and support the relationships our people develop with community partners. SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES We recognise that we all have a part to play in ensuring that we balance our growth as a business with doing what we can to reduce our impact on the environment. Our sustainability strategy has four pillars: reducing our environmental impact, engaging our people in sustainability issues, leadership and supporting charities acting on climate change through our pro bono and community work. BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) we are committed to being a responsible business. As a participant in the UNGC, we are explicitly committed to respecting internationally-recognised human rights and to ensure that we are not complicit in human rights abuses through our supply chain and stakeholder relationships.
TRAINEE CASE
PRO BONO CONTRIBUTION LONDON 2019 £7.2m
TRAINEE CASE: BEAM Warren joined Herbert Smith Freehills as a trainee and began advising BEAM, the UK’s first online platform used to crowdfund employment training for the homeless. The project presented many complex legal and commercial issues, but for Warren, this made it all the more exciting. AS A TRAINEE, WARREN WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN KEY AGREEMENTS AND HELPED BUILD INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO HELP MAKE THE CONCEPT OF BEAM INTO A REALITY. Many of the problems he and his team faced lacked precedents, but this drove him to be creative in his approach to understanding the wider crowd-funding sector. This included drafting agreements with BEAM’s key stakeholders, producing pitches to potential investors and applying complex areas of company and charity law to BEAM’s framework as a technology start-up. Warren soon became one of BEAM’s main points of contact, attending board meetings and supporting negotiations with third parties, where he was able to flex his legal and client skills. Joining BEAM’s team was a great experience for Warren. He developed as a lawyer and made an impact with an organisation that has helped change lives. Warren qualified at the end of his training contract into our Corporate division and has been able to continue his work with BEAM in his role as an associate.
CONTRIBUTION
22,869 HOURSOF ADVICE
And while today’s business environment presents complex challenges, it is also an exciting time to be a responsible global professional services business. We are uniquely placed to respond to a range of needs that exist in the communities and regions in which we do business. We are rising to the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world in which human rights abuses and climate change have the potential to affect every community. We are also committed to the process of creating a truly sustainable professional services business. Our initiatives fall broadly within the following four areas: PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICES All lawyers are encouraged to participate in the firm’s pro bono programme – whether internationally or closer to home, it is up to you which projects you get involved with. We focus on five key areas: access to justice, international development, social impact investment, not-for-profit advisory work and human rights (particularly anti-trafficking and anti-slavery).
Not only has this helped me to develop as a lawyer, but it has also been rewarding to be involved in such an impactful project.
WARREN WELLINGTON, (BEAM) – PRO BONO
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