Corporate social responsibility:
www.freshfields.com/csr
Our CSR partners and contacts We welcome feedback on our approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Please email us at
[email protected] or contact: Chair, community and pro bono committee
Guy Morton Senior partner
Chair, CSR working group
Crispin Hain-Cole Partnership secretary
Chair, diversity working group
Guy Morton Senior partner
Chair, environmental working group
John Blain Partner, environment, planning and regulatory practice
Head of CSR and community investment
Bea Malleson
Head of pro bono
Clarissa O’Callaghan
Partners responsible for CSR across the network: London
John Blain
Mainland Europe
Amsterdam Barcelona and Madrid Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich Bratislava and Vienna Brussels Milan Moscow Paris Rome
Dirk-Jan Smit Miguel Klingenberg Dietmar Knopp Christof Pöchhacker Thomas Janssens Vittorio Salvadori di Wiesenhoff Jacky Baudon Emmanuel Bénard Gian Luca Zampa
Asia and Middle East
Beijing Dubai Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Shanghai Tokyo
Jack Wang Joe Huse Tony Foster Connie Carnabuci Alan Wang James Lawden
US
New York and Washington
Melissa Raciti-Knapp
Contents Our CSR partners and contacts
2
Welcome
1
1. Highlights and new developments
3
2. Senior partners’ statement
5
4. About us
8
4.1 Our firm at a glance
9
4.1.1 Our people
10
4.1.2 Our environmental impact
12
4.1.3 Our community and pro bono work
13
4.2 Management structure
13
4.3 Organisational change and review
14
5. CSR reporting
16
5.1 Engaging our stakeholders
17
5.2 CSR structure
19
5.3 Our CSR partners and contacts
20
5.4 Meeting and setting targets
22
5.4.1 General
23
5.4.2 Stakeholder engagement
24
5.4.3 Our people and diversity
25
5.4.4 Climate change and the environment
26
5.4.5 Community and pro bono legal advice
27
5.5 Methodology and assurance 5.5.1 GRI guidelines index
5.6 External assurance statement and commentary: introduction
28 29
34
5.6.1 Commentary
35
5.6.2 Looking ahead
36
5.6.3 Our relationship with Freshfields; the assurance process
38
5.7 London Benchmarking Group assurance
40
6. Law and ethics
41
6.1 Conflicts of interest and confidential information
42
6.2 Anti-money laundering
43
6.3 CSR and our role as lawyers
44 This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. ©Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer 2008
7. Our people and diversity
46
7.1 Our culture
47
7.2 Our people around the world
49
7.3 Recent diversity statistics: firm-wide
51
7.4 Our people in London
53
7.4.1 Gender 2006/7
53
7.4.2 Ethnicity 2006/7
54
7.4.3 Disability 2006/7
55
7.4.4 Sexual orientation 2006/7
56
7.4.5 Recent diversity statistics for London
57
7.5 Diversity: our trainees
58
7.6 Diversity: developing and reaching new talent
60
7.7 Developing our people
62
7.8 Reward
64
7.9 Support and well-being
65
7.10 Equality
67
7.11 Health and safety
68
7.12 Diversity working group
70
8. Climate change and the environment
71
8.1 Our environmental impact
73
8.1.1 Greenhouse Gas Protocol
76
8.2 Supply chain management
78
8.3 IT and the environment
79
8.4 Looking to the future
81
8.5 Environmental and sustainability policy
82
8.6 Environmental activities in London
83
8.7 Environmental working group
86
9. Community and pro bono legal advice
87
9. 1 Working with young people
89
9.2 Homelessness
91
9.3 Human rights
93
9.3.1 Examples of our human rights work
95
9.4 Access to justice
97
9.5 Community team challenges
99
9.6 Activities in London
100
9.6.1 Working with disadvantaged young people
101
9.6.2 Working with homeless people
103
9.6.3 Access to justice
105
9.6.4 Human rights
107
9.6.5 Community Challenge
108
9.6.6 What we give in London
109
9.6.7 Community and pro bono memberships and sponsorships
111
9.7 Activities in mainland Europe
112
9.7.1 Austria and Slovakia
113
9.7.2 Belgium
114
9.7.3 France
116
9.7.4 Germany
118
9.7.5 Italy
121
9.7.6 The Netherlands
122
9.7.7 Russia
123
9.7.8 Spain
124
9.8 Activities in Asia and the Middle East
125
9.9 Activities in the US
128
9.10 Our community and pro bono policy
130
9.10.1 Our approach
131
9.10.2 What we give
133
9.10.3 What we give to
135
9.10.4 Our volunteers
137
9.11 Community and pro bono committee
139
9.12 Community and pro bono awards
140
Welcome Welcome to our corporate social responsibility (CSR) report for 2006/7. ‘Making a difference around the world’ covers our 26 offices in line with our pledge in our first CSR report to expand the scope of our reporting to include our international activities. We are the first major international law firm to produce an externally audited CSR report. We are proud of our report in which we have assessed our progress against our commitment to being a socially and environmentally responsible business. We have found it a useful and thought-provoking exercise, which we expect will lead to further improvements in the way we conduct our business. Preparing the report
Our CSR report uses recognised reporting guidelines to provide information in a systematic way on our commitments, activities, achievements and approach to social and environmental responsibility in our offices around the world. We hope this report helps to improve your understanding of our firm and the way we conduct our business and that it gives you an insight into our commitment to the environment, to the communities we work in, to pro bono legal work and to the people who work here and may work here in the future. Most of the data is for our financial year May 2006 to April 2007. We have also included comparisons with previous years and information on more recent activities to ensure it reflects what we are doing now. What’s new
Several new dimensions have emerged since our 2004/5 London-focused CSR report, in particular the way our CSR commitments are evolving and developing across our network of offices, our international response to the issue of climate change and the increasing involvement of our associates in shaping our business. Looking forward, into 2008 and beyond, our web-based report enables us to provide up to date information for our 26 offices in 15 countries and to minimise our contribution to climate change.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
1
Highlights
Winner CSR Firm of the Year 2007 Legal Business Awards Certified CarbonNeutral® across all our offices Launch of Community Challenge, our first firm-wide community and pro bono legal advice initiative, involving over 600 people in 23 offices Business in the Community Big Tick Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people Commitment to three-year sponsorship of Shelter, a charity committed to reducing homelessness Support for Pathways to Law, a new diversity scheme to encourage students from a wider range of backgrounds to enter the law Launch of associate engagement groups to explore areas of interest to our people, including work/life balance and flexible working Winner Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007
Assurance
For us, CSR reporting is an opportunity to provide information on our social and environmental impacts in a systematic way using recognised benchmark comparisons. In 2006, we were the first major international law firm to produce a CSR report in this way and with external commentary. Our second report is not only firm-wide but also externally audited. The Corporate Citizenship Company has assured our 2006/7 report using the AA1000 international assurance standard and the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. Our community and pro bono data is validated by the London Benchmarking Group and our carbon footprint has been independently assured by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.
2
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
1. Highlights and new developments Corporate social responsibility
Winner CSR Firm of the Year 2007 Legal Business Awards (UK). ‘Freshfields led the way in the legal sector by being the first law firm to produce a CSR report under the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in January 2006. The firm has also been a strong supporter of human rights group Reprieve.’ The establishment of new working groups on the environment and diversity in 2007 and a community and pro bono committee in 2006 to give strategic direction to our firm-wide initiatives. The appointment of partners and co-ordinators responsible for interpreting, developing, managing, implementing and integrating our CSR strategy and commitments in all our offices.
Climate change and the environment
Our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by April 2008 and becoming CarbonNeutral® firm-wide as certified by The CarbonNeutral Company to help minimise our contribution to climate change. The setting up of green teams comprising a wide cross-section of the people in our offices, as well as our environmental working group, to help us achieve our environmental commitments. The offsetting of the remaining greenhouse gases we produce through our use of energy, business travel and other activities reduces our CO2 emissions to net zero, enabling us to be certified CarbonNeutral® firm-wide. The announcement of our financial support of the Carbon Capture Legal programme at University College London’s Centre for Law and the Environment, which provides information on this technology, identified by the Stern Report and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as potentially playing a significant role in tackling climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases associated with the use of fossil fuels. Our successive Clean City Awards since 1999 for our London office, showing we have reduced our impact on the environment by reusing and recycling resources, minimising waste, using renewable energy and encouraging the use of public transport and cycling.
Diversity
Our support for the College of Law and Sutton Trust’s new diversity scheme, Pathways to Law, designed to encourage more students from different backgrounds to enter the law. Working with London School of Economics we will offer work experience placements to pupils from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university and whose parents are in non-professional occupations. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
3
Our support for the new City Solicitors’ Educational Trust Summer School programme, which aims to recruit a wider range of people into the commercial legal profession. The creation of associate engagement initiatives to help shape the development of our firm. In our London office, several working groups have been set up to offer solutions to issues including work/life balance, flexible working, mentoring and work allocation. The establishment of our diversity working group.
Community and pro bono
4
We have been awarded The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people: the ‘range of projects including supporting the homeless charity Crisis on its Urban Village project by providing free legal advice on housing issues made their entry stand out. Most notable was a programme designed to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion through providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice.’ Being awarded a Business in the Community Big Tick 2007 for our Ready for Work programme, which provides work experience placements to homeless people. Between 2000-2007, 126 individuals have completed successful placements at the firm, 14 of whom have taken up permanent jobs here. Several others have gone on to work elsewhere. The Big Tick is given to companies that can demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour on society, as well as on the company itself. Our first international Community Challenge initiative, which encouraged people to get involved in team challenges benefiting the communities near our offices. The announcement in November 2007 of our £232,000, three year sponsorship of Shelter’s new Children’s Legal Service as part of the homeless charity’s Keys for the Future initiative to end child homelessness. We will be providing additional pro bono legal advice for the Children’s Legal Service and we hope volunteers will also get involved in Shelter’s project in Newham, supporting local children living in temporary accommodation. Our involvement as a lead partner in a CSR Europe initiative, which will be presenting results and recommendations to the European Commission in 2008. The project seeks to demonstrate how volunteering can develop skills for employability, particularly among disadvantaged groups of people across the EU. We are part of the European Alliance for CSR – a joint initiative of the European Commission and the business community.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
2. Senior partners’ statement Our report, Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world, is an opportunity to assess how we are doing, on an international scale, in our commitment to being a socially and environmentally responsible business, and our aspirations to be an excellent employer and to have a positive impact on the communities where we work. We aim to be a leader among the international law firms in the field of corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially in our commitment to minimising our contribution to climate change and to rigorous, independently assured CSR reporting. Using recognised benchmarks, our report covers a wider variety of activities and commitments that make up and influence our approach to CSR, explores how we have largely met the targets set in our first CSR report and describes our aims for the future. We are committed to being a responsible business because it matters to us and the people who are important to us – particularly the people who work here. We also believe that improving our understanding and delivery of our social and environmental responsibilities is important to sustaining our success as a leading international law firm, and in improving our understanding of the local and international markets and communities we work in. For our firm, success in CSR is being responsible, as well as profitable; taking a responsible approach to climate change and minimising our impact on the environment; being a good employer; and ensuring that we are attracting and retaining people from the widest possible pool of talent. For us, sustainability is also about investing in the future by helping to improve the skills and aspirations of young people and homeless people; working with our community partners to help identify and meet the needs of the communities where we work and the issues that are pertinent to us; and making a valuable contribution to promoting human rights and improving access to justice for people in need. In 2006, we were the first major law firm to produce a CSR report. That report was mainly London-focused. As an international firm, we set ourselves the target of producing an international report and extending our CSR activities across our international network. We are proud to be producing our first firm-wide CSR report and look forward to producing more in the future. We have found it a useful and thought-provoking exercise, which we expect will lead to further improvements in the way we conduct our business.
Konstantin Mettenheimer and Guy Morton Senior partners Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
5
3. Looking forward: our approach to sustainability Why is social and environmental responsibility important to us?
Being a successful law firm is often measured by the quality of a firm’s client base, the scale of its turnover, its profitability or by the receipt of peer awards. These factors are clearly important, and inform the actions and practices in running our business. But they are not enough.
For us to consider ourselves truly successful, we decided that we should seek to achieve our goals in a way that is responsible and positively beneficial to those involved with, or affected by, our firm. What has this meant in practice?
To me, it has meant a number of things. First, we make sure, as best we can, that our working practices are efficient and sustainable. It falls to each area of our business to look at the way it works and to see where carbon economies can be achieved. Significant improvements have been made over a number of years on this score. Second, we want to use the considerable talents and energies within the firm at all levels and across our international network to make a real contribution to the communities in which we operate – both the legal communities in which we hope to provide leadership and guidance in key areas, and our local communities, in which we can help in all sorts of ways, both directly related to our practice and otherwise. We see this not only as our responsibility but also as a rewarding opportunity: the communities benefit and we know that those working here benefit in participating in the varied schemes that have run for many years now. And that brings me to the final issue. We are striving to do all that we can to make everyone here a contented, motivated and diverse group, focused on the common goal of achieving the objectives of the firm in a sustainable way that makes them satisfied and proud to be part of the firm. We know that we have further to go on all these issues and that getting there will not be easy. Some of our goals will only be achieved by sustained effort over the longer term. We recognise that there is much to do in embedding and improving the processes in the various offices and regions in which we operate to ensure that our working practices best ensure sustainable development. Given the size and structure of some of these offices, the speed at which such policies may be implemented may vary. But we are committed to making the necessary changes, and it is evident that there is the will, enthusiasm and means within the firm, at all levels, to achieve these goals. This report is a step along the way.
6
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
In overseeing the production of this report, it was evident that, while there are many challenges to tackle, the firm makes a great number of really positive contributions in many areas, over and above continuing to provide a good service for its clients. This is through the hard work and commitment of the people who work here and it makes me proud to work with them. I hope that they are proud of themselves. We hope you enjoy reading it!
John Blain Partner responsible for CSR, and chair of our environmental working group
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
7
4. About us We are a leading international law firm providing legal and regulatory advice and solutions to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments around the world. In 2007, as in previous years, our firm and many individuals within it received awards in recognition of their skilled legal work and their dedication to producing outstanding client-focused results. However, we recognise that being a business, in the legal sector, involves much more than this. We are a large employer, with nearly 5,500 people worldwide. We have responsibilities to ensure our people are engaged, enthused and cared for in an environment that encourages them to make the best use of their talents and personalities to advance their careers. We have responsibilities to ensure that, notwithstanding the highly competitive market in which we operate, the manner and working practices we adopt to provide the high quality client service required have as little impact on the environment as possible. And we recognise that we must be prepared to make changes to our working practices to fulfil that responsibility. We have responsibilities to ensure that the communities with which we have contact – the legal community and the communities local to our offices – benefit from harnessing the considerable talents and energies within our firm. This includes both acting accordingly and promoting better practices or procedures within the legal community, as well as making a positive difference to our local communities. These commitments and responsibilities are important to guiding the way we conduct our business and we hope they will contribute to our continued success. Being local
Our approach is founded on the belief that to be a global leader we must also be attuned to the needs of local markets and cultures. Understanding our clients, the people who work here and the communities surrounding our offices, as well as wider society, is important to this. So too is understanding our social and environmental impacts and responsibilities on a local and international scale. This belief underpins our approach to CSR and is a major reason for undertaking a firm-wide CSR report for our financial year 2006/7. Find our more about our firm at www.freshfields.com. For a list of our awards, see www.freshfields.com/aboutus/awards/.
8
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
4.1 Our firm at a glance We are a leading international law firm, with more than 2,400 lawyers worldwide, combining a depth of local knowledge with a breadth of expertise across practice areas and borders. In 2008, we have 26 offices in 15 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US; our corporate social responsibility report covers these offices for our financial reporting period 2006/7. Firm-wide turnover in 2006/7: £986m Profits per partner in 2006/7: £1.034m Our firm at a glance: our offices
Average headcount during 2006/7
London
2,121
Mainland Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome, Vienna
2,896
Asia and Middle East: Beijing, Dubai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo
358
US: New York, Washington
118
Worldwide
5,493
Find out more about our firm, our work, our people, the values that guide us, our practice groups and industries we work in at www.freshfields.com. Our work
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourwork/
Our clients
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourclients/
Our practice groups
www.freshfields.com/practices/
Our industry groups
www.freshfields.com/industries/
Our offices around the world
www.freshfields.com/locations/
Our people
www.freshfields.com/people/
Our beliefs
www.freshfields.com/careers/ourbeliefs/
Our culture
www.freshfields.com/csr/diversity/ourculture/
The values that guide us
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourvalues/
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
9
4.1.1 Our people Our people 2006/7 6000
Employees
5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0
London
Our people: lawyers and business services 2006/7
Partners and principal consultants
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
US
Worldwide
Partners and principal consultants
Trainees
Associates
Other fee earners (paralegals, assistants, practice support lawyers, consultants)
Associates
Trainees
Business services
Paralegals
Business services
Worldwide
London
184
569
200
160
1,008
2,121
Mainland Europe
276
942
71
300
1,307
2,896
Asia and Middle East
22
110
15
57
154
358
US
20
44
1
6
47
118
502
1,665
287
523
2,516
5,493
Worldwide
10
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Our people: gender 2006/7 by region 100 90 80
43
44
57
56
35
43
43
57
57
US
Worldwide
70 %
60 50 40 30
65
20 10 0
London
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
Percentage split Male Female
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
11
4.1.2 Our environmental impact Our environmental impact 2006/7 20 000 17 500 15 000 12 500 10 000 7 500 5 000 2 500 0 London
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
US
Worldwide
Tonnes of CO2 equivalent (TCDE)
Premises
Deliveries by third parties
Business travel
Our environmental impact in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
Premises
Business travel
Tonnes of CO2 equivalent (TCDE)
(TCDE)
Deliveries by third parties
Total TCDE
(TCDE)
2006/7 London
2,118
2,110
184
4,412
Mainland Europe
7,382
4,526
50
11,958
Asia and Middle East
1,065
1,178
57
2,300
456
502
7
965
11,021
8,316
298
19,635
US Worldwide
Premises includes electricity, gas, heating oil and district heating consumption, back-up generator fuel use, refrigerant gas loss, fire extinguishers and waste disposal. Business travel includes hire cars, employee owned cars, taxis, air, rail and hotel night stays. All data provided on this page has been independently reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.
12
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
4.1.3 Our community and pro bono work Our community and pro bono work 2006/7 As analysed using the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) model
London Mainland Europe
The value of our programme (including cash, time, and in-kind contributions)
Worldwide
Hours contributed to community and pro bono work
£2,537,587
35
19,565
£328,388
18
3,504
£99,308
11
761
£144,690
42
1,175
£3,109,973
24
25,005
Asia and Middle East US
Percentage of people involved
Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to LBG measurement principles. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company. 4.2 Management structure Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a partnership. The firm’s principal policy body is the partnership council. It includes our two senior partners and 15 elected members, assisted by the partnership secretary. The council delegates authority for day-to-day decision making to the central management team, comprising the two senior partners and the chief executive, assisted by the managing partner. The senior partners are elected by the partners for a five-year term (renewable for one further five-year term). The chief executive and managing partner are appointed by the senior partners with the approval of the partnership council. Locally, each of our offices has its own office managing partner who is responsible for the management of the business and the reputation of the firm in each location. As a partnership we do not have a traditional head office. Our largest office is in London. As we are a private business, tax is principally the responsibility of the partners to pay individually, rather than the business. For more information about our firm see www.freshfields.com.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
13
4.3 Organisational change and review As a business in a highly competitive field, we have to respond and adapt to commercial pressures. This imperative drives a need for periodic reviews of the structure of our business. Our clients rightly expect us to be efficient and to keep our costs under control. During 2006/7 we implemented a number of structural and organisational changes designed to make us more competitive, which had an effect on our people. Our approach was to engage individuals and groups in the process of change and to support individuals who were affected. These changes resulted in the departure of a number of partners, as well as a reduction in people in our business services departments. We did our best to be sensitive and generous to those who left the firm as a result of these changes, and this remains our guiding principle when dealing with such matters, irrespective of the level of the individual. We offered career coaching to all those affected. Through the support that was provided, building on the quality of the experience gained in the firm, many of those affected found roles outside the firm. Engaging our people in change
We recognised that such period of change, however well motivated and successfully implemented, gives lead to unease among our people. There were concerns about whether the organisational changes would give rise to a firm with different values and a different culture. To deal with people’s concerns we recognised the principal – and perhaps – only way to give this message effectively was to engage in increased dialogue with the people who work here, to explain to fee earners and business services alike the goals and challenges ahead and to underline the firm’s continuing values and commitments, notwithstanding the organisational change. This process has been well received, with the establishment of associate engagement groups and with question and answer sessions between senior management and each of the departments. As time passes, we hope the continued success of the firm has helped to reassure people. However, we recognise that ongoing dialogue is essential to the development of the firm and to providing continuing reassurance in light of the recent changes. Reviewing our systems
As part of our strategic review we have introduced several new systems. For example, we have updated our knowledge management system and adopted a new electronic filing system and a new client relationship management tool, all to help us manage and share information even more effectively. We have introduced a fixed share partnership scheme. Whereas previously all partners received a share of equity in the firm, now those who are fixed share partners will receive a mix of fixed and variable compensation. New partners will generally enter as equity partners, but the ability to offer fixed
14
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
shared partnership in certain situations will, we believe, give us greater flexibility to develop offices and practices. We have also reformed our partners’ pension scheme to make it fairer and more sustainable for younger and future partners while protecting the position of partners close to retirement. We were the last large City law firm with such a scheme and had previously considered amending it. In 2006, after considerable consultation and internal debate, the partnership voted overwhelmingly in favour of the reforms. It is recognised that some partners were unhappy with the terms of the reforms but we are satisfied that they were both necessary and fair for the majority of both current and future partners. Such decisions have to be made for the continuing good of the firm and to ensure that our associates and younger partners are sufficiently incentivised to remain with us. Office changes
In spring 2007, we reorganised our Asia resources by transferring to Hong Kong our Singapore-based practice servicing clients in south-east Asia. This was in line with the shifting patterns of demand for legal services in Asia, driven by the growing maturity of Asia’s economies and the effect of China’s growth on client activity in the region. As a result, we no longer have an office in Singapore. Both partners and the majority of the legal fee earners relocated to Hong Kong. People in business services who did not relocate were provided with financial and other support. From November 2007, our Budapest office began operating as an independent firm under the brand Oppenheim. As a result, the Budapest office is no longer part of our network but our relationship continues, with the office being a preferred partner for servicing our international clients in Hungary. For these reasons, and for reasons of consistency, the data in this corporate social responsibility report does not include information on Budapest or Singapore. However, we have taken into consideration the greenhouse gas emissions of these offices in terms of offsetting and estimating our total tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions for 2006/7.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
15
5. CSR reporting Building on our 2004/5 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report – the first to be produced by a leading international law firm – we feel we are making progress but there is a long way to go. There is no room for complacency in terms of integrating our social and environmental commitments into the firm: this is an ongoing, and constantly evolving, journey. Our 2006/7 report highlights several important achievements, especially in our approach to sustainability firm-wide; our continued response to the global issue of climate change; the development of our community and pro bono programme across our network of offices; the increasing involvement of our associates in shaping our firm; and our approach to diversity, which seems to be having a positive impact, with an increase in the number of black and minority ethnic people among our trainee solicitors in London. We believe all these elements are important to the future of our firm and the wider world we live and work in. Overall, we have met many, but not all, of the targets we set in our first CSR report and initiated new activities we hadn’t even imagined in 2005, such as the firm-wide Community Challenge and our network of green teams. But it hasn’t all been successes: there are still too few female partners and, as the London associates forum has pointed out, there are a number of key internal issues that we need to work on that will require longer term solutions. We look forward to reporting on these and other issues in our next CSR report. We feel we have moved forward but there is still more to do. For example, we would like to ensure all our offices collect and provide consistent data for the next CSR report. We will continue to use our CSR report to help us collect, analyse and communicate what we are doing. We will be updating our figures next autumn, following the end of the current financial year in April 2008. We will continue to update these pages when there are significant developments. Our next assured CSR report will be in 2009. Our report for this financial year 2006/7 is international in scope, covering all our offices. It covers those issues we believe are material to the firm and our stakeholders. For future years, we will look to deepen our reporting.
16
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.1 Engaging our stakeholders Our 2006/07 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report has been shaped by the opinions of several key groups who influence the success and development of our business. In particular, we have taken into consideration the views of the people who work here through the associate engagement groups, our community and pro bono volunteer surveys and our green teams; the increasing requests from our clients for information on our approach towards the environment, diversity, and our community and pro bono legal advice activities; the opinions of the community-based organisations we work with; and the strategic groups responsible for developing aspects of our CSR programme. Our stakeholders have an interest in how we conduct our business and how we manage our social, environmental and economic impacts. They want to know how we behave as an international business with offices in 15 countries; as a major employer of nearly 5,500 people worldwide; as a purchaser of goods and services; and as a law firm that sets itself the standard of being a leader in many fields, including CSR. Associate engagement groups
At our first London associates forum in summer 2007, we invited our London associates to become more engaged in the business of the firm and in the way the London office works, and to discuss what could be done to improve things. We felt consultation with associates, including an open forum, would be the most effective way to engage them in identifying issues of concern and begin the process of dealing with them. The associates chose to discuss at their first meeting issues such as reward, career path and planning; work/life balance; flexible working; legal and non-legal learning and development; appraisals, feedback and mentoring; work allocation; transaction/case management and team working; communication of strategy and business plans; and associate involvement in business development. As a result, working groups have been set up to explore solutions to these issues. We intend to cover the outcomes in our next CSR report. Similar developments have been introduced in many of our offices, adapting the style and format to local cultures. Community and pro bono volunteer surveys
We have also undertaken the first surveys of the community and pro bono volunteers in our London office, where 35 per cent of people are actively engaged in our programme. The development of our community programme is also influenced by our membership of Business in the Community, a business-led organisation committed to making a positive impact on society, and several of its leadership groups, including those on homelessness and education and ENGAGE, which aims to encourage and promote more volunteering worldwide. We also asked three teachers
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
17
working in secondary schools in disadvantaged areas in the UK through the Teach First scheme to review our community programme in 2007. We want to continue to widen and deepen our dialogue with our stakeholders, especially the people who work here, our clients, our suppliers and wider society.
18
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.2 CSR structure Our partnership secretary, Crispin Hain-Cole, is responsible for coordinating and driving our corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies forward, with direction from our senior partners, Konstantin Mettenheimer and Guy Morton, and chief executive Ted Burke. In 2007, we began to put in place an international structure for developing our CSR programme. In each of our offices we now have a partner responsible for developing and implementing our CSR strategy and commitments, but some are at only the early stages of developing their programmes, reflecting the various cultures and sizes of our offices and the needs of the communities they work in. In the coming months we expect to see the respective CSR partners in our offices become increasingly involved in shaping our future programme. Our head of CSR, Bea Malleson, provides specialist advice, while our community and pro bono committee, and environmental and diversity working groups agree the strategic direction for different elements of our programme. Konstantin and Guy also chair our strategic advisory group, from which we obtain external perspectives on CSR issues. We have a CSR working group chaired by Crispin that helps to prepare our CSR report. The group includes:
John Blain, partner, environment, planning and regulatory practice; Stacey Collins, health, safety and environmental officer; Angela Dunt, IT administration and training assistant; Michael Hertz, director of knowledge and business development; Giedre Kaminskaite-Salters, associate; Kate Laffar, head of internal communications; Bea Malleson, head of CSR and community investment; Anna Mitchell, head of communications; Clarissa O’Callaghan, head of pro bono; Julie Parsons, senior marketing and communications manager; and Alistair Southern, associate.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
19
5.3 Our CSR partners and contacts See the start of this report for a list of our CSR key partners and contacts across the network. The people responsible for implementing our community and pro bono activities in our offices include: London
Bea Malleson Clarissa O’Callaghan
Mainland Europe
Amsterdam Barcelona and Madrid
Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich Bratislava Brussels Milan Moscow Paris Rome Vienna
Catrien Rosendaal Nerea de Antonio Carole Cargill (Barcelona) Alison Rourke (Madrid) Karina Fletcher Nicole Lieb Claire Schäfer Radovan Repa Britta Loxham Carla Negri Olga Chislova Molly Slaughter Laura Pronio Christina Hakel
Asia and Middle East
Beijing Dubai Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Shanghai Tokyo
Ian Ramsbottom Wei Lily Zhou Joe Huse Tony Foster Anashree Govender Mary Wicks Katja Schmitt Verena Urbschat
US
New York and Washington
20
Perry Sayles, pro bono partner (New York) Gillian Haley (New York) Maria Velasco (Washington)
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
The people responsible for implementing our environmental commitments in our offices include: London
Stacey Collins Bea Malleson
Mainland Europe
Amsterdam Barcelona Berlin Bratislava
Jan-Paul van Herwijnen Carole Cargill Beatrice Schmitt Elena Schusterova
Brussels
Gwijde Demedts Anne-Claire Ydo Andreas Röhling
Cologne Düsseldorf Frankfurt Hamburg
Nina Kutzbach Wendy Munshi Ute Kaler
Madrid
Antje Baumann Marion Jansen Alison Rourke
Milan
Andrea Corbetta
Moscow
Alexandra Golovkina
Munich
Thomas Oberstaller
Paris
Olivier Krajcirovic
Rome
Daniela Lamponi Georgia Pilato Laura Pronio Elisabeth Meisel Doris Kresta
Vienna Asia and Middle East
Beijing and Shanghai
Marcia Han
Dubai
Nadia Krypczyk
Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Tony Foster
Hong Kong
Mary Wicks
Tokyo
Kaya Ito
US
New York
Constance Fiore
Washington
Maria Velasco
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
21
5.4 Meeting and setting targets The targets and commitments made in our first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report were focused on our London office. Our targets and commitments going forward are on an international scale. Overall, we have met many of these targets, but not all of them. We have begun to put in place a structure that has enabled us to begin to collect more systematic data from our offices. However, we still need to work hard to ensure all our offices are producing comparable data. We have had to set in place new systems to collect this data and people have taken on new responsibilities in all our offices. This has also involved raising awareness of our programme, for example through regular news updates, the development of green guides explaining our environmental initiatives, new working groups, partner champions for aspects of our programme and the setting up of green teams. We have employed a head of CSR to help develop our strategy and carry our commitments through. The result is our first firm-wide, web-based assured CSR report – a target set in our first report. In 2007, we have been concentrating on listening to the views of our associates and community and pro bono volunteers, green teams and clients; taking forward our commitment to minimising our impact on the environment; expanding our community and pro bono work internationally; and developing an international CSR structure. Keeping up the momentum on these is essential to the ongoing development of our social and environmental commitments, and their integration into the firm. We are making progress on our approach to diversity and look forward to reporting on the outcomes of the associate and diversity working groups in our next report.
22
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.4.1 General What we said we would do firmwide in 2006
Provide a fully validated and externally audited CSR report that encompasses the entire firm by 2007. Raise awareness of CSR among all our people. Employ a full-time CSR officer. Conduct an annual internal review of how we implement our CSR policies. Become a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, a framework for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anticorruption, and a member of the United Nations Environment Programme. Collect consistent data from across the firm.
What we had done firm-wide by end 2007
We have produced a fully validated and externally audited firm-wide report and, in the process, reviewed how we implement our CSR policies. We have introduced new ways of communicating our activities – regular e-bulletins, green guides and new intranet pages. We now have a head of CSR. We have set in place new systems for collecting data designed to make our data reporting more consistent in the future. We remain committed to joining the United Nations Global Compact. We hope this CSR report will help us to achieve this.
What we are going to do firm-wide
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
23
Continue to use recognised benchmarks and set meaningful targets to demonstrate our commitment to being a leader among international law firms in terms of social and environmental responsibility, especially in terms of carbon neutrality. Assess ourselves against our values. Continue to update our data on an annual basis and to report on key initiatives and activities. Our next externally audited report will be in 2009. Further integrate CSR throughout the firm. Become a signatory of United Nations Global Compact. Collect consistent data from across the firm.
5.4.2 Stakeholder engagement What we said we would do firmwide in 2006
What we had done firm-wide by end 2007
Encourage genuine dialogue with our stakeholders about how we conduct our business to improve our professional services, our stewardship of the environment and our contribution to communities. Obtain external perspectives on CSR issues from the strategic advisory group. Provide an electronic suggestion box on how we can improve our activities or report CSR misconduct. Strengthen our dialogue with nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
24
Our report has been shaped by client requests on our CSR activities; the opinions of our London associates expressed at the associate forum and subsequent working groups; the views of our volunteers in London through our first volunteer survey and our green teams; our membership of Business in the Community leadership groups on homelessness and education, and international community engagement; our strategic advisory group; and the community groups we work with. We continue to receive feedback through our internal CSR suggestion box, particularly ideas for helping reduce our impact on the environment. We received around 200 suggestions from our people after we announced our decision to go carbon neutral. We also have an external feedback box, but we mostly receive information about services and requests for help through this. We work with a variety of NGOs, particularly through our community and pro bono programme.
What we are going to do firm-wide
Continue to encourage genuine dialogue with our stakeholders about how we conduct our business to improve our professional services, our stewardship of the environment and our contribution to communities, in particular our clients, our partners and people, future joiners, community groups and suppliers. Continue to obtain external perspectives on CSR issues from the strategic advisory group. Report the outcomes of the associate working groups. Ensure our improvement in communication with our associates is sustained through the continuation of our associate engagement groups.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.4.3 Our people and diversity What we said we would do firmwide in 2006
Enhance the diversity of the firm by continuing actively to support schemes encouraging applicants from all backgrounds. Introduce a partnership mentoring scheme for female associates to increase the number of female partners. Develop policies on women becoming partners and recruiting black and minority ethnic people. Introduce a peer-mentoring scheme for new partners. Further develop our alumni network. Introduce modifications to improve our disability access by April 2006. Provide complete figures on ethnicity and disability. Develop targets and policies to improve future performance in these areas. Improve access for disabled people and ensure the website is accessible.
What we had done firm-wide by end 2007
We have seen an increase in the proportion of black and minority ethnic future trainee solicitors. Since 2003, we have recruited a ratio of around 50:50 female to male trainees in London; we hope this, together with the activities of the diversity working group and associate working groups and our commitment to tackling issues that may have acted as obstacles, will lead to an increase in the number of female partners. An associate working group is looking at ways to improve our peer mentoring scheme for new partners and other aspects of our diversity programme, and its recommendations will be reported in 2008. We have also set up a new working group that has responsibility for developing and implementing our diversity programme. We are introducing a new human resources system that will develop our alumni network further. Inclusion of diversity data is also planned for later stages of the system. Our CSR website was awarded Royal National Institute for the Blind See it Right accreditation – we hope this one will achieve the same. We have completed a programme aimed at improving access to our buildings.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
What we are going to do firm-wide
25
Continue to enhance the diversity of the firm by supporting schemes encouraging applicants from all backgrounds. Continue to invest in developing future talent through our community investment programme. Look at ways of encouraging more people to participate in our monitoring so we can report more accurately on the profile of the people who work here. Improve reporting at various stages in people’s careers eg selection, recruitment, training and development, promotion, appraisal and pay, and departure. Review and internationalise our diversity training. Monitor the perceptions of our people towards our approach to diversity. Look at ways of further embedding diversity/inclusivity into the firm. Promote initiatives designed to address issues facing particular groups who are under-represented either across the firm, or at certain levels within it, such as networks or affinity groups. Report in more depth on such issues as flexible working, work/ life balance, mentoring, work allocation and stress management. Make more effective use of our memberships of organisations, such as Opportunity Now.
Health and safety
Achieve a target accident rate of under one per 100, or fewer than 24 accidents onsite in a year. Achieve a target RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) rate of 1.5 per thousand or less in 2005.
We have not yet met our targets in terms of accident trends.
Reduce accidents to under one per 100 people. Reduce injuries lasting over three days to 1.5 per 1,000. Report on our firm-wide activities.
5.4.4 Climate change and the environment What we said we would do firmwide in 2006
What we had done firm-wide by end 2007
Change all our energy contracts to renewable ones, cutting down on our paper use and reducing our airfreight and air travel using video and telephone conferencing wherever possible. Verify our supply chain by developing questionnaires for suppliers and a toolkit for substantiating their claims. Continue to look into the feasibility of carbon neutrality. Reduce the amount of paper we purchase by using double-sided printing where possible and increasing the use of recycled paper. Set targets for reducing our environmental impact. Implement an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) environment programme for each office.
26
We are now certified CarbonNeutral® firm-wide and have set a firm-wide target of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by April 2008. Key to this is reviewing our energy contracts and switching to low carbon fuel when and where possible, and reducing our paper use and travel. We have also set up a new environmental working group, green teams and co-ordinators throughout the network who have responsibility for developing and implementing our programme. Although we have been prioritising our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment, we haven’t made progress on our supply chain management or the introduction of an ISO; these remain future targets for us.
What we are going to do firm-wide
Reduce our carbon emissions by 10 per cent by April 2008 and set further year-on-year targets. Change our energy contracts to low carbon fuels when and where possible. Reduce our electricity use and the amount of paper we use. Change our paper sources to recycled paper. Increase video and telephone conferencing. Reduce non-essential air travel. Continue to introduce energy efficient schemes, and look at ways of optimising building energy performance. Incorporate our environmental policy into all our purchasing decisions. Implement an ISO environment programme for each office, starting with London.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.4.5 Community and pro bono legal advice What we said we would do firmwide in 2006
Maintain a high level of involvement in community projects. Spread our involvement in community work throughout the firm.
What we had done firm-wide by end 2007
The level of participation in London has very slightly increased (by 1 per cent to 35 per cent) and we have measured for the first time participation levels across the firm. We have launched the firm-wide Community Challenge to increase participation and evaluated our programme using surveys and the London Benchmarking Group model. We have also set up a new community and pro bono committee and co-ordinators throughout the network who have responsibility for developing and implementing our programme.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
What we are going to do firm-wide
27
Increase the level of participation in our community and pro bono programme across the firm to 30 per cent by 2009, achieving a more consistent spread of involvement across our offices. Measure the benefits to society of our programme in a more systematic way, including undertaking surveys of our community and pro bono partners. Further develop our community and pro bono programme.
5.5 Methodology and assurance For us, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an umbrella term covering our impact on society and the environment in its widest sense; our pro bono legal advice and community projects; our impact on the environment; our diversity record; our behaviour as an employer, as a purchaser of goods and services, and as a provider of legal advice; the suppliers we use; our corporate governance policies; our relationships with our stakeholders; and the shared values that guide our firm. We believe that having strong CSR credentials will help us attract and retain the best people and have a positive impact on how our clients view us, and that it is key to our continued success as a business. Assurance
As The Corporate Citizenship Company commented on our first CSR report for 2004/5, this is a ‘journey on which the firm has embarked’. We have committed ourselves to using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and AA1000 international assurance standard as a reference point for this report to ensure we provide information on our social and environmental impact in a systematic way. Using these guidelines, we have focused on the issues we believe to be material to us. We believe that not all the indicators are material to a professional law firm. The Corporate Citizenship Company has assured our 2006/7 report using the GRI guidelines and AA1000 standard. Our community and pro bono data is assured by the London Benchmarking Group and our carbon footprint has been independently reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management. Please see the next section to read how we have used the GRI guidelines.
28
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.5.1 GRI guidelines index In putting together this corporate social responsibility report, we were guided by the G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (GRI G3) prepared by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In this report, we have concentrated on those GRI indicators we have identified as material to our business. We have provided both information in narrative format and qualitative data where it is available. This table provides a guide on the extent of our reporting against the GRI G3. After taking advice from our assurors, we have not included indicators within GRI G3 that we feel are not relevant to a professional firm. For future reports, we will look to supplement GRI indicators with additional measures where these are appropriate and material to our business. Find out more about our firm at www.freshfields.com. Our work
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourwork/
Our clients
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourclients/
Our practice groups
www.freshfields.com/practices/
Our industry groups
www.freshfields.com/industries/
Our offices around the world
www.freshfields.com/locations/
Our people
www.freshfields.com/people/
Our beliefs
www.freshfields.com/careers/ourbeliefs/
Our culture
www.freshfields.com/csr/diversity/ourculture/
The values that guide us
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourvalues/
Strategy and analysis 1.1
Statement from the CEO about the relevance of sustainability to the organisation
Senior partners’ statement (see section 2)
1.2
Key impacts, risks and opportunities
Senior partners’ statement (see section 2)
Organisational profile 2.1
Name
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.2
Major brands, products and services
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.3
Operational structure
Management structure (see section 4.2) Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.4
Location of headquarters
Management structure (see section 4.2)
2.5
Countries in which located
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.6
Nature of ownership
Management structure (see section 4.2)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
29
2.7
Nature of markets served
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.8
Scale of reporting organisation
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
2.9
Major decisions during the reporting period
Organisational change and review (see section 4.3)
2.10
Awards received
Highlights and new developments (see section 1) About us (including link towww.freshfields.com/ aboutus/ourawards/) (see section 4) Community and pro bono awards (see section 9.12)
Report parameters Report profile 3.1
Reporting period
CSR reporting (see section 5)
3.2
Date of most recent report
CSR reporting (see section 5)
3.3
Reporting cycle
CSR reporting (see section 5)
3.4
Contact point
Our CSR partners and contacts (see section 5.3)
Report scope and boundary 3.5
Process for defining content
CSR structure (see section 5.2) Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
3.6
Boundary of report
CSR reporting (see section 5)
3.7
Specific limitations on scope
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
3.8
Basis for reporting on joint ventures, partially owned subsidiaries, leased facilities, outsourced operations
CSR reporting (see section 5)
Data measurement techniques
Our people (see section 7)
3.9
Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
Our environmental impact (see section 8.1) What we give (see section 9.10.2) 3.10
Explanation of the nature and effect of any restatements
Not applicable
3.11
Significant changes in measurement methods
CSR reporting (see section 5)
GRI content index 3.12
Table identifying standard disclosures
30
GRI guidelines index
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Assurance 3.13
Assurance
Methodology and assurance (see section 5.5) Corporate Citizenship Company assurance (see section 5.6) London Benchmarking Group assurance (see section 5.7)
Governance, commitments and engagement Governance 4.1
Governance structure
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.2
Indicate if the Chair of the highest governance body is an executive officer
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.3
Members of the highest governance body that are independent and/or non-executive members
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.4
Mechanisms for shareholders and employees to provide recommendations or direction
Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
4.5
Linkage between compensation and the organisation’s performance for members of the highest governance body
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.6
Processes of the highest governance body to ensure conflicts of interest are avoided
Conflicts of interest and confidential information (see section 6.1)
4.7
Process for determining required qualifications of the highest governance body
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.8
Internally developed mission and values statements, codes of conduct, and principles relevant to economic, environmental, and social performance and the status of their implementation
Law and ethics (see section 6)
4.9
Identification and management of economic, environmental and social performance
CSR structure (see section 5.2)
4.10
Processes for evaluating the performance of the highest governance body
Management structure (see section 4.2)
4.11
Explanation of whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed
Law and ethics (see section 6)
4.12
Externally developed, voluntary economic, environmental, and social charters
Climate change and the environment (see section 8)
4.13
Significant memberships in associations
Community and pro bono legal advice (see section 9) Community and pro bono memberships (London) (see section 9.6.7) Our culture (memberships) (see section 7.1) Climate change and the environment (memberships) (see section 8)
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
31
4.14
List of stakeholder groups engaged by the organisation
Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
4.15
Basis for identification and selection of stakeholders
Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
4.16
Approaches to stakeholder engagement
Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
4.17
Issues raised through stakeholder engagement
Engaging our stakeholders (see section 5.1)
Economic performance indicators Economic performance EC1
Economic value generated and distributed (core)
What we give (see section 9.10.2) Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
EC2
Financial implications of climate change (core)
Climate change and the environment (see section 8)
Market presence EC7
Procedures for local hiring, and proportion of senior management in locations of significant operation from the local community (core)
Diversity: developing and reaching new talent (see section 7.5)
Indirect economic impacts EC8
Description of infrastructure investments and services supported that provide public benefit (core)
Community and pro bono legal advice (see section 9)
Environmental performance indicators Energy
Direct energy consumption broken down by primary energy source (core)
Environmental impact (see section 8.1)
EN4
Indirect energy consumption broken down by primary source (core)
Greenhouse Gas Protocol (see section 8.1.1)
EN5
Energy saved (additional)
Environmental activities in London (Energy saving) (see section 8.6)
EN3
Greenhouse Gas Protocol
IT and the environment EN7
Indirect energy efficiency initiatives (additional)
Environmental activities in London (Energy saving) (see section 8.6) IT and the environment (see section 8.3)
Emissions, effluents and waste
32
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
EN16
Greenhouse gas emissions (core)
Environmental impact (see section 8.1) Greenhouse Gas Protocol (see section 8.1.1)
EN17
Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions
Environmental impact (see section 8.1) Greenhouse Gas Protocol (see section 8.1.1)
EN18
Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (additional)
Environmental activities in London (Energy saving) (see section 8.6) IT and the environment (see section 8.3)
Social performance: labour practices and decent work performance indicators Employment LA1
Breakdown of total workforce by employment type and by region (core)
Our people around the world (see section 7.2)
LA2
Total number and rate of employee turnover broken down by age group and gender (core)
Our people around the world (see section 7.2)
Occupational health and safety LA7
Rates of injury, occupational diseases, lost days, and absenteeism and number of work-related fatalities (core)
Health and safety (see section 7.10)
Training and education LA11
Skills management and lifelong learning (additional)
Developing our people (see section 7.6)
Diversity and equal opportunity LA12
Employee review process
Developing our people (see section 7.6)
LA13
Composition of governance bodies (core)
Our people around the world (see section 7.2) Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
Social performance: human rights HR3
Training on human rights (additional)
Developing our people (see section 7.6)
HR 4
Incidents of discrimination (core)
Our people around the world (see section 7.2) Our firm at a glance (see section 4.1)
Social performance society SO3
Extent of training to prevent corruption (core)
Law and ethics (see section 6)
SO5
Public policy development and lobbying (core)
Not applicable
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
33
5.6 External assurance statement and commentary: introduction Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate social responsibility report 06/07 Assurance statement
The Corporate Citizenship Company Introduction
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Freshfields) has commissioned The Corporate Citizenship Company to provide it with external assurance and commentary on its Corporate Social Responsibility Report 06/07. Freshfields’ management has prepared the report and is responsible for its contents. Our objectives were to review the report’s content and presentation, to conduct selected checks to underlying corporate records, and to provide this statement for which we have sole responsibility. The Corporate Citizenship Company is a specialist management consultancy that advises businesses seeking to improve their economic, social and environmental performance around the world. A detailed note describing our relationship with Freshfields and the assurance process we have adopted appears with this Statement. Further information about ourselves, our key personnel and our clients is available on our website (www.corporate-citizenship.com). Our opinion
In our opinion, the report provides a fair and balanced representation of the progress Freshfields is making in living out its commitments to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Where we believe significant gaps exist in available performance data and stakeholder views on material issues, we identify them in our commentary [see section 5.6.1]. In forming our opinion and making our comments, we have had regard to the principles underlying the international assurance standard AA1000 (www.accountability.org.uk) notably concerning materiality, completeness and responsiveness. We have also had regard to the reporting guidance for content and the principles for defining quality contained in GRI’s G3 sustainability reporting guidelines (www.globalreporting.org). The Corporate Citizenship Company
34
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
5.6.1 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate social responsibility report 06/07 Assurance statement
The Corporate Citizenship Company Commentary
A CSR report should explain how a company or firm impacts on society, looking at all the important economic, social and environmental concerns of its stakeholders. It should show how crucial decisions are made and differing interests balanced. Honest about shortcomings, it should demonstrate how the organisation is responsive, by listening, learning and improving. Against this goal, we believe that Freshfields’ second CSR report demonstrates continued progress in the firm’s commitment to retain its leading position in CSR reporting in its sector. Producing a substantive CSR report, reporting against material GRI indicators and having external, independent assurance marks it out from current practice among other firms. The firm has taken a significant step forward in its reporting, presenting a more complete picture of firm-wide performance on CSR. Readers are provided with an account of where the firm stands against its 2005 commitments and an idea of where Freshfields is on its CSR journey and where it intends to go next. Existing data collection has improved and now covers all international offices. Fuller reporting on some key topics such as diversity and climate change has enhanced understanding of the firm’s social and environmental performance. The report also makes an important step towards discussing some of the central issues around the role of law firms in society in the section on ‘The role of lawyers’. In our opinion, Freshfields is to be commended for addressing some core questions about the contribution lawyers make to society. The Corporate Citizenship Company
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
35
5.6.2 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate social responsibility report 06/07 Assurance statement
The Corporate Citizenship Company Looking ahead
Here we outline the key issues that we would expect future reports to cover. The materiality of the report would be improved if it provided a fuller description of Freshfields’ activities, its clients, the type of advice it gives and where it operates. This would support readers’ understanding of the firms’ key impacts, as well as provide the context for explaining its contribution to society as a law firm. Building on this, future reports should aim to describe how Freshfields’ CSR vision fits into the broader sustainable development agenda. This year’s report has provided more information about the considerations Freshfields applies when taking on new clients and cases. In future such information could be strengthened by including evidence of how this has worked in practice, how lessons are learned and systems continually improved. Reports should also provide a more thorough illustration of how social and environmental considerations are taken into account regarding client work. As we stated in our 2005 commentary, the report’s completeness would be enhanced by providing greater detail about Freshfields economic impacts, in particular how income generated through fees is distributed to employees (through salaries), governments (through taxes) and to suppliers of goods and services (through procurement spend). This would lend insights into the firm’s wider impacts as well as providing greater financial information, helping to meet expectations for increased financial transparency in the law sector. Some firms are increasing their disclosure having adopted Limited Liability Partnership status. In addition, the report should extend its coverage of how the firm engages with suppliers and regulators, two stakeholder groups whose issues are not addressed to the extent generally expected in CSR reports. The report would reflect greater responsiveness if it included a greater diversity of stakeholder voices and concerns, providing a description of how stakeholder engagement processes feed into decision-making and the firm’s approach to managing both CSR and other core business issues. The work being done through the associates engagement group is a step in this direction and we look forward to Freshfields reporting the outcomes of this initiative. Based on our assessment during this reporting period, we believe that more could be done to implement a systems-driven approach to managing CSR issues. This would help Freshfields to build on existing good practice and to strengthen consistency of application. Particular areas for attention
36
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
include developing systems to assist efforts to help employees balance work and home commitments; for environmental data gathering and management; and for supplier engagement. Strengthening systems would also generate further performance data and support the setting of more measurable targets. Having published a report that provides a good picture of Freshfields’ performance across a broad range of social and environmental impacts, we look forward to Freshields focusing further on its material impacts as an international law firm. The Corporate Citizenship Company
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
37
5.6.3 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate social responsibility report 06/07 Assurance statement
The Corporate Citizenship Company Our relationship with Freshfields
This is the second year that we have provided assurance of Freshfields’ CSR report. Freshfields is a member of LBG (the London Benchmarking Group www.lbgonline.net) – an evaluation framework for corporate community involvement which we manage on behalf of its members and adherents. Beyond Freshfields’ involvement with the LBG we have not had any further commercial relationship with them. The assurance process
As there are no statutory guidelines for social reporting, we have formed our judgements based on emerging best practice among other companies, the principles of the assurance standard AA1000, the approach of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the stated views of principal stakeholders and our own professional expertise and experience. In particular, we have considered the availability of information, sufficiency of evidence, underlying systems and processes, adequacy of resources allocated and relevant legal and commercial constraints. We have judged materiality by considering significant legal, regulatory and financial impacts, business policies, the performance of peers and competitors and stakeholder views. A team of five, led by a director, undertook the assurance and commentary process. The team has a variety of professional and technical competencies and experience. The work was commissioned in May 2007 and was completed in January 2008. Detailed records were kept of meetings, assurance visits and correspondence relating to the materiality, completeness and responsiveness of the report, as well as to technical matters relating to the accuracy and presentation of data. Our external assurance and commentary process for the 06/07 report has involved the following elements: 1. Meetings and discussions with a cross-section of Freshfields partners, managers and employees about its approach to corporate responsibility, its policies and performance, its future challenges and its relations with stakeholders. 2. An analysis of best practice among other companies, the principles of the GRI and AA1000, followed by discussions with Freshfields’ corporate social responsibility team about reporting the firm’s approach, policies, performance measures, benchmarks, stakeholder relations and future plans.
38
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
3. A review of national and international published sources of information about the views and opinions of external stakeholders. 4. Reviewing Freshfields’ employee engagement surveys on the firm’s community activities and environmental efforts, as well as taking consideration of external verification provided by Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM) on their climate change impact assessment. 5. Checks on a sample basis of elements of the report’s contents to underlying records, focusing on the firm’s claims made about managing risks, employees, health and safety, suppliers and environmental impacts. 6. Assurance of community data, based upon the LBG model and methodology. Our work therefore did not extend to a complete audit of the report’s contents, nor to direct engagement with stakeholders to seek their views, beyond that mentioned above. We have not been responsible for the preparation of the 06/07 report nor in devising the internal management and reporting systems that yielded the data contained therein, with the exception of support provided on community contributions data collection as part of Freshfields’ LBG membership. The opinions expressed in this external assurance statement and commentary are intended to extend understanding of Freshfields’ nonfinancial performance and should not be used or relied upon to form any judgements, or take any decisions, of a financial nature. The Corporate Citizenship Company
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
39
5.7 London Benchmarking Group assurance The Corporate Citizenship Company has been asked to comment on the use by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer of the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) model (www.lbg-online.net) to measure and report on its community involvement activities for the year to 30th April 2007. The LBG model was developed by a group of businesses in 1995 as an internal evaluation tool and as a way to ensure greater consistency and comparability in external reporting. Today more than 100 leading international businesses apply the model around the world. Freshfields have been an active member since 2002. The LBG model helps businesses to improve the management, measurement and reporting of their corporate community investment (CCI). It moves beyond charitable donations to include the full range of contributions (in time, in kind and in cash) made to community causes, and assesses the actual results for the community and for the business. (See www.lbg-online.net for more information). As managers of the Group, we have worked with Freshfields to ensure that it understands the LBG model and applies its principles to the measurement of community involvement programmes. Having conducted an assessment, we are satisfied that this has been achieved. Our work has not extended to an independent audit of the data. This year Freshfields developed a more sophisticated data collection system to capture each individual community contribution made by its business units; identifying, in particular, the pro bono and other general volunteering activities undertaken in the community by its staff. Also, for the first time it collected data from its international operations. The results have been impressive and extensive. In conducting the assurance we have advised Freshfields to pay careful attention to, and review where necessary, the categorisation of the nature of contributions (e.g. whether a contribution is of direct benefit to the community, or is more concerned with the overall management of the community programme) to ensure that they are classified according to LBG definitions. Freshfields is keen to adopt best practice and has made any necessary revisions. Looking forward, a challenge for Freshfields is to assess more comprehensively the achievements of its community programmes. Collecting further data on the aims of each major contribution and the extent to which these are achieved, in terms of additional resources attracted (leverage), community benefits and the business case (outputs and impacts), will begin this process. The Corporate Citizenship Company
www.corporate-citizenship.co.uk November 2007 40
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
6. Law and ethics As an international law firm, we are subject to a variety of developing regulatory, statutory and ethical requirements. As leaders in our profession, we have a responsibility to maintain the high standards expected not only by clients but also by society at large in all the jurisdictions in which we practise. Our approach to managing risks in this environment reflects these expectations and our high demands on ourselves. We have global risk management personnel, including a partner in every office and an internal risk and compliance team that continually monitors the risks we face (eg money laundering, conflicts of interest, insider dealing and economic sanctions). We have in place policies, procedures and guidance notes to assist all our lawyers in giving independent advice of the highest quality. Does our commitment to being socially and environmentally responsible affect the advice we give and the clients we work for? The firm has policies and practices in place to ensure that thorough and appropriate verification is conducted before accepting a client. The firm considers such processes to be rigorous. We do not have any standing procedures however, instructing us not to act for clients in any particular industry or sector. Each new client is assessed on an individual basis. We ensure we are the right firm for any matter and that the right people in the firm work on any given matter. We do not work with organisations that might result in a threat to the safety of the people who work here. All new clients must be approved by the relevant sector group leader through an integrated IT client acceptance system. Where there is any doubt about whether a client should be taken on by the firm or whether the firm should act on a particular matter, this may be escalated to the chief executive or senior partners for consideration. They would consider the potential client or instruction in the light of a non-exhaustive set of factors, such as the safety or health of our people; sanctions imposed by nations or non-governmental organisations; other reputational issues for our firm, including the effect on other clients’ views of us; the effect on our own people’s views of us; and our suitability to act. We frequently turn down new work because we consider it unsuitable for some reason. Whistle-blowing
We have a policy in place whereby personnel can report any perceived departure from the ethical and compliance standards we set ourselves as a firm. This policy is only to deal with any serious wrongdoing and not to undermine the trust we have in each other.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
41
6.1 Conflicts of interest and confidential information Because we work in many different jurisdictions and have many different clients, the potential for issues involving client-confidential information and conflicts of interest is high. Each of the countries in which we operate has its own rules and accepted practice for dealing with these issues. Our risk and compliance department has a team responsible for maintaining a computerised system for identifying issues involving conflicts of interest and client-confidential information, which we are constantly updating and improving. We have a strong team of conflicts lawyers dedicated to identifying and analysing conflicts and confidentiality issues. This team actively monitors the acceptance of new clients and the opening of new matters. It ensures the firm complies with the latest rules on client engagement and works closely with partners and sector group leaders across the firm to ensure there is a consistent and compliance-focused approach to mandate acceptance. This includes considering reputational risk issues to prevent the acceptance of clients or mandates that might damage our standing in the community. Regulatory fine
In 2007 the Solicitors Regulation Authority concluded its proceedings arising from the firm’s acceptance of instructions to advise on a possible bid, in 2004. The partner involved settled the case by volunteering to accept a fine from the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal.
42
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
6.2 Anti-money laundering We are committed to denying terrorists and other organised criminals access to the world’s financial systems. We operate a stringent client verification process and have invested in people and technology to help us achieve these goals. A team of lawyers and compliance experts led by the director of risk and compliance is dedicated to the process of accepting new business and we have bespoke online procedures to ensure we comply with the relevant regulations wherever we operate. We contribute to anti-money laundering initiatives on behalf of the legal profession. We have collaborated with other firms to create a training application on the UK regulatory regime that has become an industry standard. We have also provided training for the Serious Organised Crime Agency on the role of law firms in society and the nature of activities that City and international law firms undertake. We provide regular in-house training sessions on the provisions of the Money Laundering Regulations 2003, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Terrorism Act 2000 to all relevant people within the firm and during these sessions focus on suspicious transaction typologies. In the UK and other jurisdictions in which we operate, we speak regularly to relevant industry bodies and regulators. We are involved in the International Bar Association and in the UK have a member on the Law Society’s task force on anti-money laundering. Client complaints
Our complaints procedure follows the requirements laid down by the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority. We are committed to investigating any complaint fully and fairly, as quickly as possible, and providing a written explanation to the client of the findings of our investigation and any potential action proposed. We are participating in the Law Society’s consultation process regarding its proposal to publish complaints lodged against solicitors.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
43
6.3 CSR and our role as lawyers The rule of law
Every person and organisation, from the ordinary citizen to the government, must act within the confines of the law. Over and above that, by virtue of their professional obligations, lawyers are required to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice. The adherence to the rule of law and the pursuit of just resolutions underpins the effective economic, social and political functioning of society. This enforcing of the moral values that societies consider important enables individuals to interact in a fair and predictable way, to the mutual benefit of all. Traditionally, lawyers have assisted in ensuring this overarching duty has been adhered to in a number of ways. First, lawyers explain and interpret the law for their clients and, therefore, ensure their clients comply with the regulatory obligations imposed upon them. Second, if a person or an organisation breaches their legal obligations, a lawyer may assist in seeking to redress any wrongs that may occur as a result. Commercial law
In the commercial context in which our firm largely operates, by upholding the rule of law and the proper administration of justice lawyers set judicial precedents and enforce a system of rules and regulations that in turn creates a degree of predictability and increased transparency in the operation of the market. This provides market players with the confidence necessary for engaging in commercial transactions and, therefore, supporting the economic development and competitiveness of the societies they operate in. In facilitating effective dispute resolution, moreover, lawyers ensure economic activity is not prejudiced by undue conflict and delay. In recent years, the traditional function of lawyers has undergone substantial change, largely driven by the increasingly challenging and complex environment in which their clients operate. The modern regulatory framework affects every aspect of companies’ lives, including their internal operations, their interaction with other market players and, increasingly, their role within the wider community. Thus, internally, every company is bound by rules concerning the powers of its directors, the treatment of its employees, and the recording and disclosure of information. Increasingly complex, increasingly global
Within the broader market, interactions between companies are also regulated to ensure a level playing field between all participants. Significantly, the role companies play within wider society is also coming under increasing scrutiny, through both regulation and soft law (such as codes of practices and voluntary commitments); companies’ environmental, human rights and ethical records have been viewed as
44
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
increasingly important indicators of their regulatory compliance and reputational standing. Lawyers must guide companies through this increasingly complex arena in a way that helps them achieve lawfully their desired goals and objectives and takes into consideration their impact on wider society. Social and environmental responsibilities
Throughout our long history, we have developed an in-depth understanding of the multiple levels and different sources of regulation applying to our clients and, as a result, have been able to guide our clients through the maze of regulation, ensuring compliance with their obligations and enabling them to take full advantage of the rights and opportunities created by regulatory frameworks. The law reflects the morals and values of its society. As these values may shift from time to time, so the interpretation of the law changes to mirror that shift. Accordingly, lawyers have a responsibility that is more than simply advising on the black letter of the law. Our role must be to assist clients in choosing the appropriate course in light of all the relevant circumstances. This includes taking account of environmental and reputational issues. Although the ultimate course of action is a commercial matter for a client, lawyers should seek to interpret the legal issues facing that client in the light of the prevailing (and changing) societal circumstances.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
45
7. Our people and diversity ‘We would like our firm to be more diverse at all levels for a whole host of reasons. We recognise this will take time and that it involves investment in the community and the active engagement of the people who work here and the clients we work with to evolve solutions. We are committed to finding ways to achieve our aims.’ Hugh Crisp, partner with responsibility for diversity Our people are our most valuable asset and key to our ability to providing outstanding client service. There are many good reasons for us to take diversity seriously. Broadening the diversity of our people is important to the success of our firm, as we recognise that diversity of cultures, backgrounds, nationalities and ideas improves the quality of our work and enriches our working experience. We want our firm to attract, develop and retain a range of people in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age or disability. To this end, we work hard to ensure we recruit and advance people solely on their ability, to promote equal opportunities and to avoid discrimination and harassment of any kind. Key to this is our commitment to promoting equality and diversity in our policies, practices and procedures. We are an international firm working for international clients and would like the people who work here to reflect and reinforce this diversity. As we operate in a competitive environment where the demand for talent is higher than ever, we want to recruit from the widest possible pool to ensure we continue to provide outstanding service to our clients. We also believe a diverse and inclusive workplace is more enjoyable, more stimulating and more likely to produce imaginative solutions to problems, both legal and practical. Diversity training
Training is important to our diversity strategy, beginning with the induction of all new staff. Equal opportunities training is provided to all London staff, in addition to training for new partners, appraisers, interviewers and members of our human resources team. Two-thirds of our partners and other employees in London have completed diversity training. We plan to review our diversity training and introduce it to other offices over the coming months.
46
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.1 Our culture ‘People here come from a wide range of backgrounds. They relish the new and the different. And no matter how busy they are, their doors are always open. So whatever the problem, there’s always someone who can help you solve it.’ Farah Ispahani, corporate practice partner We try to create a friendly and inclusive culture in which making time for each other is important and everyone’s contribution is valued. We prize the individuality of the people who work here and are committed to sustaining a culture that nurtures talent and enables individuals to thrive. We also strive to engender a culture of trust, outstanding teamwork and excellence. Intrinsic to this is creating a working environment that attracts a diverse range of people and enables them to flourish. It also means investing in our communities to help develop people’s potential and encouraging talented people, whatever their background, to consider working for a firm like ours. We aim to foster a supportive, collegial environment in which any individual can call on the diversity of talent in the firm to examine problems and possible solutions from every angle. Memberships
We are members of both the Employers’ Forum on Disability and Opportunity Now, an organisation representing employers who want to transform the workplace by ensuring inclusiveness for women. We aim to use these memberships more effectively during the next year so we can benefit from the organisations’ knowledge and experience. In particular, given the number of female trainees we recruit each year, we recognise that we need to review our working practices and environment to determine whether changes can be made to encourage female lawyers to stay longer with the firm, hopefully through to becoming eligible for partnership selection. To this end, an associate working group has been established to consider the issues of flexible working and alternative career paths. Freshfields was ranked best in the legal sector in The Guardian’s parents at work survey in July 2007, which set out to rate the UK’s top employers on how well they provide for parents among their workers. Our US offices came second in a survey on the best career opportunities for women in US law firms conducted by the Women’s Law Association at Harvard Law School in 2006. The survey asked around 4,000 women from 105 firms to score their satisfaction with their firms’ training and advancement opportunities, atmosphere, work/family balance, mentoring and other areas.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
47
Underpinning our firm, our work and our commitment to being socially and environmentally responsible is a set of values and behaviours we strive towards: excellence in all we do, outstanding teamwork, trusted relationships with our clients and imagination.
Find out more about our firm at www.freshfields.com.
48
Our work
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourwork/
Our clients
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourclients/
Our practice groups
www.freshfields.com/practices/
Our industry groups
www.freshfields.com/industries/
Our offices around the world
www.freshfields.com/locations/
Our people
www.freshfields.com/people/
Our beliefs
www.freshfields.com/careers/ourbeliefs/
Our culture
www.freshfields.com/csr/diversity/ourculture/
The values that guide us
www.freshfields.com/aboutus/ourvalues/
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.2 Our people around the world Worldwide gender profile by practice area 100 90
22
80 60
70 %
60
46
43
44
88
50 78
40 30 40
20 10 0
54
56
Trainees
Paralegals
57
12 Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Business services
Worldwide
Percentage split Male Female
We seek to attract, develop and retain outstanding individuals from around the world, with all kinds of backgrounds, skills and experiences. Overall, there has been little change in the profile of our firm since our first corporate social responsibility (CSR) report for 2004/5. Fifty-seven per cent of our people worldwide are female, although most of our lawyers are male: 88 per cent of our partners and 54 per cent of other lawyers. Demographic changes take time to come, though. We aspire to greater diversity at all levels within the firm and are supporting and exploring initiatives to help us achieve this, including mentoring, flexible work schemes, networks and affinity groups, and diversity training. The associate working groups are due to report in early 2008. Our efforts to encourage and promote greater diversity are wide-ranging, although the retention and promotion of women is a particular issue given the high number of women we recruit at trainee level. We are working to improve our understanding of what practices and cultures can be changed to encourage female lawyers to stay longer at the firm and to increase the proportion of female partners through our new diversity working group, our network of CSR partners, and our associate engagement group and working groups. Through our membership of Opportunity Now, we also hope to learn from the experiences of the many other businesses that, like us, are keen to have more women in senior positions.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
49
We are pleased to have seen an increase in the number of black and minority ethnic people set to join our firm as trainee lawyers – at 18 per cent, this is above the Law Society’s 10 per cent target – and hope this will continue and help make our firm more reflective of the communities in which we operate. There has been little change in the overall age profile of the people who work here since our first report. Seventy-four per cent of our people firmwide are under the age of 40 years, with 21 per cent of our partners and 88 per cent of other lawyers in this age group. Given this demographic we find that some of our people are not near their families or longstanding support networks, or are starting new families, and that this can create pressures and strains. We believe that mentoring and appraisal should be geared towards acknowledging wider issues like these and that managers should be encouraged to find solutions that suit the individual concerned. Currently, we have more information about the people who work in our London office than we have about our other offices. In future, we will benefit from the introduction of a global human resources system that will enable us to gather more information about the people who work in our offices. Find more information about our lawyers in the At a glance section of this report (see section 4) and on www.freshfields.com/people.
50
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.3 Recent diversity statistics: firm-wide November 2007 Number of offices
26 offices in 15 countries
Total partners and principal consultants worldwide
458
Total lawyers worldwide (partners, principal consultants, associates and trainees)
2,530
Total fee earners worldwide (partners, principal and other consultants, associates, trainees and paralegals)
2,833
Total staff (fee earners and others)
5,498
Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Trainees
Other fee earners (paralegals, legal assistants, practice support lawyers, consultants)
Business services
Total staff
London
163
527
164
119
976
1,949
Mainland Europe
247
995
118
91
1,462
2,913
Asia and Middle East
26
158
35
86
175
480
US
22
70
5
7
52
156
458
1,750
322
303
2,665
5,498
Total
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
51
Partners and principal consultants Amsterdam
Associates
Trainees
Other fee earners
Business services
Total staff
14
69
2
3
88
176
Barcelona
2
10
7
1
10
30
Beijing
2
20
2
23
17
64
Berlin
13
48
2
4
91
158
5
3
10
18
Brussels
14
54
2
17
76
163
Cologne
24
74
7
174
279
3
19
4
3
6
35
Düsseldorf
27
75
6
178
286
Frankfurt
49
141
1
18
264
473
Hamburg
19
64
3
102
188
Hanoi
1
9
6
13
29
Ho Chi Minh City
5
3
4
12
24
11
67
22
11
79
190
London
163
527
164
119
976
1,949
Madrid
12
55
17
3
51
138
Milan
12
60
23
2
49
146
Moscow
6
70
2
8
53
139
Munich
6
18
1
38
63
New York
17
56
4
6
44
127
Paris
30
169
54
14
192
459
Rome
6
28
4
2
26
66
Shanghai
3
15
2
29
22
71
Tokyo
6
23
2
10
26
67
Vienna
13
55
3
60
131
5
14
1
1
8
29
458
1750
322
303
2665
5,498
Bratislava
Dubai
Hong Kong
Washington TOTAL
Please note Trainees in our German offices are not included in the total lawyers figures due to German Bar rules.
52
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.4 Our people in London Our diversity figures in London are updated on our website on a quarterly basis. Providing this information to the firm is voluntary and not every individual chooses to provide it. Our diversity working group is looking at ways to encourage people to complete this information and how best to gather it internationally, taking into consideration local practices. See the following pages for further information on the people who work in our firm in London. 7.4.1 Gender 2006/7 Gender: partners and employees in our London office 2006/7 100 90 80
57
70 %
60
46
36
28 43
84
50 40 30
43
20 10
54
64
72 57
16
0
Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Trainees
Paralegals
Business services
Worldwide
Percentage split Male Female
In London, we have a slightly higher percentage of female partners than the average of 12 per cent for the firm. However, given the number of women we recruit as trainee lawyers each year – an average of 49 per cent since 2003 – we would hope to see more women becoming partners in the near future. Our efforts to deal with the gender imbalance in our firm are outlined elsewhere within this report, see section 7.2, Our people around the world.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
53
7.4.2 Ethnicity 2006/7 Ethnicity: partners and employees in our London office 2006/7 100 90 80 70 %
32 3
22
15
19
21
12
11
66
69
68
Paralegals
Business services
London office
21
10 11
13
60 50 40 30
75 65
67
20 10 0
Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Trainees
Percentage split
White
Not specified
Black, minority ethnic
In September 2007, 11 per cent of our trainee lawyers and 18 per cent of our future trainees (those who have accepted offers to work at our firm) were black and minority ethnic people – the Law Society’s target is 10 per cent. We are pleased to see an increase in the proportion of trainee lawyers from black and minority ethnic people and hope this will continue and make our firm more reflective of the communities in which we operate.
54
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.4.3 Disability 2006/7 Disability: partners and employees in our London office 2006/7 100 90
33
80
15 1
1
70 %
22
20
18
21
1
2
1
1
60 50 40 30
84 66
80
77
79
78
20 10 0
Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Trainees
Paralegals
Business services
London office
Percentage split
No
Not specified
Yes
In 2006, we completed £350,000 of modifications to our London estate to bring it into line with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. In 2007, we provided a work placement for the first time for Prospects, the National Autistic Society’s employment and training service for people with autism and Asperger syndrome. We plan to continue with this in the future. Our previous website, including our first corporate social responsibility report, was awarded a Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) See it Right accreditation. In December 2007, we redesigned our website with accessibility in mind and we hope we will again gain accreditation from the RNIB.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
55
7.4.4 Sexual orientation 2006/7 Sexual orientation: partners and employees in our London office 2006/7 100 90 80 70 %
60
35
27
2
1
25
24
25
1
1
2
1
50
81
40 30
17
64
75
72
74
73
20 10 0
Partners and principal consultants
Associates
Trainees
Paralegals
Business services
London office
Percentage split
Hetrosexual
Not specified
Gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender
Our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group was formalised in summer 2007, although the group had been meeting regularly since 2000. The group meets socially, providing an informal support network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who work here, and also meets with similar groups from other law firms. The group is also represented in our diversity working group. Our diversity working group is committed to promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in the workplace and to ensuring our workplace policies meet best practice in this regard.
56
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.4.5 Recent diversity statistics for London November 2007 Diversity statistics for London November 2007
Male
Female
(per cent)
(per cent)
Declared white
Declared minority ethnic
(per cent)
Declared disability (per cent)
(per cent)
Works flexible hours (per cent)
Partners
129 (82 )
28 (18 )
105 (67 )
4 (3 )
1 (1 )
2 (1 )
Associates and practice support lawyers
305 (52 )
277 (48)
413 (71)
63 (11 )
6 (1)
29 (5)
Trainee solicitors
87 (44)
111 (56)
152 (78 )
26 (13)
0 (0)
0 (0)
5 (2)
274 (98)
213 (76)
26 (9)
3 (1 )
64 (23 )
327 (47)
371 (53)
443 (63)
77 (11)
9 (1)
63 (9)
42 (45)
51 (55)
61 (66)
13 (14)
1 (1)
11 (12)
Secretaries Business services Paralegals
‘Declared white’ corresponds to the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) categories of British, Irish or any other white background. ‘Declared minority ethnic’ corresponds to the CRE categories of mixed, Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Chinese or other ethnic group.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
57
7.5 Diversity: our trainees Gender: trainee solicitors in our London office 100 90 80 70 %
54
53
42
47
59
54
60 50 40 30 20
46
47
Aug 03/ Feb 04
Aug 04/ Feb 05
58
53
41
46
10 0
Aug 05/ Feb 06
Aug 06/ Feb 07
Aug 07/ Feb 08
Aug 08/ Feb 09
Percentage split Male Female
Our trainee lawyers are the partners of the future – and it is vital that we invest in developing them. Many of our offices recruit trainees. For example, in 2006/7 we facilitated legal training for 500 lawyers in training – 228 trainees in London, 233 Referendare in Germany and 39 Rechtsanwaltsanwärter in Austria – as part of the officially required curriculum in the respective jurisdictions. In addition, we provided 456 future lawyers with opportunities to gain work experience as interns. In London, we encourage our trainees to get involved in our community and pro bono programme from the moment they arrive. Trainees usually participate in a community challenge during their first few weeks, as well as our various community initiatives – the schemes at our partner primary and secondary schools are particularly popular. Trainees are also encouraged to participate in the Tower Hamlets Legal Advice Centre, where we have been giving pro bono legal advice since 1973. Our senior partner Guy Morton volunteered here when he first joined the firm. Many too join our legal advice centres or choose to take on pro bono case work within our human rights and access to justice programmes. In 2006/7, 94 per cent of our trainees got involved in our community programme and 88 per cent in our pro bono programme. Each year four trainees in our dispute resolution department have the opportunity to take up a secondment with Liberty, the British civil liberties organisation. Some of our future trainees at BPP Professional Education in the UK also choose to work with members of our firm on the StreetLaw project at Haggerston School for Girls in Hackney, our partner secondary school.
58
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
‘One reason I like Freshfields is because they take pro bono as seriously as their other work. And that’s important because it’s not just clients who gain from it. We gain so much from it, too. I help out at one of the free legal clinics supported by Freshfields. In some respects, I feel I’m ahead of people who haven’t had the opportunity to do pro bono because it’s given me such a variety of experience and learning opportunities, which is one of the reasons I’d encourage people to do it.’ Matthew Atkinson, trainee Who are our trainees?
We have more information on our trainees in London, where the majority begin their careers. Trainee solicitors in our London office
Disability (per cent)
Ethnic origin (not European/white)* (per cent)
August 03/February 04
0
10
August 04/February 05
0
11
August 05/February 06
0
9
August 06/February 07
1
11
August 07/February 08
0
20
August 08/February 09 (future trainees)
0
18
*
Where ethnic origin has been declared
Since 2001, graduates from over 60 universities worldwide have started training contracts in our London office. We welcome applications from talented non-law graduates and those changing career. Our aim is to recruit trainees who will continue their careers with us on qualification. In September 2007, 11 per cent of our trainees and 18 per cent of our future trainees (people who have accepted training contracts for our firm) were from black and minority ethnic backgrounds; the Law Society’s target is 10 per cent. Equal opportunities
We are an equal opportunity employer. We adopt an open-minded approach to recruitment and continuously try to improve our ability to spot talent that has not yet shown through in academic grades. We read all CVs sent to us and ask potential trainees to make a personal statement that helps us put their academic results in a broader context. Find out more about trainees at www.freshfields.com/people/trainees/ and about careers at www.freshfields.com/careers/.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
59
7.6 Diversity: developing and reaching new talent ‘We have a responsibility to invest in the next generation, to help young people from all backgrounds to improve their skills and develop their potential – it is vital to sustaining our own success and the success of other businesses and the societies we live and work in. In a fast-changing world where demand for talented people and imaginative solutions is high, we have a particular responsibility to our own profession to ensure a wider range of people take up commercial law.’ Hugh Crisp, partner with responsibility for diversity We recruit from around the world. We also invest time and effort in attracting and developing future talent in our London office, where the majority of our people are based. Encouraging more black and minority ethnic people and people from a range of backgrounds into our law firm
In London, we are involved with a variety of organisations and programmes designed to develop potential candidates, break down misconceptions about professional services firms and attract applicants from a range of backgrounds. We support initiatives designed to help people from black and minority ethnic groups to enter the legal profession, such as Target Chances, or those from ‘nontraditional’ backgrounds, such as Pure Potential. We were the first City firm to support the Diversity in Law scheme, through which we have recruited two trainee solicitors. We promote ourselves in publications aimed at black and minority ethnic people and are pleased that we have seen an increase in the proportion of black and minority ethnic people joining us as trainee solicitor recruits, to 18 per cent. In 2006/7, in association with Brent Council and The Learning Trust in Hackney, we hosted the launch and graduation of the Black Leadership programme for 150 pupils from schools in these areas. The programme aimed to equip young black students from disadvantaged areas with the skills and motivation to make better personal and career choices. Future initiatives designed to make the commercial legal profession more diverse
In 2008, we will be supporting the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law initiative, which is designed to attract fresh talent to the legal profession by targeting students from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university and whose parents are in non-professional occupations. We expect to provide work experience to five people through this scheme in 2008 and more going forward. In 2008, we will also be supporting the City Solicitors’ Educational Trust’s Summer School, which aims to recruit a wider range of people into the commercial legal profession by working with non-Russell Group universities.
60
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
In the same vein, in 2008 we will be offering places on our summer vacation scheme to undergraduates involved in the Sponsorship for Educational Opportunities scheme. Working with schools and work experience
One of the main themes of our community investment programme is improving the skills and raising the aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the hope that this will have a positive effect on these individuals’ lives and benefit our own firm and other employers in both London and the other cities where we are located. In London, we work closely with Haggerston School for Girls in Hackney, the UK Career Academy Foundation and Redlands Primary School in Tower Hamlets. Providing work experience is also an important part of our community and diversity programmes in London, as it helps to improve young people’s understanding of the world of work and our profession in particular. Each year, we host work placements for 20 homeless people and for around 10 students from local schools in Hackney and from the UK Career Academy Foundation. We expanded our placement programme in 2007 to include individuals from the National Autistic Society’s Prospects employment and training service, teachers on the Teach First programme and a community affairs trainee from Tower Hamlets. ‘I really appreciate the experience. The skills and knowledge which I have gained will not only help me in college but will benefit me in the future. I have learned so much about myself and what my strengths and weaknesses are. You have been very supportive and understanding. This was an opportunity of a lifetime, and everything I learned about the business, how to work in a professional atmosphere and what it is to be a real employee has taught me about the world of work.’ Student with the UK Career Academy Foundation after their six week placement. Working with universities
In seeking to attract a diverse range of the most talented students, our graduate recruitment department sponsors a variety of university and college law society and careers department events, send speakers and staff to address groups of students, run workshops and host open days. In addition, we help several major universities sponsor students on exchange years and support careers events with university law/careers department services. We also offer material support to several major universities to support IT systems, sponsor students on exchange years and help with other aspects of university law/careers department services.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
61
7.7 Developing our people We are committed to becoming one of the leading international professional services organisations in developing the capabilities of the people who work here. One of the reasons behind our success is that we were one of the first law firms to recognise the need for ongoing training throughout an individual’s career. The only way to maintain our excellence in all we do is constantly to invest in the legal and professional skills of our people. We aim to recruit people with an appetite for personal development and we continue to invest in many formal development opportunities. Everyone who works here has equal access to training and other career development. Our learning and development team provides a range of professional skills and language courses, including focused workshops, longer personal development programmes and online ‘skills at your fingertips’ training. The team also designs tailored projects to support an individual practice group’s development objectives. Associates attend three international development programmes at key stages in their career. Since 2001, 462 of our international partners (including 176 London partners) have attended our partner development programme and 48 international partners have attended our leadership programme for partners in management positions. London learning and development attendees 2004-07
Attendees 04/5
Attendees 05/6
Attendees 06/7
Development programmes
651
116
204
Skills workshops
454
454
614
We adapt our learning and development interventions to meet the needs of our people. Examples of new innovative programmes are the principal associates residential programme in Germany at St Gallen University, the ‘Real Deal’ programme for mid level corporate associates and the awardwinning ‘Virtual Office’ for our junior litigators. We invest in creating development interventions that are enjoyable and challenging. We provide development and coaching for partners and staff who are promoted so that they can successfully discharge their new duties and responsibilities. Each new partner is offered an external coach to support the transition. We have provided business development, knowledge-sharing and soft skills training to the newly integrated knowledge management and business development (KBD) teams, providing them with the requisite skills for their new roles. We will be implementing a structured development
62
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
programme for KBD at key stages in their career, akin to the associates’ programmes, to ensure we attract and retain the best KBD talent. Legal training and knowledge management
The firm is a market leader in its investment in knowledge management and legal training. Every department and team provides extensive technical legal training in its particular specialisation, as well as knowledge management resources (eg precedents, standard forms, survival guides, practice notes and current awareness) and support, ensuring our professionals work as effectively and efficiently as possible. A number of departments fund associates who wish to pursue postgraduate study in a relevant field. However, most development occurs on the job. How to provide effective day-to-day feedback is therefore a common theme throughout our development courses. Appraisals
All employees have a formal appraisal at least once a year. Partners and senior managers are encouraged to participate in 360-degree feedback programmes, promoting greater self-awareness and providing opportunities for change. Each partner develops a personal business plan annually. Our appraisal system is currently the focus of an associate working group. Secondments
Secondments provide lawyers with the opportunity to experience clients’ businesses firsthand, or to broaden their cultural awareness by working in an international office or with an organisation such as the human rights group Liberty. We take a broad view of our professional responsibilities and contribute to the legal, business and regulatory community in many ways. Find our more at www.freshfields.com/careers/learning
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
63
7.8 Reward We recognise the link between performance and reward. Reward is dealt with as a local issue and we aim to be at the top of the market in the countries where we employ people. Pay for most lawyers includes a seniority-based salary, together with a performance-related bonus. For other people, pay depends on the role and quality of performance. The year 2007 saw a greater use of individual performance bonuses for both associates and business services staff to reflect high performance. We also took steps to ensure our basic pay rates were among the market leaders in all our jurisdictions. We provide generous holiday entitlements often including time off in lieu, at the discretion of the relevant partner, following periods of intensive work. In London, senior associates are eligible for a four-week paid sabbatical after three years’ employment. Trainees are able to take up to four weeks’ leave on qualification. Other benefits include a contributory pension scheme, a full range of insurance benefits, and enhanced maternity and paternity pay. Recent developments include offering home computing and childcare voucher schemes.
64
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.9 Support and well-being We are keenly interested in the well-being of the people who work here and support our people in a variety of ways. Well-being
We are committed to helping all employees achieve the right balance between their professional and personal lives. We recognise that performing the services we offer our clients, to the level we do, requires a great deal of commitment from our people, and many of our people take great pride in this. We also recognise there are other priorities in life too. It is this balance we must get right. We have long had practices in place to ensure workloads are managed properly. For each department or group an individual is responsible for monitoring workloads to ensure they do not become excessive. Partners discuss workloads and capacity with associates and their departments regularly and follow up with individuals who may need further help and attention, in either reducing their volumes of work or in obtaining different types of work more appropriate to their level of qualification or their interests. In London, we run ‘performance under pressure’ or stress management courses and provide online guidance for staff. We have associate working groups looking at work/life balance, which we recognise as a key issue for the long term happiness of our people, and work allocation. In London, we have an onsite occupational health adviser, who aims to help protect and promote physical and psychological well-being in the workplace. We provide free private healthcare for all our permanent employees. We have a doctor and a nurse onsite and an in-house dental service. We provide a free gym through which we offer a variety of services, including a masseur, a physiotherapist, exercise classes and fitness trainers. We offer advice and promote good nutrition through our subsidised staff restaurant. Different arrangements are provided in our offices firm-wide, with several offering free gym membership. In Germany occupational doctors (Betriebsärzte) visit the offices regularly and are available to everybody. Flexible working
We have a formal policy on flexible working. Options include part-time working, fixed hours and home-working, with some people combining a number of options to find a solution that best suits their needs. We provide home workers with computing equipment to enable them to work effectively. Each request for flexible working is assessed against a number of factors, including the effect on client service. Currently, over 9 per cent of our people in London have flexible working arrangements – 8 per cent in 2004/5. Most people who have flexible and/or
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
65
part-time work arrangements are either paralegals or in business services. We expect to continue to see an increase in flexible working, particularly given the increased ability to work remotely. We anticipate that this policy may help some women return to work after having children. Members of our employment, pensions and benefits department have been providing pro bono legal advice to Working Families, a charity that focuses on work/life balance and aims to help, and give a voice to, working parents and carers and to help employers create workplaces that encourage work/life balance for everyone. Our volunteers have given advice on the charity’s helpline and helped update fact sheets on childcare, parents’ rights, benefits and finance, and flexible working. For many years we have matched time off for people who observe religious holidays on days when the office is open, and our London office has a contemplation room for people of all religions and faiths to use. Mentoring
In London, our mentoring programme, in which senior colleagues mentor a number of employees, has developed over the years to reflect the different needs and approaches of our practice groups. The associate working group is now looking at ways to make it more effective. For the last two years, we have also run a peer-mentoring scheme for new partners, and a number of departments are piloting mentoring programmes whereby partners are responsible for the training, career and pastoral development of a small group of associates. Networks and affinity groups
In London we have an active parents network with a regular programme of activities to support working parents. Our London lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) group was formalised in summer 2007 and aims to meet on a regular basis. The group meets socially and provides an informal support network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who work here. Representatives from the group are also part of the diversity working group. Our diversity working group is exploring whether we should establish other networks to address issues facing particular groups who are underrepresented either across the firm or at certain levels within it. Social activities
We believe it is important for employees to continue with their interests and to get involved in new activities; this is also a great opportunity to meet other people from the firm. In our London office, we have 28 clubs and societies, ranging from art classes to water polo. We match holiday for those who attend team tours.
66
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
7.10 Equality Clients
We aim to accommodate any specific client needs arising from gender, race, disability, religion or belief, age or sexual orientation. We will not refuse to act for a client for discriminatory reasons. Our dealings with others
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity in those areas in which we have influence. In our dealings with third parties, including those with other members of the legal profession and suppliers, we will seek to promote the principles of equality and diversity. Acts of discrimination or harassment by those acting on our behalf will lead to appropriate steps being taken, including termination of services where appropriate. Local compliance
We are committed to complying with the regulations in force in each country in which we are located. Individual offices may, therefore, implement their own equal opportunities policies. As far as possible, these should be consistent with our overall policy. In the event of conflict, the local policy and the requirements of local regulation will override the provisions of this policy. Responsibility
All our people are expected to observe our policy in this area. Ultimate responsibility rests with the partners of the firm, and the human resources director is responsible for its day-to-day operation. We will take any allegations of discrimination or harassment seriously and will take appropriate action. Clients or third parties with questions should contact a partner.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
67
7.11 Health and safety We advise businesses on health and safety law and practice. We have a responsibility, therefore, to match the advice we give to our clients with our own performance. To that end, we have a formal health and safety policy signed by the chief operating officer demonstrating our commitment to maintaining a healthy and safe workplace. We are committed to training all our people in the key risks affecting their health and safety at work – manual handling, use of display screen equipment, first aid, fire and emergencies. Health and safety in London
In London, our health and safety committee meets once a quarter, providing each practice area and support department with the opportunity to be consulted, via a representative, on anything the firm does that affects their health and safety. Through the committee, we report to the partnership all accidents, incidents and statutory visits. We investigate all accidents to identify trends and prevent recurrences. We also have three full-time health and safety professionals with experience and qualifications in all aspects of health and safety risk management. This includes supervising internal construction projects and carrying out risk assessments and audits on a range of topics, including the most recent requirements for assessing fire precautions and working at normal height. Accident trends
In London, our accident trends continue to vary. We have not achieved our targets of fewer than 24 accidents per year and two or fewer reportable accidents per year, but will continue to aim for this in the next financial year. The office has not had any enforcement notices applied by the local enforcement authority with regards to any health and safety infringements. Accident trend in London Reported accidents
2002/3
58
2003/4
67
2004/5
48
2005/6
2006/7
42
This is the first time we have reported on our international figures. Nine offices did not supply information. We aim to report in a more comprehensive way in the future.
68
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
57
Accidents reported in our offices
Accidents
Injuries lasting over three days
Head count
London
57
7
2,121
Mainland Europe
20
4
2,896
Asia and Middle East
0
0
358
US
0
0
118
77
11
5,493
Worldwide
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
69
7.12 Diversity working group We have launched a firm-wide initiative to assess and improve our performance on diversity, learning from our own experiences and those of other organisations. This is led by our senior partner Guy Morton. The diversity working group has been formed to take forward our commitment to promoting diversity and to develop strategies for delivering our policy of encouraging and promoting greater diversity within our firm. In London, the diversity working group works closely with our parents network; our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender group; the associate engagement group; and associate working groups responsible for work/life balance, mentoring and career path planning, in particular. Our diversity working group expects us to report more fully on our diversity programme in our next corporate social responsibility report. Participants include:
Tania Ayers, personal assistant;
Annette Byron, real estate partner;
Alex Carver, finance partner;
Catherine Derrick, finance associate;
Gail Farahani, head of London administration;
Martin Farley, IP researcher;
Andrea Gomes da Silva, antitrust, competition and trade associate;
Amanda-Jane Harrison, head of IT customer services;
Kathleen Healy, employment, pensions and benefits partner;
Paul Joseph, IP/IT associate;
Vanessa Knapp, principal consultant;
Jon Lawrence, dispute resolution partner;
Leroy Lendor, evening postal and courier services supervisor;
Angus McGregor, head of conflicts management;
Laurie McFadden, corporate partner;
Alicia Millar, learning and development executive;
Anthony Oxley, corporate associate;
Sharon Parish, billing operations manager;
Daniel Pereira, cashier;
Sue Porter, tax partner;
Rob Wills, senior personal assistant;
Rajesh Singh, dispute resolution associate; and
Sheena Singla, corporate associate. This group is supported by a team of human resources specialists; Hugh Crisp, the partner with responsibility for diversity; Tim Cole, human resources director; and Bea Malleson, head of CSR.
70
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
8. Climate change and the environment ‘Our target is to reduce our impact on the environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by April 2008. We recognise that each office will need to respond differently, reflecting their circumstances, but there are certain things we can all do, some of which will require a change in the way we work. This will be challenging but rewarding, and we believe is essential in the light of the deeply worrying problems being caused by climate change.’ John Blain, chair of our environmental working group We have taken a firm-wide approach to what we recognise to be a global issue and are committed to minimising our impact on the environment by 10 per cent by April 2008. Since 2005/6, we have seen a small reduction of around 2.5 per cent per person when emissions are normalised by the number of people who work here, and we hope this will continue so we meet our 10 per cent target. Offsetting our carbon emissions
We have been certified CarbonNeutral® by The CarbonNeutral Company and are offsetting our 2006/7 greenhouse gas emissions by supporting a wind farm project in Turkey, a solar water heating initiative and a mini hydro power project in India, and a methane capture project in three coal mines in Germany that was selected by a firm-wide vote in which nearly 2,200 people participated. Achieving our target: changing the way we work
We recognise that reducing our environmental impact involves accurately measuring our greenhouse gas emissions and reducing them where we can. In practice, this means changing working practices throughout our offices: cutting down on paper use, reducing our air travel, using video and telephone conferencing wherever possible, and increasing our waste recycling. To help us achieve our target, we have prioritised reducing business air travel and electricity use, as these contribute 64 per cent of our total greenhouse gas emissions. Our offices, with members of the environmental working group, have also developed individual action plans with the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management. In addition, we have set up a network of green teams in our offices that include a range of people. The teams are responsible for helping us come up with ideas on how to reduce our impact on the environment, giving us feedback on what we are doing and could be doing, and helping us ensure environmental considerations are taken into account in purchasing decisions and piloting initiatives. We are reviewing all our offices to see where and when we can switch to low carbon energy supplies. Since 2004, 85 per cent of our electricity
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
71
supply in London has come from renewable resources. Our German and Italian offices are poised to switch to low carbon energy supplies, and our Paris office has a low carbon electricity supply due to the nuclear component of the French electricity grid. Our environmental policy is part of our purchasing process, as it is our aim to consider our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment in all our purchasing decisions. Memberships
We are founding members of the Legal Sector Alliance on sustainability and climate change together with Business in the Community (BITC) and the Law Society. We are also part of BITC’s May Day Network, a group of companies committed to taking action on climate change. Both groups encourage businesses to share their experiences in tackling the issue and to engage suppliers, customers and sector peers to do the same. All data provided on this page has been independently reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.
72
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
8.1 Our environmental impact In December 2006, we decided we should go CarbonNeutral® across all our offices from May 2007 to minimise our impact on the environment. We then began to collect the data to enable us to do so. We appointed The CarbonNeutral Company and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management to help us measure our greenhouse gas emissions – these are the gases that contribute to climate change. They estimated our emissions to be 19,066 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2005/6, and 19,635 in 2006/7, the year we went CarbonNeutral®. When normalised by the number of people who work here we actually saw a decrease of around 2.5 per cent per person between 2005/6 and 2006/7, although there was an overall increase in carbon emissions. We hope to see a continued decrease of carbon emissions per person to meet our 10 per cent target by April 2008. Our priorities
The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management has recommended that air travel and electricity are where we need to make the most significant reductions, as they contribute 33 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively. In 2006/7, 108 tonnes of CO2 equivalent were already offset by the Radio Taxi Group. Reducing air travel will be difficult for us because so much client contact depends on it and we have an international network of offices; this requires us to change the way we work. However, we do have a policy in place for all long and short journeys that asks our people to use air travel only when there is a clear business and/or client need and to consider using video and telephone conferencing facilities. We have also introduced a system with our travel agents to encourage more use of Eurostar train travel between London, Brussels and Paris. To maximise engagement in the process of becoming CarbonNeutral®, we invited all our people to vote on how we should offset our greenhouse gas emissions and have set up green teams to help us to carry through our commitments. Measurement
To establish the tonnes of CO2 equivalent emitted, the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management used a full set of geographically relevant and up to date emissions factors, including The Greenhouse Gas Protocol published by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2004); Environmental Reporting: Guidelines for Company Reporting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions published by the UK government (Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, 2005 and 2007); and guidelines by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2006 and 1996).
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
73
Breakdown of total greenhouse gas emissions by general activity 100 90 80 70 %
1
60 50
81
40
59 64
30
59 38
20
41
10
2
0
Premises
2005/6 2006/7
1
Business travel
2
2
Company owned vehicles
1
2
Deliveries by third parties
1
Electricity, gas, heating oil and district heating consumption, back-up generator fuel use, refrigerant gas loss, fire extinguishers and waste disposal
2
Including hire cars, employee owned cars, taxis, air, rail and hotel night stays
On average, emissions per employee have reduced by around 2.5 per cent between 2006/7 and 2005/6. Breakdown of emissions by region and employee 10 9 8 7 6
6.9
5 4
4.6
3 2 1 0
2.4
6.3
4.1
4.8
2.1
London
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
Emissions per employee (Tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) 2005/6 Emissions per employee (Tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year) 2006/7
74
8.2
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
US
Most of our offices that used non-recyclable waxed paper cups have now switched to china mugs. London, Brussels and Rome introduced these in autumn 2007. Many of our offices recycle their IT equipment to local community organisations. Our office in London has produced an online green guide. We check on a regular basis how many computers are left on overnight; our German and Amsterdam offices are best at switching off. Energy saving lightbulbs have been introduced in most of our offices.
For further information on our approach to corporate social responsibility reporting, please see our Greenhouse Gas Protocol, section 8.1.1. All data provided on this page has been independently reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
75
8.1.1 Greenhouse Gas Protocol Our approach to corporate social responsibility reporting is to present data using commonly accepted standards where these exist. In the field of carbon management, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol Corporate Standard) has become for many the adopted standard for greenhouse gas accounting and reporting systems. We have used it to develop our GHG inventory to define the scope of business activities relating to GHG emissions and provide the foundation for managing our GHG risks and identifying reduction opportunities. The Corporate Standard separates emissions into three scopes, shown below. Scope 1 direct GHG emissions
GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled. Our Scope 1 emissions arise from:
premises – gas, heating oil, fuel oil used by back-up generators, refrigerants and fire extinguishers; and
company owned vehicles – petrol.
Scope 2 indirect GHG emissions
Emissions from the generation of electricity purchased by the reporting company and consumed in equipment or operations owned or controlled by it. Our Scope 2 emissions arise from:
premises – electricity and district heating. Scope 3 indirect GHG emissions
Indirect emissions from sources not owned or controlled but a consequence of the reporting company business activities. Under the Corporate Standard, the reporting of Scope 3 emissions is optional. The Scope 3 emissions we have included are:
business travel – petrol and diesel hire cars, employee owned vehicles used for business purposes, taxis, air and rail travel, and hotel stays;
deliveries – by air, rail or road; and
premises – waste.
76
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Based on this analysis the breakdown of our GHG emissions by the three scopes is: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard
38%
19%
43%
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 3
All data provided on this page has been independently reviewed by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
77
8.2 Supply chain management We believe sustainability is now a central factor in supply chain management and have actively engaged a number of key suppliers in the last year on such subjects as compliance with labour laws, fair trade, sustainable fishing, forest stewardship, quality and sustainability of recycled products, organic produce and food miles (including conducting site visits). This is an ongoing process as we work towards verifying our supply chain by developing questionnaires for suppliers and a toolkit for substantiating their claims. We recognise that this review is in its early stages. Given our geographical spread and the number of local suppliers involved, which is to be encouraged, it will be a challenge to develop and implement firm-wide supply chain policies. However, this is a project that we will press forward with in 2008. We are also in the process of implementing an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) environmental programme for each office. We anticipate that this will first be piloted in London.
78
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
8.3 IT and the environment ‘IT can provide many solutions to climate change. It is our challenge to use it effectively, in a way that enhances our client services, is cost-effective, and sustains teamwork and the firm’s sense of community.’ David Hamilton, IT director
We continue to spend around £5m annually on information technology (IT) products and services worldwide and regard IT as an important means of reducing our impact on the environment. Our IT procurement has been centralised in London and Germany, enabling us to have a more controlled supplier selection process, as we prefer to work with suppliers who hold similar values with regard to social and environmental responsibility. Of our 10 key suppliers, eight have formal corporate social responsibility reports or departments. Our target is to work with the remaining key suppliers and all smaller, new suppliers to ensure they are as committed to social and environmental responsibility as we are. Reducing travel
A variety of tools and services used in the firm is designed to increase efficiency, reduce travel, enhance home-working and reduce the amount of paper we use. We are replacing our video conferencing equipment with the latest high definition systems to make the meeting experience more lifelike and improve its popularity. We are also working towards increasing the number of systems in our offices to make video conferencing more widely accessible. Additionally, we aim to offer desktop video conferencing for people who need to attend meetings at their desktops or from home or out of office locations. We are already regular users of audio conferencing and recently increased capacity on our own conferencing bridge to meet demand. A further enhancement now available is web conferencing to allow remote sharing of applications with multiple parties over the internet. Reducing our impact on the environment
We are also rolling out a new electronic filing system across the firm, which should reduce paper use and filing. Other recent innovations include the following.
Server consolidation: we have further reduced the number of servers by accommodating some 320 virtual servers onto 21 machines. This has reduced the amount of electricity we use. We have also started another project to virtualise a further 150 servers in the current fiscal year.
Back-up tape storage consolidation: by purchasing a new tape library system, we have reduced the number of tapes we store from 12,000 to 3,000. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
79
80
General network infrastructure consolidation: we have replaced our old cabling system with a single CAT6T system, reducing significantly the amount of copper wiring we use every day. We have dropped from using 15 drums (each containing 400m of copper cable) to two drums a year. Printer consolidation: we have begun to consolidate our many local printers into fewer networked printers, which also saves electricity and enables better use of toners. Our target is to reduce the number of printers used in our offices by improving the ratio of networked printers to local ones.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
8.4 Looking to the future Carbon capture and storage
‘We are delighted to be supporting the Carbon Capture Legal Programme as part of our commitment to taking a responsible approach to climate change. We are dedicated to reducing our own impact on the environment by cutting carbon emissions firm-wide by 10 per cent by April 2008, and by offsetting those emissions we are still producing. We hope by supporting the development of this website to help ensure that the complex nature of the law surrounding carbon capture and storage will not act as a barrier to the development of this technology, which has the potential to make a significant reduction to carbon emissions around the world. We also hope that it will stimulate further debate around the use of this technology.’ Guy Morton, senior partner
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is assuming increasing importance as a significant response to climate change and the need for new approaches to energy delivery. The 2006 Stern Report and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognised its significance as a method for mitigating the continued use of fossil fuels for global energy generation. The law surrounding CCS is complex and could potentially act as a barrier to its development. To help deal with this, we are providing financial support to the Carbon Capture Legal Programme, a website developed by the University College London (UCL) Centre for Law and the Environment to provide an authoritative, independent and objective source of up to date legal information on CCS. Through the website and a programme of seminars and conferences, UCL’s Centre for Law and the Environment also hopes to promote informed discussion within industry, government, the legal profession, nongovernmental organisations and all those with an interest in CCS legal issues. Other sponsors include Rio Tinto, RPS Group and RWE npower. Representatives from all the donors contribute to the programme’s advisory panel. At its inception in December 2006, this two-year programme was endorsed by the UK’s Department for Trade and Industry and Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs. UCL’s Centre for Law and the Environment will work closely on the project with the University of Oslo’s Research Group in Natural Resources Law. The latter has worked with legal issues related to CCS since 2003 and is the key institution in this field in Norway, which in turn is the leading European country testing the practicalities of sub-seabed CCS. As the website explains, ‘carbon capture and storage in its simplest form, involves capturing the CO2 from various industrial installations and storing it underground in natural reservoirs, such as depleted oil and gas fields or saline aquifers. Industry is confident that they can both capture carbon dioxide and store it safely underground, using various new and previously tested methods.’ See the website at www.ucl.ac.uk/cclp. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
81
8.5 Environmental and sustainability policy We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment and promoting sustainability and environmental awareness at all levels of decision making, and to achieving continuous improvement in our environmental performance in all business areas. We are also committed to making year-on-year reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve our goals, we aim to:
comply with all environmental, legislative and regulatory requirements applicable to our business operations;
manage our waste effectively and seek to reduce, reuse and recycle wherever practicable;
monitor and manage our use of natural resources and reduce this where practicable;
evaluate our use of information technology, consumables, office materials and furniture in line with our environmental objectives;
ensure the people who work here are aware of the environmental impact of their work activity and are working to reduce this impact;
adopt a purchasing policy that complements our commitments to minimising our environmental impact and encourage our suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of their products and services through active engagement, responsible purchasing and effective contract management;
ensure environmental considerations are taken into account in relation to transport, property and facilities management, as well as our energy use;
encourage and promote environmental awareness and the use of best environmental practice to our clients, our people and the local community; and
develop effective management programmes with structured objectives and targets against which our environmental performance will be measured and publicly report on our progress towards these goals. Responsibility for implementation of this environmental policy rests with the environmental working group, with specific responsibilities delegated to dedicated teams throughout our network.
82
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
8.6 Environmental activities in London Our London office continues to seek ways of being more environmentally friendly. In 1995, we were one of the first firms to sign up to the UK Department of the Environment’s ‘Making a corporate commitment’ campaign, which encourages businesses to reduce their environmental impact. Our successive Clean City Awards since 1999 show we have reduced our impact on the environment by reusing and recycling resources, minimising waste, using green energy and encouraging the use of public transport and cycling. Reducing fuel consumption
In our first corporate social responsibility report, we reported that we had cut our car park spaces to provide more cycle parking and use Radio Taxis, a CarbonNeutral taxi service. Since then, we have introduced hybrid cars for our on-call service and an electric van for local deliveries, and we recycle 150 litres of cooking oil each month to make bio-diesel for our taxi company. Energy saving
In total, we have invested over £300,000 in energy saving improvements since our 2004/5 report, including introducing advanced lighting controls, water system sensors and inverters for extract fans; commissioning a lower-energy chiller to replace an existing one; and investing in our own infrared camera to inspect our buildings for adequacy of insulation and energy waste. Our desktop PCs are usually replaced every three years to accommodate new software. All of these are eco-friendly according to Energy Star and Blue Angel criteria. The packaging from all PCs is collected and reused by our suppliers. We have also reduced the number of laptops in use from around 1,000 to 250, as laptops use significantly more energy than desktops, and replaced most of our standard 15 inch CRT monitors with more energy efficient 17 inch TFT screens.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
83
Our electricity use is down by 7 per cent since we made our commitment to going CarbonNeutral® in December 2006. Electricity usage trend 2,200,000 2,100,000 2,000,000 Kwh
1,900,000 1,800,000 1,700,000 1,600,000
il pr A
ch
y
ar
ar
ar
ru
M
y Fe b
r
nu Ja
r
ec
D
em be ov
N
em be
er ob ct
O
em be
r
t us ug
Se
pt
ly A
Ju
ne Ju
M
ay
1,500,000
Month 2003/4
2005/6
2004/5
2006/7
2007/8
Mugs, mineral water and composting
We replaced waxed cups with china mugs in November 2007, which we estimate will save a further 4.8 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. We also introduced a food composting initiative into all our kitchen areas in collaboration with the East London Community Recycling Partnership, which means 2.4 tonnes of food waste per month that previously went to landfill is now used to make compost for local parks and charity projects, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 30 tonnes a year. We no longer buy in bottled mineral water, saving an estimated 11 tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year, and have increased the amount of fair trade and organic food and wine available in our catering areas. Recycling
We recycle 95 per cent of the toner cartridges we use and continue to recycle or donate to charities and schools the furniture and equipment we no longer use. We recycle and recondition all our telephone handsets where possible. An average of 7 out of 10 is repaired. The rest are sent to a recycling depot that specialises in preventing landfill waste disposal. In autumn 2007, we replaced our people’s mobile phones and BlackBerry PDAs with a single BlackBerry that is also used as a mobile phone, significantly reducing the number of phone chargers in use. Following a refurbishment programme, we sent 14 tonnes of furniture to Green-Works for reuse and recycling in August and September 2006. We use Forest Stewardship Council approved woods for new wooden furniture and doors.
84
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Our decorations for the Christmas 2007 festive season were made from waste recycled from our offices. Reducing paper
In 2006 and 2007, we supported the Crisis Christmas Card initiative, making a donation to the charity for homeless people and using their e-card instead of paper cards. We are increasingly switching to email for invitations, monthly accounts statements and client briefings as we seek to reduce the amount of paper we use. In autumn 2007 we launched a paper recycling initiative with our suppliers Arriba, which means all our used paper is recycled and returned to us as new. For 2006/7 we donated:
86 computers to Computer Aid, two to Providence Row and two to South Lambeth Theatre; 30 monitors to Computer Aid, two to Providence Row and two to South Lambeth Theatre; and 50 laptops, 62 keyboards and mice to Computer Aid.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
85
8.7 Environmental working group John Blain, a partner in our environment, planning and regulatory practice, leads our environmental working group, with the aim of ensuring we meet our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. The group also works with the partners responsible for our corporate social responsibility strategy across our network of offices and the green teams we have established in our offices and practice groups, as well as The CarbonNeutral Company. The working group includes:
Stacey Collins, health, safety and environment officer;
Crispin Hain-Cole, partnership secretary;
David Hamilton, IT director;
Tim Jones, partner and chairman, London management group;
Giedre Kaminskaite-Salters and Alistair Southern, associates in our environmental practice group; and
Bea Malleson, head of corporate social responsibility. The group responds to all the suggestions about environmental improvements we receive from the people who work here. We received around 200 suggestions following the announcement that we were committed to being CarbonNeutral®; these have helped inform the action plans developed with the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management for our offices.
86
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9. Community and pro bono legal advice ‘We encourage everybody in the firm to take community engagement and pro bono activity seriously. We hope that everybody will spend one day a year on community team challenges, and encourage those with legal expertise to use their skills to the benefit of the wider community. We also encourage everyone to get involved in wider community activities. We believe we are not here merely to make a living and attain our professional ambitions; a wider vision, a sense of the needs of the world around us and a spirit of hope and achievement are equally important, and we are encouraged by the response of our people at all levels in the firm to our community and pro bono activities.’ Konstantin Mettenheimer and Guy Morton, senior partners Our community and pro bono programme is designed to make a positive difference to the communities where we have offices and, more broadly, to some of the wider legal and social issues that concern so many of us today, which is why we concentrate on investing in the community, including pro bono legal advice. In 2006/7, 92 per cent of our firm-wide contribution was focused on community investment and 8 per cent on charitable gifts. As a law firm, we believe we have a responsibility to promote human rights and improve access to justice for people in need. As an employer, we believe we have a responsibility to invest in the next generation, to improve the skills and develop the potential of young people in schools and colleges, and to encourage a wider range of people from different backgrounds to consider going into commercial law firms like ours. We also actively engage in tackling important social issues like homelessness and wider social exclusion. For us, this is part of our approach to sustainability. Encouraging volunteering during working time
Most important to implementing our community and pro bono policy is the involvement of our people. Everyone who works here is encouraged to contribute one working day each year to our team challenges and to get involved in our community and pro bono programme. In 2006/7, 24 per cent of our people firm-wide chose to participate in our programme, contributing over 25,000 hours. We hope to see an increase on this in 2007/8 following the introduction of our first firm-wide team Community Challenge initiative during October 2007, which involved over 600 people from 23 of our offices. Four areas of focus
The majority of our total firm-wide contribution is focused on our four themes. Each office, together with its community partners, is responsible for interpreting these themes in a way that is appropriate to their local community:
promoting human rights;
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
87
improving access to justice for individuals and not-for-profit organisations in need by providing free legal advice; reducing homelessness; and raising the levels of achievement and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and improving their skills.
Overall, our total firm-wide contribution for 2006/7 was over £3.48m. Developing our community and pro bono programme, and increasing participation across the firm are part of our key objectives for 2008. We have long been working with our clients on community activities, particularly through our participation in the Business in the Community leadership groups on education and homelessness. In the past year, we have become increasingly involved in pro bono initiatives too. We have collaborated in setting up two drop-in legal advice centres in London with two of our clients, and we have provided pro bono legal advice on a microfinance project for developing and emerging market countries for Deutsche Bank. In 2007, lawyers in our London and New York offices also gave pro bono advice on the implementation of a lending programme to ease liquidity in the West Bank and Gaza, particularly for small and medium-sized business, to help regeneration of the area.
Winner CSR Firm of the Year 2007 Legal Business Awards. ‘Freshfields led the way in the legal sector by being the first law firm to produce a CSR report under the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in January 2006. The firm has also been a strong supporter of human rights group Reprieve.’ Winner The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people: the ‘range of projects including supporting the homeless charity Crisis on its Urban Village project by providing free legal advice on housing issues made their entry stand out. Most notable was a programme designed to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion through providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice.’ Awarded a Business in the Community Big Tick 2007 for our Ready for Work programme, providing work experience placements to homeless people. Between 2000-2007, 126 individuals have completed successful placements at the firm, 14 of whom have taken up permanent jobs here. Others have gone on to work elsewhere. The Big Tick is given to companies that can demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour on society, as well as on the company itself.
Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to London Benchmarking Group (LBG) measurement principles. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company.
88
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9. 1 Working with young people ‘As a firm that is committed to being socially responsible we know it is important to invest in the next generation. As an international business whose success depends on recruiting and retaining outstandingly talented people from all walks of life, wherever we operate in the world, we recognise we have a vested interest in developing the potential of young people. This understanding helps to shape our approach to diversity and our volunteering initiatives with schools, colleges and community organisations near our offices.’ Barry O’Brien, principal consultant and member of the Business in the Community/Business Action on Education leadership team
We recognise that investing in young people has important immediate and long-term benefits to business and society. Since 1999, we have been working in partnership with schools and community organisations to raise the aspirations and achievements of young people, especially those in disadvantaged circumstances, and to inspire and equip young people to successfully enter the world of work. Volunteers in many of our offices participate in a range of schemes from team challenges and mentoring, to job coaching and work experience, designed to broaden horizons and improve confidence, motivation, communication and social skills, as well as develop specific skills such as reading, numeracy and languages. We hope this will increase each individual’s opportunities in life and help develop the entrepreneurs, employees and business leaders of the future. We also participate in pro bono legal advice work that aims to protect the rights and improve the quality of life of disadvantaged young people, especially those with special educational needs or, most recently, those who have been abducted by one parent. Job coaching in Germany
Our German offices have developed a variety of programmes for young disadvantaged people. Our offices in Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg all provide job coaching to 16-17 year old students who have not been accepted into an apprenticeship after finishing school. External evaluation has shown that volunteers appreciated the opportunity to take part in the project and found they were able to expand their own skills and experiences and use their professional skills to the benefit of the young people. This programme was singled out in December 2006 as part of the Engagiertes Unternehmen (Engaged Business) scheme run by the office of the Prime Minister of the Federal State of Hessen. Most of our offices in Germany are also involved in regular team challenges with schools and organisations working with young disadvantaged children, while volunteers from our Frankfurt and Berlin offices support reading programmes at local schools.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
89
Child abduction pro bono work in Brussels
Volunteers in our Brussels office act as reading partners in local schools and have contributed a considerable amount of pro bono work aimed at young people. A team has been working with Parents and Children Together (PACT) on a project to help parents whose children have been abducted by their ex-partners, typically when a marriage between two people of different nationalities breaks up and one parent takes the child back to their home state without the consent of the other. The team has been looking into possible remedies for parents who have been separated from their children, presenting the results in a report that examines the legal position of abducted children and their parents. European lawmakers are currently campaigning for EU legislation addressing the problem of cross-border abduction and the report has proved persuasive.
90
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.2 Homelessness ‘We all have our own image of “the homeless”, but spend some time talking to the clients of a hostel or day centre and you will discover that the great majority of people who lose the roof over their head do so as a result of a personal spiral that started in a place that any one of us could find ourselves. A big family row, maybe, or losing a job, too much drink, or depression or other mental illness. One way or another the wheels have fallen off, and it can be very difficult to get them back on again. The sense of exclusion and despair that comes from not having a home just intensifies the vicious circle. There is lots that can be done to help people avoid the “homelessness trap”, as well as helping those who have fallen into it to break out. There have been some great success stories, and we need more. The more examples that employers, authorities and homeless people themselves see of people finding their way back, the easier it will be to convince people that homeless doesn’t mean hopeless. And that is more than half the battle.’ Philip Richards, partner and Business in the Community/Business Action on Homelessness leadership group member We decided to target homelessness in 2000 because it was something that many of the people who work in our London and other offices saw on a daily basis on their way to and from work, and we recognised we could make a positive contribution to tackling. We have developed a multifaceted approach, supporting a variety of initiatives with the overall aim of making a lasting impact by helping break the cycle of homelessness. To this end, we provide work experience and pro bono legal advice, help build homes through fundraising and volunteer activities, and sponsor and contribute to the work of campaigning organisations, such as Shelter. Local team challenges and house-building for children orphaned by AIDS
Many of our offices support team challenges for homeless people throughout the year – cleaning up hostels, serving food and helping with interview skills. We also send teams to help build homes for vulnerably housed people through Habitat for Humanity. Between 2001-2007, around 530 people from our offices have built 38 homes with the charity in Poland, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka and London, and raised over £600,000 for the charity. The house building project in Sri Lanka followed the 2004 Tsunami. Since 2004, our team challenges in South Africa have been for families affected by HIV and AIDS. Work experience, job coaching and legal advice in London
In London, between 2000-2007 we have supported a programme providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice. Central to the programme is Ready for Work, through which some 126 homeless people have gained work experience at the firm; 14 have taken up permanent work here, and others elsewhere. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
91
We also give pro bono legal advice to charities working with homeless people and, on a weekly basis, to homeless people at a drop-in legal advice centre. In October 2007, we announced our £232,000, three-year sponsorship of Shelter’s Keys to the Future initiative, which aims to end child homelessness in the UK. With our support, the charity is establishing the Children’s Legal Service to fight for the rights of children and young people to have their housing needs met. In 2007, we received two awards for our work with homeless people: The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award and a Business in the Community Big Tick. ‘The Buthelezi family in Willowfountain have never had decent shelter, having always lived in houses made of mud and wattle. The head of the family, 82-year-old Thokozile Buthelezi, had five children, but two of them died many years ago, leaving her with five grandchildren to look after. As well as these, there are another four grandchildren in the household to look after. …hope is glimmering for the family with the commencement of the Special Needs Housing Project. This project seeks to provide shelter for families with orphans and for child-headed households in this community. …The UK volunteers will spend a week on the site, build the structures where a foundation has been laid, and then leave it for another contingent to finish off. Local people have been involved to mould their skills in construction.’ The Witness monthly newspaper, June 2007
92
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.3 Human rights ‘As a leading international law firm, we believe that we have a responsibility to promote, protect and uphold the rule of law, and within it human rights. Our commitment is particularly reinforced through the pro bono work we take on. We feel this is important work in an ever-changing world where torture, repression and the denial of access to justice remain a threat to individual liberties.’ Paul Lomas, partner with responsibility for our pro bono work We work with a number of human rights charities, including Amicus, Reprieve, Justice, Liberty, Fair Trials International and REDRESS, with an emphasis on supporting work that ensures people are given a fair trial, corrects a manifest injustice and helps establish a legal right. Our award-winning human rights programme is extensive and wideranging. We assist those facing the death penalty in the US and the Caribbean; we also undertake cases addressing key human rights issues, such as Guantánamo Bay. Some of our human rights work has brought together teams from different jurisdictions, for example our award-winning work on a prominent case on the use of evidence obtained by torture in the UK’s House of Lords. More recently, in 2007 we provided comparative law research for Liberty on a range of human rights issues. We have also assisted clients taking their cases to the European Court of Human Rights, giving hope to appellants whose domestic legal redress and financial support is otherwise exhausted. Through our relationship with Advocates for International Development, we are helping a Tanzanian nongovernmental organisation draft child rights legislation for the country. In addition to our casework, we organise events that promote human rights. In 2006 and 2007, we hosted the public hearings of the International Commission of Jurists Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights. As part of our trainee programme, we also provide a secondment to Liberty, one of the UK’s leading human rights organisations. Pro Bono Activity of the Year Award, 2006 Lawyer awards. This was for our intervention in the landmark House of Lords case challenging the admissibility of evidence obtained by torture overseas by agents of a foreign state. Over 60 of our lawyers worldwide prepared a comparative law brief on 22 different jurisdictions to present to the Lords, giving 1,200 hours of their time to our pro bono clients, the Commonwealth Law Association, the International Commission of Jurists and the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
93
Corporate Social Responsibility Firm of the Year, 2007 Legal Business Awards: ‘Freshfields led the way in the legal sector by being the first law firm to produce a CSR report under the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in January 2006. The firm has also been a strong supporter of human rights group Reprieve.’
Please see the next section for further details of our human rights work on Death Row and Guantánamo Bay.
94
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.3.1 Examples of our human rights work Guantánamo Bay military commissions
International human rights law is an important part of our pro bono practice. We believe we can use our expertise in the field of public international law and our network of lawyers across the world to assist in the proper deliberation on issues affecting human rights. For example, we submitted amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs to a US court and the US Supreme Court on behalf of 400 UK and European parliamentarians both in 2006 and 2007. The signatories include six former law lords, two former foreign secretaries, a former Lord Chancellor and 11 bishops. The briefs consider whether the military commissions established to try detainees held at Guantánamo Bay contravene international humanitarian and human rights law. The case was brought by Salim Hamdan, one of a small number of Guantánamo Bay detainees designated for trial by the military commissions established by President Bush. He challenged the legality of the military commissions, claiming they contravene domestic and international law and the US Constitution and are inconsistent with the Geneva Conventions. The commissions are controversial because, among other things, defendants are not entitled to hear all of the evidence against them and evidence obtained by torture is admissible. The 2006 case was successful before the UK Supreme Court, but in late 2007 the US Supreme Court refused to hear Hamdan’s case. Our team, which included lawyers from London, Paris and Washington, as well as our public affairs team in Brussels, prepared a brief on relevant international law issues. As well as drafting the briefs, we visited Strasbourg to obtain the support of MEPs, and a team in London, including trainees and summer visitors, enlisted the support of MPs and members of the House of Lords from all political parties. Death penalty
We are acting for several clients facing the death penalty in the Caribbean and US. We represent Caribbean clients in their appeals to the Privy Council in London and assist local lawyers representing clients in the US with international law issues and factual investigation. We also work closely with the charity Reprieve, established by the lawyer Clive Stafford Smith OBE. We provide the charity with office space and host the joint AMICUS and Reprieve twice yearly training sessions for lawyers intending to spend time in the US volunteering on death penalty cases. Additionally, some of our trainee solicitors have taken the opportunity to spend time as Reprieve interns working on capital cases in the US before starting their training contracts. We currently have a future joiner working
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
95
as a Reprieve intern in death penalty defence offices in New Orleans before starting his training contract. One of our long-running pro bono clients, Krishna Maharaj has recently been successful in the first stage of his clemency application before the Florida Clemency Board. Krishna, a British citizen who spent 15 years on Florida’s death row before his sentence was overturned and he was given life imprisonment, has long protested his innocence, despite which the US courts have rejected all of Krishna’s legal appeals, leaving clemency his only hope.
96
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.4 Access to justice ‘We have a long history of providing pro bono legal advice both in the local community through our support of legal advice centres and advocacy initiatives particularly in London. This is vital work and uses directly our legal skills and wider training. We believe our pro bono work at legal advice centres is not, and should never be, a substitute for legal aid provision. We do not advise those who may be eligible for legal aid and try to direct the clients to the appropriate legal aid providers. Nevertheless, our experience over the past year at some legal advice centres indicates that it has been harder to locate appropriate legal aid providers in certain areas.’ Paul Lomas, partner with responsibility for our pro bono work We believe we have a responsibility as lawyers to provide pro bono legal advice and representation to clients who cannot afford to pay for it and where public funding is not available. To focus our activities we aim to enhance access to justice by providing free legal advice to individuals and community organisations in need. We do this through legal advice centres and a network of specialist charities and community organisations. Much of our work is focused on London, where there is a strong tradition of pro bono activities going back beyond our longest-standing community partnership with the Tower Hamlets Legal Advice Centre. However, we want to see an increase in the amount of pro bono work taken on by our offices around the world and will be focusing on this in the future. To this end, several of our offices are working with other law firms to encourage and promote pro bono work via the fledgling pro bono roundtable movement, including in Brussels, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Moscow and Paris. London: providing pro bono legal advice for over 35 years
Our access to justice programme is most active in London, where we support four legal advice centres, including the drop-in centre at Tower Hamlets, which we have supported since 1973; many of our partners including our senior partner Guy Morton used to volunteer there when they first joined the firm. We also have a longstanding relationship with the Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau, where volunteers provide free legal advice for litigants in person who have cases in the High Court, especially in the Court of Appeal, often the day they seek advice. Volunteers in London also represent clients from the Free Representation Unit appearing before tribunals on employment and social security cases, and work with the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice providing advice and representation to families who are appealing against their Local Education Authority’s decision about how their child’s special
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
97
educational needs should be met. Our New York and Frankfurt offices have been involved in similar work. Our practice teams also provide pro bono legal advice for community groups, helping us fulfil our commitments to tackling homelessness and helping young people realise their potential, as well as other charities, including Cancer Research UK.
98
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.5 Community team challenges In October 2007, we supported our first firm-wide community and pro bono event. All our offices were encouraged to participate in Community Challenge by supporting team challenges with local community organisations. Over 600 people, including both our senior partners, participated from 23 offices around the network. Volunteers came from all practice groups and business services areas, helping to make a real difference, especially to homeless people and disadvantaged young people in our local communities. In total, we supported over 50 team challenges. According to our volunteer surveys, 96 per cent of volunteers thought the projects were worthwhile, addressing a real community need; 99 per cent found the challenges enjoyable; 96 per cent thought they were a good opportunity to be with other people from the firm; and 100 per cent said they would consider volunteering again. We will be supporting the initiative again in October 2008. Team challenges throughout the year
Many of our offices also choose to support team challenges at other times of the year. Since 2001, people from a variety of offices have participated in our house-building project with Habitat for Humanity. In 2007 alone, a total of 117 volunteers from our offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rome helped build 12 houses in South Africa for young people orphaned by AIDS, raising £115,000 for the building materials. Sixty volunteers in London also got involved in a house-build supported by the charity in south London as part of our Community Challenge initiative. ‘It’s the generous contribution of time, enthusiasm and money that companies put in to community days like these, that help us enrich our children’s experience of school.’ Lorraine Cooper, deputy head teacher, Maryland Primary School, Newham, London, following our team challenge bringing together our community and pro bono co-ordinators from around the world to transform the infant playground and nature garden as part of the London Better Together Day
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
99
9.6 Activities in London ‘Our volunteering programme in London is designed to make a real difference to our local communities. Our office is situated in an extremely wealthy city, but homelessness is a problem. Poor skills and low aspirations are also common issues in the boroughs near our office. Poverty can also make access to justice difficult. These are some of the things we are tying to address through our programme.’ Tim Jones, partner, chairman London management group and member Business in the Community/Business Action on Homelessness London and South East leadership team In 2006/7, 736 (35 per cent) of our people in London took part in one or more community and pro bono activities, contributing over 12,300 hours to pro bono legal advice and over 7,100 to community activities. During this time, we estimate our volunteers gave advice to around 1,000 people at legal advice centres; redecorated two centres for homeless people; created three gardens; encouraged, supported and informed around 450 children at Redlands Primary School and 1,000 pupils at Haggerston School for Girls; and provided support and advice to over 100 homeless people and work experience to over 20 people, including homeless people, teachers and pupils at local schools and colleges. You can find out more about our programmes in London in the following pages.
100
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.1 Working with disadvantaged young people ‘Volunteers from Freshfields have been visiting our school since 1999. With their enthusiasm, help and encouragement many of our pupils have improved their literacy and numeracy and chess skills. Perhaps even more importantly, it has helped to motivate the children, improved their communication skills, given them new confidence and a different perspective on life which we hope they will carry with them as they move through school and into the world of work.’ Ann O’Reilly, head teacher, Redlands Primary School
In London, we organise team activities, such as supervising children on school trips, and engage in pro bono work with the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, providing help and support to families who feel their children are not having their special educational needs appropriately met by the local education authority. We also support a variety of volunteering projects, including the following.
Helping children at Redlands Primary School in Tower Hamlets with their reading and number skills, and playing chess with 11 year olds to encourage strategic thinking.
Mentoring GCSE students at Haggerston School for Girls in Hackney. This includes practice interviews and CV help. Other volunteers aim to improve GCSE students’ French and Spanish language skills by participating in our Virtual Paris or Virtual Madrid events in the run-up to exams or as language partners.
Working with our future joiners at BPP Professional Education law school to improve pupils’ understanding of the law, democracy and human rights as part of our StreetLaw project at Haggerston.
Mentoring UK Career Academy Foundation students who are aiming for a career in business. We also host careers days, for the 16-19 year olds, such as our day-long annual Introduction to Financial Law for students.
Giving interview practice to pupils at Cardinal Pole school in Hackney who hope to go to either Oxford or Cambridge universities.
Providing work experience for students at the UK Career Academy Foundation, Haggerston School for Girls and Cardinal Pole School. In 2008, we will be providing work experience through the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law initiative, which is designed to attract fresh talent to the legal profession by targeting students from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university and whose parents are in non-professional occupations. We expect to host five people through this scheme in 2008.
Being a school governor with the School Governors’ One-Stop Shop.
Mentoring new teachers as part of our sponsorship of Teach First, a charity that trains, places and supports top graduates working in challenging schools. We will be relaunching our mentoring scheme for head teachers in Tower Hamlets and Hackney in 2008.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
101
In 2006/7, in association with Brent Council and The Learning Trust, which has responsibility for education in Hackney, we hosted the launch and graduation of the Black Leadership programme for 150 pupils from schools in these areas. The programme aims to equip young black students from disadvantaged areas with the skills and motivation to make better personal and career choices. Having built excellent and popular volunteering programmes at both Haggerston and Redlands schools, we plan to deepen our partnerships with these schools over the coming years, in keeping with the government’s encouragement that all schools should have a business partner. Our approach to working with young people is influenced by our commitment to promoting diversity and our belief that improving the skills of young people is fundamental to sustaining a dynamic economy. Business Action on Education
Principal consultant Barry O’Brien leads our schools-based activities, representing us on Business in the Community’s Business Action on Education leadership team. We also seek to encourage more employers to get involved in supporting young people by being actively engaged in the National Number Partners Consortium, Teach First and the UK Career Academy Foundation. Partner Simon Hall is on the advisory board of the UK Career Academy Foundation. We provide financial support to these organisations and the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (EBP), Inspire (Hackney’s EBP) and the City Solicitors’ Educational Trust. ‘I have been involved with the UK Career Academy Foundation since it started in 2001. The programme engages businesses with schools and sixth form colleges and has been a phenomenal success, raising the aspirations of young people, very often from challenged backgrounds, from schools and colleges in some of the most difficult areas of the country. Some 400 companies, including our own, are now supporting the programme in over 150 schools across the country, offering visits, six week paid internships, mentoring support, guru lectures and advice. The difference we are making to the lives of these young people, in terms of creating confident individuals who are equipped to deal with sophisticated working environments and obtain and perform jobs at a level far beyond their original expectations, is truly inspiring.’ Simon Hall, partner, and trustee and advisory board member of the UK Career Academy Foundation Find out more about what we are doing in developing and reaching new talent as part of our diversity programme in section 7.5.
102
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.2 Working with homeless people ‘I found reconnecting with work, with people and with the world immensely rewarding. It opened up and restored opportunity. And when you are homeless, opportunity and choice are very rare commodities indeed.’ Sam, our 100th Ready for Work placement. Sam was a homeless ex-Army sergeant who found himself living rough on the streets for five months. He was speaking at a Project Compass fundraising event attended by HRH the Prince of Wales. In London, since 2000 we have supported a programme designed to equip homeless people with the skills to gain and sustain employment, achieve independent living and break the cycle of homelessness by providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice. Key to the programme is our award-winning Ready for Work initiative. We also give pro bono advice to charities such as Crisis and Habitat for Humanity, and volunteers provide pro bono legal advice on a weekly basis at the Dellow Centre, a drop-in legal advice centre for homeless people hosted by the charity Providence Row. We support StreetShine, a social enterprise giving people who have been homeless an opportunity to break into the labour market and earn a regular income, and are involved in the Crisis Christmas e-card initiative. In 2006/7, as part of our long-running support of Habitat for Humanity, 60 volunteers spent a week each building houses in South Africa for families supporting children whose parents have died of AIDS. Sponsoring Shelter’s Children’s Legal Service
‘It is shocking that in this day and age there are over 100,000 homeless children in England. These children are an invisible group – all too often ignored and sidelined by the system. The Children’s Legal Service will be key to challenging unfair practice in court and create precedent in law which will pave the way for ending child homelessness for good. We are massively grateful for Freshfields support, both in terms of legal support and their unprecedented financial contribution to Shelter.’ Adam Sampson, Shelter’s chief executive In November 2007, we announced our three-year sponsorship of Shelter’s new Children’s Legal Service as part of the charity’s Keys to the Future initiative, designed to end child homelessness. We are providing funds of over £232,000 over three years, as well as extensive pro bono legal support to the Children’s Legal Service, as we see this as an opportunity to make a real and lasting positive impact on people’s lives. In 2008, we will be encouraging volunteers to get involved in the Keys to the Future project in Newham, which offers support to local children living in temporary accommodation with no permanent home. In
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
103
September 2006, there were 6,947 children in temporary housing in Newham, one of the highest figures in the country. The project hopes to get homeless children back into school quickly and will be looking for volunteers to give these children one-to-one support and attention to help them overcome obstacles, develop their potential and enjoy learning. Business Action on Homelessness
We seek to share our experience, learn from others and encourage other employers to work with homeless people through active participation in Business in the Community’s Business Action on Homelessness national and London and South East leadership teams. Partner Philip Richards and partner and chairman of the London management committee Tim Jones represent us on these groups.
104
Winner The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people: the ‘range of projects including supporting the homeless charity Crisis on its Urban Village project by providing free legal advice on housing issues made their entry stand out. Most notable was a programme designed to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion through providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice.’ Awarded a Business in the Community Big Tick 2007 for our Ready for Work programme, providing work experience placements to homeless people. Between 2000-2007, 126 individuals have completed successful placements at the firm, 14 of whom have taken up permanent jobs here. Others have gone on to work elsewhere. The Big Tick is given to companies that can demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour on society, as well as on the company itself.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.3 Access to justice ‘Since Freshfields joined us in 2006 we have been able to dramatically increase the number of clients that we can assist at the Morden Legal Advice Centre. Up until then, although we had a successful legal advice session at Morden, we were unable to meet the demand for free legal advice in the evenings as the demand way outstripped supply. The lawyers are professional and approachable and they have helped our clients with a wide variety of legal problems. Without their help some of our clients would have no other options than to go without advice, as most could not afford to pay for the advice of a private practice lawyer and other local advice agencies are too busy to get appointments in time to help them.’ Debbie Phelan, volunteer services manager, Wandsworth and Merton Law Centre, part of South West London Law Centre In London, our access to justice programme includes volunteering in legal advice centres and advocacy initiatives with the Free Representation Unit, Royal Courts of Justice and Independent Panel for Special Education Advice. Legal advice centres
Trainees and paralegals have been providing advice at the drop-in centre at Tower Hamlets since 1973. Our senior partner Guy Morton volunteered at the centre when it was in Poplar in his early years at the firm. Our lawyers have been giving advice at the Dellow Centre for homeless people for six years, as part of our partnership with the charity Providence Row. Our lawyers also support a clinic in Morden, which concentrates on providing legal advice to help people with housing, employment, consumer law and debt problems. In its first year, the clinic saw 203 clients. As part of our efforts to create more pro bono opportunities for all departments and wider participation from non-fee earners on projects where they can use their skills, we have recently entered into a second partnership with South West London Law Centre to provide secretarial support, once a week, at their Tooting and Battersea Legal Advice Centres. In 2007, we launched a new clinic in association with East Hackney Law for the residents of a Hackney housing estate. We have a longstanding relationship with the Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau, where a rota of volunteers provides free legal advice at the drop-in centre for litigants in person who have cases in the High Court, especially in the Court of Appeal, often the day they seek advice. A team of paralegals also prepares Court of Appeal bundles and a team of secretaries provides assistance when needed.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
105
Advocacy
Volunteers represent clients from the Free Representation Unit appearing before tribunals on employment and social security cases. Volunteers also work with the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice, providing advice and representation to families who are appealing against their Local Education Authority’s decision about how their child’s special educational needs should be met. We act for individuals who have been referred to us via the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau. In May 2007, our largest ever team of walkers participated in the annual London Legal Sponsored Walk. The 45 walkers raised over £5,000 for the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau. Our practice teams also provide pro bono legal advice for community groups, which help us fulfil our commitments to tackling homelessness and helping young people realise their potential, as well as other charities, including Cancer Research UK.
106
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.4 Human rights Many of our lawyers in London take the opportunity to contribute to our human rights legal work, in particular providing legal assistance to those facing the death penalty in the US and the Caribbean. More recently, our lawyers have also undertaken cases addressing key human rights issues, such as Guantánamo Bay (see section 9.3.1). We work with a number of human rights charities, including Amicus, Reprieve, Justice, Liberty, Fair Trials International and REDRESS, with an emphasis on supporting work that ensures people are given a fair trial, corrects a manifest injustice and helps establish a legal right. We assisted JUSTICE with its report on lifting the ban on the use of intercept evidence, providing comparative law research and funding for its publication. We also worked with Liberty on its recent report on the government’s proposals to extend the time limit on pre-charge detention for those arrested for terrorist offences and helped with a report on the practice of so-called data mining. As well as working with Reprieve on US death penalty cases, we provided it with ad hoc research assistance on a variety of issues. We recently persuaded the UK’s Social Security Commissioner to set aside UK law on the grounds that it discriminates against transsexuals in breach of EU law on behalf of a client. The facts were unusual: our client reassigned gender between the ages of 60 and 65. This left him in legal limbo: he could not claim a pension, as he was too young for a male pension, and could not claim incapacity benefit, as he had not served the relevant qualifying period (because as a woman he was prohibited from contributing). The Commissioner accepted our arguments that this was unjustifiable discrimination in breach of EC law and the UK law was set aside.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
107
9.6.5 Community Challenge As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, 168 volunteers from the London office took part in 20 different activities helping local communities as part of Community Challenge. Our people got involved in a range of projects, for example, redecorating rooms at drop-in centres for homeless people, serving breakfasts to homeless people coming in off the streets, hosting a training day for disadvantaged young people wanting to learn about working in the city, creating gardens as part of a rehabilitation programme for people who have been homeless, supervising and encouraging children taking part in a poetry slam, participating in a house-building project and organising a French day for schoolchildren.
108
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.6 What we give in London What we give in London 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 £ 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0
2002/3
2003/4
2004/5
Cash
2005/6
2006/7
Time
Gifts in kind
The majority of our community and pro bono work is in our largest office, London, where nearly 40 per cent of our people are based. Our longeststanding pro bono partnership began in 1973, with our support for the Tower Hamlets Legal Advice Centre, a drop-in centre for people who live in this deprived area of London. Our volunteering programmes with homeless organisations and schools began in 2000 and 1999, respectively. What we have given (London office) excluding management costs £
2002/3
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
Cash
296,653
246,500
245,949
481,994
490,447
69,430
29,398
201,708
139,320
96,668
Time
1,237,353
1,656,836
1,664,869
2,202,250
1,950,472
Total
1,603,436
1,932,734
2,112,526
2,823,564
2,537,587
Gifts in kind
Our London figures for 2006/7:
The value of community time was over £347,000 and pro bono over £1.6m. Please note that the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) model values time spent providing pro bono legal expertise as greater than general community volunteering time.
The value of our programme in 2005/6 reflects the pro bono advice we gave to the 2012 Olympic bid and the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as emergency relief following the 2004 Tsunami.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
109
Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to LBG measurement principles. The LBG model was developed by a group of businesses in 1995 as an internal evaluation tool and as a way to ensure greater consistency and comparability in external reporting. Today more than 100 leading international businesses apply the model around the world. Freshfields have been an active member since 2002. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company.
110
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.6.7 Community and pro bono memberships and sponsorships
Advocates for International Development Business in the Community (BITC): Premier Member BITC: Business Action on Homelessness national and London and South East leadership teams BITC: Business Action on Education leadership team BITC: ENGAGE international business leadership team City Solicitors Educational Trust Crisis East London Business Alliance European Alliance for CSR Free Representation Unit Friends of the Tate Habitat for Humanity Heart of the City Historic Royal Palaces Inspire (Hackney Education Business Partnership) International Lawyers Project LawWorks London Benchmarking Group London First London Transport Museum Morden Law Centre National Number Partners Consortium National Portrait Gallery Reprieve Fellowship Selection Panel Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau management committee and employment and finance sub-committees Shelter Sutton Trust Pathways to Law Tate Teach First Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership Tower Hamlets Legal Advice Centre UK Career Academy Foundation Volunteering England
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
111
9.7 Activities in mainland Europe Our offices in Europe get involved in team challenges, support fundraising initiatives, and donate computers to community organisations and blood to the Red Cross or other local community organisations. Many of our offices have also developed other activities, some of which we outline below. Participation is greatest in our Barcelona office, where 57 per cent of people are actively engaged; 39 per cent of people are actively involved in our Brussels office and 24 per cent in our German offices. Activities vary: our Brussels office undertakes the most pro bono work, contributing over £112,600 worth of time, and our German offices the most community volunteering, valued at over £27,400. We are supporters of The European Alliance for CSR, a joint initiative of the European Commission and the business community. As part of this we are jointly leading a CSR Laboratory with Citi and KPMG which aims to demonstrate how skills for employability amongst disadvantaged groups of people in the EU, can be enhanced and developed through employee community involvement, in particular volunteering. Find out more about our activities in mainland Europe on the following pages.
112
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.7.1 Austria and Slovakia ‘Our corporate social responsibility programmes in Vienna and Bratislava are small, but we are confident they will provide the foundation for developing future initiatives, and look forward to both offices’ participation in the next firm-wide Community Challenge in October 2008.’ Christof Pöchhacker, partner responsible for CSR in Vienna and Bratislava Vienna
Our office in Vienna organises a social afternoon in a nursing home each Christmas. One of our partners plays the piano; associates and secretaries sing in a chorus; and the other attendees chat and sing with the elderly people. We always engage a group of dancers with disabilities to perform at the event. The office also collects clothes for homeless people every Christmas. Our office was the main sponsor of the dance competition Dance for Europe 2007, in which young dancers promote and support promising dancers. In 2007, approximately one-third of our staff attended a blood donation event in our office with the Austrian Red Cross. Bratislava
In 2005, lawyers in London, Vienna and Bratislava helped establish a branch of a British charity in Slovakia, and our pro bono legal support continues to this day. The DePaul Foundation gives young people, primarily aged 16-25 years old, who are homeless, unemployed or disadvantaged; young offenders; or living in poverty the opportunity to fulfil their potential and move towards an independent and positive future. It runs hostels for the homeless all over Slovakia and offers a number of services, such as sports coaching, family mediation and employment training. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative in October 2007, volunteers in Vienna helped at a special party where primary schoolchildren took part in activities focused on the autumn season.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
113
9.7.2 Belgium ‘Pro bono legal advice is a part of every Belgian lawyers’ training, and we are proud of our work particularly at an EU level, which has helped to progress the rights of children abducted by a parent, and of pensioners who retire in a different member state. Our work in a local school has also been a key feature of our community and pro bono programme. We look forward to these and our wider social and environmental programme going from strength to strength.’ Thomas Janssens, partner responsible for CSR in Brussels
The Brussels office, together with associates from other offices around the network in the EU, is involved in a pro bono project to assist the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) in defending European citizens’ rights. ECAS provides European citizens with information on their rights when they move within the EU and helps them solve problems where their rights are not respected. Working to support abducted children
We have been working with ECAS on a number of projects. A team has been working with Parents and Children Together on a project to help parents whose children have been abducted by their ex-partners, typically when a marriage between two people of different nationalities breaks up and one parent takes the child back to their home state without the consent of the other. The team has been looking into possible remedies for parents who have been separated from their children, presenting the results in a report that examines the legal position of abducted children and their parents. European lawmakers are currently campaigning for EU legislation addressing the problem of cross-border abduction and the report has proved persuasive. EU cross-border pension rights
In addition to our work on child abduction across member states of the EU, we have been involved with ECAS in assisting pensioners who retire in a different member state to their home country so that they are not disadvantaged through reductions in their pension rights as a result of exercising their free movement rights. This has involved liaison with the European Parliament and potential legal proceedings. EU citizens’ rights
We have also participated in several conferences to raise awareness of the issues concerned and to contribute to progressing EU citizens’ rights. Themes have included legal developments in citizens’ rights, the enforcement of citizens’ rights and workers’ mobility. For example, in July 2007, the Brussels office hosted the three-day International Commission of Jurists Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights.
114
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Our Brussels office recently became involved in the new pro bono roundtable designed to encourage and promote more pro bono work. Working in a local school
Volunteers from the Brussels office also visit a local school, Ecole Sainte Marie in Saint Gilles, twice a week to participate in a reading programme with pupils aged between two and four years old. Many of the children are from disadvantaged areas, and books and reading do not play a regular part in their day-to-day home lives. The Brussels office has been participating in this programme for a number of years. We have organised other initiatives with this school, including donating second-hand books and toys last Christmas and collecting to help fund summer day trips for the pupils. The office has also donated €12,000 worth of computer equipment to schools in Brussels. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, Community Challenge 2007, our Brussels office organised a challenge at Ecole Sainte Marie. Volunteers took part in a day trip to a farm with 60 of the youngest children (three to five years old), as they rarely have enough adults to help take care of them on school trips.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
115
9.7.3 France ‘It’s been a busy and exciting year on the corporate social responsibility (CSR) front in Paris. In a short space of time, we’ve put together a comprehensive CSR programme, in line with our global objective to be a more social and environmentally responsible firm. Local support for our initiatives, whether through volunteering to joining our green team, taking part in our first team challenge or agreeing to take on pro bono work has been tremendous. We must continue to encourage our people to get involved in these initiatives and I for one am very much looking forward to developing our programme further.’ Emmanuel Bénard, partner with responsibility for CSR in Paris Pro bono in Paris
Our office in Paris has provided pro bono employment law advice to Plan International, a charity that works with children, their families and the wider community in developing countries, helping them achieve positive change in their lives. We assisted the charity by carrying out a review of the standard employment and consultancy agreements to be used by a new office Plan intends to establish in Laos. We contributed to a comparative law piece for Liberty involving carrying out research on the length of pre-detention in France. Our Paris office is actively involved in the new pro bono roundtable designed to encourage and promote more pro bono work. As well as hosting and chairing a session, we will be part of the steering committee responsible for devising a pro bono development strategy in France. Working in schools
In 2007, we began working alongside the French Ministry of Education, ENGAGE and a number of other firms and businesses on a project that will welcome 13-15 year old school children into the workplace as part of a ‘discovering business’ initiative aimed at introducing them to corporate life and culture. We have also carried out pro bono research into the right to education under European and French law on behalf of a human rights charity. Donating blood and Maison des Himalayas
In June 2007, 70 people in the Paris office gave blood in partnership with Don du Sang. We intend to continue giving blood twice a year and hope to increase the number of donors each year. For a number of years, by making donations and covering Christmas card printing costs, the Paris office has supported a charity called La Maison des Himalayas, which runs a school for nomadic children in Manali, Northern India.
116
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, Community Challenge 2007, we worked with Unis-Cité, an organisation dedicated to promoting solidarity in the community by setting up volunteering schemes for young people aged 18-25 and developing volunteer initiatives for businesses. With Unis-Cité’s support, we were able to organise our first team challenge in Paris and mobilised 34 volunteers, including four partners, who spent the day at the Centre d’Accueil des Demandeurs d’Asile, an asylum seekers’ centre in the Parisian suburbs. The centre houses 80 people, including 34 children, and assists and supports the residents with the complex administration procedures required when requesting asylum, as well as ensuring the children are registered in local schools and receive help with their school work. It also offers emotional and practical support and attempts, through discussion groups and therapeutic activities, to minimise the psychological trauma experienced by many of the residents. Unis-Cité devised a varied programme for our volunteers, who spent the day in small groups on a number of activities, such as artwork, cooking, wrapping donated presents for the children and residents, and decorating the centre. The day ended with the distribution by the volunteers of the surprise Christmas presents. Each child received at least three presents and they were practically bursting with excitement. ‘Our first Community Challenge was a huge success which exceeded all our expectations. Our community partner, Unis-Cité, did an outstanding job organising the event and we look forward to developing more projects with them in 2008. Volunteer participation was impressive for a first initiative. Practically all departments and support services were represented, which provided an excellent opportunity for people to get to know one another in a relaxed environment. I think I can speak for everyone involved in saying that the experience was extremely fulfilling and moving. The realisation that, collectively, we can do a great deal with very little is very inspiring and provides the impetus to take our programme forward.’ Emmanuel Bénard, partner with responsibility for CSR in Paris
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
117
9.7.4 Germany ‘We take seriously our commitment to being a socially and environmentally responsible business. Our community and pro bono programme is expanding rapidly, with our offices in Germany sharing their experiences and best practices amongst themselves and with other companies. This has helped, in particular, in the spread and development of our job coaching initiative for 15-17 year olds without apprenticeships. We believe this collaborative approach is also essential as we work to develop an appropriate pro bono programme in a country where there is no real tradition of providing free legal advice to organisations or people in need. Collaboration is also crucial in taking forward our efforts to reduce our impact on the environment.’ Dietmar Knopp, partner responsible for CSR in Germany
In Germany, dedicated teams in each office organise a variety of projects to support their, mainly longstanding, community partners. Job coaching for young people without apprenticeships
Our offices in Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg all offer job coaching to 15-17 year old adolescents from deprived backgrounds with mostly suboptimal qualifications and therefore a long history of discouraging experiences. Volunteers help with CVs and application letters, and practise interview skills with the students. External evaluation of our Frankfurt project has shown volunteers were able to use their professional skills for the good of young people while expanding their own soft skills. This programme was singled out in December 2006 as part of the Engagiertes Unternehmen (Engaged Business) scheme run by the office of the Prime Minister of the Federal State of Hessen. Reading in schools
Popular reading partner projects have been established with schools in Berlin and Frankfurt. These are designed to increase language skills in young children who speak German as a second language. Volunteers have also been reading at the Annual Children and Adolescent Book Fair in Frankfurt for three years. Team challenges
Most of our offices are also involved in regular team challenges with local organisations. Cologne and Frankfurt participated in their cities’ volunteering days, cleaning up a children’s playground (Cologne) and renovating a home for people recovering from drug problems (Frankfurt). Volunteers also serve food and drinks at events for homeless people (Frankfurt). They also organise fun and games afternoons with children and adolescents from socially disadvantaged areas (Hamburg, Frankfurt). Many of our offices organise regular blood donations for the Red Cross. In 2006/7, employees of other major law firms were invited to join our German offices to have their blood tested for a potential bone marrow donation to increase the survival chances of children suffering from leukaemia. More than 350 people responded to this appeal. 118
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
During the 2007 Christmas season, all six German offices simultaneously ran clothing collections for local homeless charities and battered women’s shelters. Through the Wishing Tree project, our offices ensured that orphans (Munich, Düsseldorf), children living in battered women’s shelters (Frankfurt), children suffering from cancer (Cologne) and young refugees (Berlin) all received Christmas presents. Christmas trees decorated with the children’s wish lists were put up in the reception areas of the offices so that volunteers could fulfil the wishes. Since 2005, we have also bought hand-made Christmas cards from our longstanding Hamburg community partner and thus increased the funds available to this private charity. Our offices regularly sponsor runners for charity runs. In 2007, volunteers from our offices in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt formed a mixed team in the ‘Race for the Cure’ in Frankfurt. Our Cologne office has provided a considerable piece of pro bono advice to a community foundation. The team around one of the partners settled a very complex estate tax issue for the foundation. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative in October 2007, our offices in Germany supported a variety of Community Challenges. Berlin took part in a range of challenges: volunteers sorted clothes in a child care centre, painted walls in a shelter for homeless people, painted rooms in an asylum for unaccompanied refugees, prepared and served food to homeless people, and read books to children in a children’s home. Volunteers from our Cologne office worked at a homeless shelter, painting and renovating a cafeteria with new tables and chairs. A second team of volunteers laid sidewalk flagstones and replaced the sand in the sand box at a children’s home. Staff from the Düsseldorf office focused on St Raphael’s children’s home, taking children out ice skating, to a museum and to an indoor playground. Volunteers also provided legal assistance to homeless people at a pro bono brunch. Another group of volunteers organised a ‘beauty afternoon’ for young homeless girls and women enabling them to forget their troubles for a while. In our Frankfurt office, volunteers accompanied 60 pupils with learning disabilities to a climbing hall to build the children’s self-confidence and provide a team-building experience. Another group of volunteers accompanied 40 children to a museum in Wiesbaden to help them learn about the different senses. Volunteers also accompanied a group of homeless people on an outdoor rope course and helped organise a thanksgiving party for homeless shelter Lazarus. Office staff helped organise games and creative activities for around 40 children from the
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
119
Gallus district, a deprived area in Frankfurt. Volunteers also helped a group of girls in an assisted living home with job applications and CVs. Volunteers in Hamburg helped organise and took part in a children’s party for a charity that works with disadvantaged children, called Hilfspunkt e.V. In the Munich office, volunteers accompanied immigrants with disabilities to a museum and did some gardening work for a day nursery. Our offices are continuously exploring new ways of working with their community partners.
120
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.7.5 Italy ‘The people in our offices in Milan and Rome have participated in several community and pro bono initiatives over the years. We look forward to building on this commitment to create a more focused social and environmental programme in the coming months. As part of this, one of our first initiatives in 2008 is to change our electricity supplies to ‘greener’ sources as part of our efforts to reduce our contribution to climate change.’ Vittorio Salvadori di Wiesenhoff, partner responsible for CSR in Milan, and Gian Luca Zampa, partner responsible for CSR in Rome Milan
In Milan, we have been involved in a weekly volunteering programme at the Pernigotti Association, providing help with homework to children who are immigrants to Italy with little or no Italian and come from as far away as China, Peru and the Philippines. The Milan office has also made a donation to the construction of Comitato Maria Letizia Verga, a hospital that will help young children with leukaemia. Rome
A member of staff in our Rome office works with the Peter Pan Association, an organisation founded in 1994 that provides accommodation and other support to children with cancer and their families. The Rome office also works with AISCUP, an association that supports cancer patients while they are undergoing treatment. Volunteers give patients lifts to and from hospital and participate in fundraising activities that help provide counselling and physiotherapy. A member of staff in the Rome office has given 90 hours of support to homelessness organisation Caritas. The Rome office has donated computers to Consorzio Gioventù Digitale to enable older people to benefit from free IT courses. We also provide legal assistance to the families of children affected by Down’s syndrome in association with Casa Arcobaleno Association (AIPD). Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, Community Challenge 2007, volunteers from our offices in Milan and Rome took part in the Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus’s food collection day. The charity collects excess food and distributes it to organisations helping poor and marginalised people in Italy. As part of the day, the offices allowed the charity to come and collect food; some of our staff volunteers worked at supermarkets, convincing people to donate food; and others worked at the tills collecting food and packing it. The team in Rome sent nearly 100 boxes of food to the charity to be donated to people in need.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
121
9.7.6 The Netherlands ‘Community Challenge 2007 has been a great success! More than 900 families will have a happy Sinterklaas celebration thanks to all the hard work by the Amsterdam office. Both the Stichting Sinterklaas Bestaat and Sinterklaas himself have expressed their great gratitude.’ Dirk-Jan Smit, partner responsible for CSR in Amsterdam
‘Thanks to all your efforts it has been a great success. It was heart-warming the way Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer helped us. Many, many thanks.’ Kiki Hirschfeld, founder of Sinterklaas Bestaat
Throughout 2007, efforts have concentrated on organising a team challenge involving as many people from the Amsterdam office as possible. A project was chosen that would appeal to all and would have a Dutch theme. The team challenge was a huge success in the Amsterdam office – involving 72 members of staff over a week. Building on this success and to keep the momentum going, we have started working on a corporate social responsibility project that will run into 2008 and beyond. Volunteers supported the organisation Sinterklaas bestaat (Santa Claus exists). The celebration of Sinterklaas is a typical Dutch tradition with lots of candy, presents, songs and poems. Unfortunately, not all parents are able to buy presents for their children, which is where Sinterklaas bestaat comes into play, providing poor families with the means to have a wonderful Sinterklaas celebration. Companies and individuals donate presents that are collected, put into large Sinterklaas bags and handed out to the families. Our volunteers helped by putting together over 900 present bags. The Amsterdam office also donated funds to the organisation that would have otherwise been used for the firm’s Christmas cards this year. Further donations came from people throughout the office.
122
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.7.7 Russia ‘We are delighted that 2007 saw the beginning of our involvement in our firm’s corporate social responsibility programme, and we look forward to doing more in the future.’ Jacky Baudon, partner responsible for CSR in Moscow
Our office here recently kicked off its community and pro bono programme by taking on its first piece of pro bono legal work, participating in the new pro bono legal roundtable and supporting a team challenge as part of our Community Challenge month. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, volunteers from our Moscow office visited an orphanage and an institution that cares for sick children without parents able to look after them. They delivered equipment and goods to the institutions and spent the day with the children, playing games and entertaining them. Our staff raised US$7,000; the office was impressed with the staff ’s generosity and contributed a further $800 to the cause. Volunteers are discussing ways to keep supporting these two institutions.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
123
9.7.8 Spain ‘There is very real enthusiasm for getting involved in our community and pro bono programme in both our Spanish offices, and our team challenges are always immensely popular with the people who work here. So we’re looking forward to getting more involved in taking forward our wider social and environmental commitments in 2008.’ Miguel Klingenberg, partner responsible for CSR in Barcelona and Madrid
We have a committee involving both lawyers and business services that co-ordinates and develops the community and pro bono activities in our Spanish offices. In addition to team challenges and Christmas events, groups of volunteers have been involved with sporting initiatives for young people. A large group of volunteers from our Barcelona office attended the ‘Schools Seven-a-Side Football Championship’ for children with learning difficulties. The Special Olympics set up the championship and volunteers helped organise mini events during the day, involving ball skills, penalty shoot-outs and keeping scores and matching records. Our Madrid office organised a Special Olympics basketball training session and game for 30 boys. In addition to a cash donation, staff volunteers helped paint a homeless shelter in Barcelona. The Spanish offices are also actively engaged in pro bono work for various organisations. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative in October 2007, volunteers worked with the Red Cross in our Barcelona office. They made puppets for children up to 15 years old, collected children from nursery schools to visit their mothers serving sentences in Wad Ras Penitentiary for Women and visited the children’s ward of Vall d’Hebrón Hospital. In our Madrid office, volunteer staff took part in the Fundación Rais in a one day physical challenge to help break the cycle of homelessness.
124
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.8 Activities in Asia and the Middle East Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo
‘Involvement in our community and pro bono programme has long been important to us, and we have a committee that co-ordinates many of our activities. The firm-wide Community Challenge initiative was a great opportunity for all our offices in Asia to step up this activity. In 2008, we look forward to being more actively engaged in the firm’s broader social and environmental initiatives, conscious as we are that our responsibilities are growing like the economies we operate in.’ Connie Carnabuci, partner responsible for CSR in Hong Kong, and chair of the community and pro bono committee for Hong Kong and China Final hour appeal
Every Christmas, a Final Hour Appeal is organised by our people in Hong Kong, usually in collaboration with the Beijing and Shanghai offices. People are invited to donate their final hour of salary for the year to a chosen charity. The 2007 appeal was run in association with Plan International to collect funds to replace the current inefficient, dangerous and unhealthy heating methods at Liu Qian He middle boarding school in northern China where the average temperature in winter months is minus 15°C. The 2006 Final Hour Appeal was for Little ZheHan, a 14 year old martial arts prize winner with leukaemia, and the International Justice Mission, in which one of our former lawyers now works full time and which focuses on child slavery and human trafficking. In previous years, funds raised have been used for providing equipment for the Children’s Cancer Centre in Hong Kong, building a school in Cambodia and two primary schools in Ningxia, funding a microfinance programme supporting a school for impoverished families in the Fujian Province, and supporting the Save the Children Angel Tree Project for children of prison inmates and children who witness domestic violence. Working with children
Other regular activities include visits to and parties for homeless and disabled children in residential centres, day trips for children who wish to improve their English, regular visits to Po Leung Kuk orphanage and cleaning up beaches through the charity Greenpower. Crossroads
Our Hong Kong office holds volunteer days for Crossroads, a relief agency that sorts and packs goods donated by Hong Kong residents and ships them to those who are less fortunate in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe. Around 20 people spend Saturdays helping the charity sort and pack items; without additional volunteers, it would take the charity two years to sort and ship its donations by itself.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
125
We have also provided pro bono assistance to Crossroads and helped them secure the intellectual property rights for their global Helping Hand logo. Helpers for domestic helpers
In Hong Kong, we participate in a programme called Helpers for Domestic Helpers (HDH), providing advice, counselling and guidance for (primarily foreign) domestic helpers in Hong Kong. HDH deals with employment and immigration issues and human rights issues affecting foreign domestic helpers. It aims to help them understand their rights in Hong Kong and to enforce these rights. On Sundays, when most domestic helpers in Hong Kong are released from work, volunteers from Freshfields, other law firms and investment banks now advise the helpers who drop in. Our Hong Kong office recently became involved in the new pro bono roundtable designed to encourage and promote more pro bono work. Shanghai
Our Shanghai office has been advising British environmental charity Plant a Tree Today Foundation (PATT) on its expansion into the People’s Republic of China. PATT establishes community-based forestry projects in developing countries, working with corporate partners, governments, nongovernmental organisations and other bodies. Tokyo
People in our Tokyo office participated in the annual International YMCA Charity Run, an event held and organised by the Tokyo YMCA that raised money for the Challenged Children Project at YMCA camps around Japan. Volunteers also participate in a charity soccer competition involving law firms and financial institutions, the proceeds of which go to help a refuge for trafficked women and other charities. United Arab Emirates: Dubai
‘We are the newest office within the firm; having spent the last few months settling in, we are looking forward to getting more involved in the firm’s social and environmental activities in 2008.’ Joe Huse, partner with responsibility for CSR in Dubai Our office has been working with the Ministry of Environment in its drive to make UAE ‘greener’ and has made a significant contribution to the Ministry’s environmental programme. Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Volunteers have been working with Operation Smiles to support children born with facial deformities. Our offices in Vietnam also provide financial support to the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, which provides immediate needs such as accommodation, healthcare and food for street kids while preparing them with skills for life (through schooling, vocational training and social programmes). In 2006/7, our support
126
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
enabled the organisation to set up its first residence for street kids in Hanoi; it currently has 14 residents, who are also being offered education and training. Our help has enabled Blue Dragon to expand its operations so that it can offer more homes and training for street children. Community Challenge
Our offices supported a variety of community challenges as part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative. The Beijing office spent a day at a school for children of migrant labourers, taking part in activities such as book donations, teaching English to the children, sharing experiences of college and work, and treating the teachers to lunch. Staff in the Hanoi office raised money for Operation Smiles to support surgery for children born with facial deformities. Staff visited the hospital, meeting the children, giving them gifts and books, and helping cheer them up before surgery. Volunteers from our Hong Kong office worked with Missionaries of Charity, a non-profit organisation that provides shelter and food for the homeless. They assisted with a number of tasks, including preparing and serving food, washing clothes, cleaning windows, chopping vegetables, clearing the garden and sweeping/washing paths. Volunteer staff from the Shanghai office went to the He Miao Primary School and taught English to 49 grade 5 pupils. They also took them to lunch and then to an aquarium for a lesson on sharks. In their first team challenge, volunteers from our Tokyo office worked for the Wheelchair Access Map (WAM) Project, a scheme that provides information on area accessibility for people confined to wheelchairs. The volunteers worked in teams, with one wheelchair per group, to gather information on accessibility in the Shibuya area using handheld maps and markers for WAM’s new website. This site will serve as a message board so that those in wheelchairs can communicate and facilitate relationships.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
127
9.9 Activities in the US ‘Our people have demonstrated a great capacıty to apprecıate the ımportance of these ıssues to the fırm and the greater communıty. Our bıggest challenge ıs to always vıew our socıal and envıronmental responsıbılıtıes as core matters deservıng of our utmost attentıon and not perıpheral ones that we address only when convenıent or when we otherwıse are not occupıed by bıllable matters.’ Melissa Raciti-Knapp, partner responsible for CSR in the US
Our US offices are particularly active in terms of our pro bono legal advice programme. Our New York office has one of the highest levels of volunteering in the firm, with 46 per cent of people involved. New York
We teamed up with Legal Outreach, a community organisation working with exceptional students from underserved communities throughout New York City, providing them with supplemental education and training to prepare them for college. During the summer, the students intern at different law firms each week. Our office hosted four interns, who spent the week working on a mock acquisitions case with our corporate practice group, conducting due diligence interviews with our associates in New York, Paris, London, Munich and Tokyo. They then analysed their findings and presented their recommendation to a ‘board of directors’ played by six of our New York partners. The initiative involved 35 per cent of people in our New York office and looks set to become a regular fixture. A team in New York represents the Street Vendor Project, a non-profit group working to promote the rights and well-being of the largely poor and immigrant vendors of New York City, in an action challenging the maximum fines of $1,000 set by the City of New York for vending infractions. We are currently appealing a trial court ruling before the Appellate Division. We successfully represented the mother of a 15-year-old girl who is unable to read and write due to serious learning disabilities in efforts to ensure she received an appropriate education. People in our New York office work with children at P.S. 72, a school in East Harlem, to help them improve their reading skills. Volunteers visit the school each week, and at the end of the school year the students make a trip to the New York office to get a feel for an office environment and meet with staff. Every year, our New York office participates in New York Cares. Last year, volunteers spent a day helping clean up public parks, playgrounds and schools. At Christmas, our US offices organise ‘coat drives’ for homeless people and
128
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
participate in team challenges to package food and gift parcels for families in need. Washington
Our Washington DC office represents the Global Campaign for Microbicides, a public health organization whose primary purpose is to co-ordinate worldwide efforts to develop and distribute microbicides that prevent sexual transmission of HIV. We represent the Global Campaign in its efforts to keep fake microbicides off the market. Fraudulent anti-HIV claims are dangerous because they induce sex partners to forego more reliable prophylactics, creating a greater risk of sexual transmission of HIV. The Washington office has helped the Global Campaign successfully remove several fake microbicides from the marketplace and continues to pursue several others. Our strategy combines communicating and coordinating with law enforcement, tax and regulatory agencies to put the marketers of fake microbicides out of business. We have also involved lawyers in our London and China offices. Also on the pro bono front, lawyers in Washington have assisted in filing Supreme Court briefs in the Krishna Maharaj case, see section 9.3.1. The Washington office participated in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree programme, which allows companies to adopt needy families and provide Christmas gifts for them. There was an office collection for the program and enough money was raised to buy gifts for a number of low-income families. The office was also able to donate $8,000 to the Continental Airlines Scholarship Fund, which enables disadvantaged students to continue their post-secondary education. Community Challenge
As part of our first firm-wide community and pro bono initiative, volunteers from our New York office took the fifth grade class of a public school to the Museum of Natural History to participate in a scavenger hunt, planetarium show and lunch. Volunteers also decorated cookies in the office and delivered these to the Bowery Mission, a homeless shelter, for their evening meal service. In their first Community Challenge, staff from the Washington office spent the day assisting the 7th Street Garden staff with gardening tasks. The organisation aims to unite diverse communities by providing locally grown food, and our staff helped with cleaning gardens, planting seeds, mulching, painting vegetable boxes and watering plants.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
129
9.10 Our community and pro bono policy To encourage and enable everyone who works here to spend one working day a year on team challenges and additional working time on community and pro bono activities facilitated by the firm. To focus our efforts on four themes:
promoting human rights;
improving access to justice for individuals and not-for-profit organisations in need by providing free legal advice;
reducing homelessness; and
raising the levels of achievement and aspirations of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and improving their skills. To concentrate our financial support and support in kind, including the provision of office space and design and print, on the community partners that enable our volunteering activities. To support initiatives that benefit the communities that are local to our offices and, more broadly, that make a positive difference to some of the wider legal and social issues of today, particularly promoting greater social inclusion. Our approach is about meeting the needs of the community, investing in communities and providing our people with opportunities to use their personal and professional skills to make a positive difference in a variety of ways. Our approach to pro bono legal work is that in all circumstances we should provide outstanding professional advice. Every matter we take on goes through the same procedures as any other case work and we ensure the same high standards. We favour projects that are relevant for our firm and that reflect and reinforce our values: excellence in all we do, outstanding teamwork, trusted relationships with our clients and imagination. Our approach is shaped by our commitment to investing in the community and involving our people, so we rarely make philanthropic donations or respond to emergency appeals. Each office, together with its community partners, is responsible for interpreting our policy in a way that is appropriate to the local community. Our community and pro bono programme is an intrinsic element of our wider social and environmental programme, helping us achieve our commitments to being a social and environmentally responsible business and, as part of this, our commitment to promoting greater diversity and inclusivity within our own firm and, more generally, within commercial law.
130
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.10.1 Our approach Our firm-wide community and pro bono programme is shaped by the recognition that we have a responsibility to use our personal and professional skills to help people in need, to make a positive difference, and to invest in wider society, in particular in the next generation, as they are our clients, employees, suppliers and influencers of the future. Our approach to pro bono legal advice
Our commitment to pro bono work reflects our view that everyone should have access to legal advice and that this is fundamental to a thriving society. We believe we have a responsibility to play a role in this and to work on cases where we can correct an apparent manifest injustice and/or assist in establishing legal right. Our approach to law is that in all circumstances we should provide outstanding professional advice. Every case we take on within the firm, whether it is for a fee-paying client or pro bono, goes through the same procedures and we ensure the same high standards. Volunteering can be enjoyable and rewarding
We believe our commitment to having a positive impact on important social and legal issues is good business practice. We also recognise that volunteers on our programme find it stimulating and rewarding; develop their personal and professional skills, particularly those engaged in pro bono legal advice; and broaden their perspectives. People also often enjoy the opportunity to make a difference and it can be a good way to meet colleagues. So, we were pleased that the results of the first surveys of our London-based volunteers confirmed this. The results of our surveys
Approximately 42 per cent of our London-based volunteers participated in our surveys, of whom:
91 per cent agree volunteering gives them a sense of achievement/is personally rewarding;
91 per cent agree it is a good opportunity to work with other people in the firm;
89 per cent agree it helps to develop new skills and competencies of volunteers;
76 per cent agree it gives them a fresh perspective and broadens their horizons;
95 per cent are motivated by the desire to give something back to the community, 94 per cent to make a difference and 79 per cent to do something different;
94 per cent agree the project was worthwhile and addressed a real need;
93 per cent find it enjoyable;
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
131
98 per cent agree it is important to contribute to wider society; 86 per cent of our pro bono volunteers feel we have a professional obligation to help those without resources to access legal advice; and 84 per cent feel our programme helps motivate the people who work here.
We are Premier Members of Business in the Community (BITC), a unique movement of over 700 of the UK’s top companies committed to improving their positive impact on society. We are also active in various BITC leadership groups, including Business Action on Homelessness, the National Education Leadership Team and the ENGAGE leadership team, which aims to encourage and promote employee volunteering on an international basis.
132
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.10.2 What we give What we give: our firm-wide community and pro bono contribution 2006/7
3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 £ 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 0
Worldwide In kind contributions
Pro bono time
Cash
Community time
We have used the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) model to measure our community contribution and benchmark our performance against other member companies since 2002/3. This year was the first time we have used it to calculate the monetary value of our firm-wide community and pro bono legal advice programme, including the amount of time invested in community and pro bono activities by our volunteers. Using the LBG model overall, our total firm-wide contribution was £3.48m - 0.7 per cent of global pre-tax profits. This includes management costs. What we give
Cash
2006/7 London
Community time
Pro bono time
In kind contributions
Total exc management costs
£490,447
£347,777
£1,602,695
£96,668
£2,537,587
Mainland Europe
£52,339
£56,992
£204,724
£14,333
£328,388
Asia and Middle East
£19,840
£10,392
£59,930
£9,146
£99,308
£8,333
£18,123
£118,182
£52
£144,690
£570,959
£433,284
£1,985,531
£120,199
£3,109,973
US Worldwide
Please note: the LBG model values time spent providing pro bono legal expertise as greater than general community volunteering time. ‘In kind contributions’ includes the provision of office space, and design and print. Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to LBG measurement principles. The LBG model was developed by a group of
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
133
businesses in 1995 as an internal evaluation tool and as a way to ensure greater consistency and comparability in external reporting. Today more than 100 leading international businesses apply the model around the world. Freshfields have been an active member since 2002. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company.
134
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.10.3 What we give to What we give to by subject focus: breakdown by region 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 £ 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000
r Ot he
nt on me
eli
ef vir En
cy r en erg
Em
nt
Ar
ts
elo pm e
an dc ult ure
h no
he
mi
rs
cd
oc
ev
ial
He
we lf
alt
are
ss sne les me
Eco
Ot
Ho
rig hts
ce
ma n
ust i Hu
oj st ces
Ac
Ed
uc
ati
on
an
dy
ou
ng pe op le
0
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
London
US
Breakdown by subject focus
London
Education and young people
£554,034
£94,055
£40,121
£18,583
£706,793
Access to justice
£516,830
£113,576
£7,569
£60,431
£698,406
Human rights
£630,187
£4,685
0
£11,483
£646,355
Homelessness
£417,207
£25,982
0
£12,609
£455,798
Health
£156,757
£23,090
£5,000
£11,178
£196,025
£78,824
£24,812
0
£6,607
£110,243
0
£3,786
£43,109
0
£46,895
Arts and culture
£6,500
£10,167
0
£18,276
£34,943
Emergency relief
£27,095
£1,170
£2,951
0
£31,216
£9,680
0
0
0
£9,680
£140,476
£27,063
£559
£5,523
£173,621
Other social welfare Economic development
Environment Other
Mainland Europe
Asia and Middle East
US
Eighty per cent of our community and pro bono contribution falls into our four themes: 24 per cent of our contribution is made to disadvantaged young people, 22 per cent to access to justice, 20 per cent to human rights and 14 per cent to homelessness.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
135
Worldwide
As the programme has evolved over a number of years and each office is responsible for developing its own programme, we do support other initiatives. For example, in London we provide a considerable amount of pro bono legal advice to Cancer Research UK. Our German offices are also actively engaged in various health initiatives, giving pro bono assistance to Lebenshilfe Frankfurt and supporting blood collections for the Red Cross and Children with Leukaemia, while our Chinese offices are involved in economic development, providing pro bono legal advice to a microfinance project. As a supporter of Dance in Europe, Vienna is our largest contributor in terms of arts and culture, followed by New York and Washington. Plan International
Our offices in China, France and Hong Kong are all involved in some way with Plan International, a charity that works to achieve lasting improvements for children living in poverty in developing countries. We look forward to exploring other opportunities with the charity in 2008. HIV and AIDS
Since 2004, our fundraising and house-building activities with Habitat for Humanity have focused on providing homes for children in Durban, South Africa, who have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS. Our office in Washington provides pro bono legal advice to the Global Campaign for Microbicides, a public health organisation whose primary purpose is to co-ordinate worldwide efforts to develop and distribute microbicides that prevent sexual transmission of HIV. We are providing pro bono advice to the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative in connection with its partnership with UNITAID to supply HIV/AIDS treatments particularly for children, in 38 countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Lawyers from our New York, London, Amsterdam and Paris offices also recently began working on a joint Lawyers Without Borders and Save the Children UK project relating to property and inheritance rights for women and children in Africa in light of the HIV/Aids pandemic. Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to London Benchmarking Group (LBG) measurement principles. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company.
136
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.10.4 Our volunteers ‘We think it is important to promote volunteering around the world not only in our offices but amongst other employers, because we see the benefits it brings to our people and those they come into contact with, for example, in schools, colleges, and organisations working with homeless people. For our volunteers it is personally rewarding, improves their skills and confidence, and is a real opportunity to build teams with other people in the firm. We are very proud of all our volunteers for putting in so much time into this important aspect of our corporate social responsibility programme.’ John Davies, partner and member of the Business in the Community/ ENGAGE leadership group, which aims to promote volunteering around the world In total, over 1,300 people worldwide were involved in our community and pro bono activities in 2006/7, contributing over 25,000 hours to the programme. Number of staff involved
Number of staff
Percentage of staff involved
Total hours contributed
2006/7 London
736
35
19,565
Mainland Europe
511
18
3,504
Asia and Middle East
41
11
761
US
50
42
1,175
1,338
24
25,005
Worldwide
Some of our offices and departments are more actively engaged in our community and pro bono programme than others, and we hope to see more consistent levels of activity following our first firm-wide Community Challenge month in October 2007. The offices where over one-third of people are active volunteers include Barcelona, Brussels, New York and London. The highest levels of hours contributed by volunteers to our community programme are in London, Germany and New York, while the highest levels of activity on our pro bono programme are in London, Brussels, the US, and China and Hong Kong. Participation varies for many reasons. Attitudes towards volunteering differ in each country, as does the approach to providing pro bono legal advice. For example, the US and UK have strong traditions of providing free legal advice, and in Brussels this is part of a lawyer’s training. This is reflected in the higher levels of activity in these offices. Several of our offices are involved in the new pro bono roundtables designed to encourage and promote more pro bono work, including those in Brussels,
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
137
Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Moscow and Paris. In 2007, corporate associate Kate Burns won the East London Business Alliance Mentor of the Year Award for her mentoring work with GCSE pupils at Haggerston School for Girls in Hackney. The recommendation came from Hackney Schools Mentoring, which emphasised her ‘tremendous support to the programme, volunteering for five consecutive years. During this time she has helped many students plan their career development paths, source work experience placements and helped them decide their future plans after GCSE/Key stage four. She has been an excellent mentor, and her experience has been invaluable. She kept in contact with students even while being on secondment during 2004. Past students have described her as ‘intelligent but fun and down to earth at the same time’, ‘approachable’ and ‘a very good role model’. Awards for our volunteers
In 2006, finance secretary Cynthia Miller, one of our reading partners at Redlands Primary School, won the Company Volunteer Award from Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership. Redlands School, which nominated her for the award, commented: ‘Cynthia has been a Reading Partner for many years. She has often worked with pupils with special needs, and takes a personal interest in all the children she works with even when she has stopped being their Reading Partner. She attends school assemblies and goes on school trips when she can.’ Our community and pro bono data has been compiled according to London Benchmarking Group (LBG) measurement principles. Our application of the LBG model has been assured by The Corporate Citizenship Company.
138
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
9.11 Community and pro bono committee A committee chaired by senior partner Guy Morton provides strategic direction for our firm-wide community and pro bono activities, and guides our policy. The committee includes the following people:
partner Emmanuel Bénard (partner with responsibility for CSR in Paris);
Tim Cole, human resources director, and Michael Hertz, director of knowledge and business development (focusing on personal and professional development);
partner Hugh Crisp (heading our diversity initiatives);
partner John Davies (developing our international volunteering activities);
Jill Delaney, senior associate, and Debbie Farrell, business support manager, (regular participants in several aspects of our community and pro bono volunteering programme);
partner Simon Hall and principal consultant Barry O’Brien (focusing on developing the skills and raising the aspirations of young people);
partner Thomas Janssens (partner responsible for CSR in Brussels);
partners Tim Jones and Philip Richards (focusing on homelessness);
partner Miguel Klingenberg (partner responsible for CSR in Barcelona and Madrid);
partner Dietmar Knopp (partner responsible for CSR in Germany);
partner Paul Lomas (leading our pro bono initiatives);
Crispin Hain-Cole, partnership secretary;
Bea Malleson, head of corporate social responsibility and community investment; and
Clarissa O’Callaghan, head of pro bono. In addition, Philip Richards and Tim Jones represent us on the Executive Forum and London Steering Group of Business in the Community’s (BITC’s) Business Action on Homelessness. Barry O’Brien represents us on BITC’s National Education Leadership Team, and John Davies on the ENGAGE leadership team, which aims to encourage and promote employee volunteering on an international basis. Guy Morton is a council member of Heart of the City. Simon Hall is on the advisory board of the UK Career Academy Foundation.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
139
9.12 Community and pro bono awards Our community and pro bono programme has won several awards. 2007
Winner CSR Firm of the Year at the 2007 Legal Business Awards: ‘Freshfields led the way in the legal sector by being the first law firm to produce a CSR report under the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in January 2006. The firm has also been a strong supporter of human rights group Reprieve.’ Awarded a Business in the Community (BITC) Big Tick for our Ready for Work programme, which provides work experience placements to homeless people. Between 2000-2007, 126 individuals have completed successful placements at the firm, 14 of whom have taken up permanent jobs here. Others have gone on to work elsewhere. The Big Tick is given to companies that can demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour on society, as well as on the company itself. Winner The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people: the ‘range of projects including supporting the homeless charity Crisis on its Urban Village project by providing free legal advice on housing issues made their entry stand out. Most notable was a programme designed to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion through providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice. The firm offers 20 placements a year and to date has employed 14 people on a permanent basis.’
2006
Won Pro Bono Activity of the Year Award at the 2006 Lawyer awards. This was for our intervention in the landmark House of Lords case challenging the admissibility of evidence obtained by torture overseas by agents of a foreign state. Over 60 of our lawyers worldwide were involved in preparing a comparative law brief on 22 different jurisdictions to present to the Lords, giving 1,200 hours of their time to our pro bono clients, the Commonwealth Law Association, the International Commission of Jurists and the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association. Our job coaching programme in Frankfurt received an award from the Hessian government.
2005
140
Awarded the Solicitors Pro Bono Group Pro Bono Award (over 100 fee earners category) for our contribution to the Tsunami Legal Assistance Helpline set up in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami, cases we have undertaken for individual clients and our representation of clients at pro bono mediations.
Corporate social responsibility: making a difference around the world
Simon Jones, an associate in our dispute resolution practice, received an award from the Young Solicitors Group (large firm category) in recognition of his work for several litigants in person. Our Hong Kong office was awarded Asian Legal Business Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year 2005, largely due to the work Mary Wicks did to raise funds for those affected by the 2004 Tsunami. Mary was also nominated in the Asian Legal Business Hot 100 for her work.
2004
Awarded the BITC Barclays European Community Impact Award for our work in the community. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service awarded us the Caring Company logo for our work with Global Hand and Crossroads.
2001
We won a highly commended certificate at the BITC Awards for Excellencein recognition of our Ready for Work programme.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, January 2008
141
