Strategic social impact
Our Firm is committed to making a positive social impact, demonstrated through our comprehensive pro bono practice and our dynamic community investment initiatives. Central to this work is our collaboration with the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation and its partner charities, which remains a focus for us.
Our dedication to Access to Justice is at the heart of our pro bono activities. We provide crucial legal advice and support to individuals who are unable to obtain legal aid or afford private legal services. Additionally, we extend our expertise to smaller charities and social enterprises focussed on social, humanitarian and environmental issues and without sufficient funds or access to funding to obtain advice otherwise.
Our social impact initiatives reflect our responsibility as a business to support the global and local communities in which we operate and deliver positive social change that is valued by our people, clients, and other key stakeholders. These initiatives (and particularly our advisory pro bono opportunities) are carefully identified to ensure that they do not conflict with and are appropriately differentiated from our fee earning work with philanthropists, charities and social enterprises that also delivers outcomes with a strong social value element.
Our lawyers provide advice and casework in their own areas of expertise, either directly, through trusted referral networks, or through specialist family law, employment law and civil procedure Legal Advice Clinics. Furthermore, our lawyers engage in our collaborative Access to Justice projects and clinics, allowing them to upskill in a secondary area of law, whether common immigration issues faced by children (Kids in Need of Defense), asylum law (European Lawyers in Lesvos), housing law (Social Housing Clinic), benefits law (Disability Benefits Appeals), compensation schemes (Windrush Legal Initiative) or criminal law (Schools Consent Project).
The Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation is an integral part of our social impact strategy. The Foundation provides essential funding to charity partners and our Social Impact team works closely with these organisations to pinpoint their needs and determine how we can best leverage our Firm's resources to enhance their capacity and effectiveness in serving their beneficiaries. Over the last three years, we have focused on creating and expanding opportunities for our business services staff to contribute their expertise and add value to our charity partners. In addition, we seek opportunities to share knowledge across charity partners through our legal education and business services masterclasses. Topics covered on these sessions have included social media, human resources, tax, contracts and intellectual property.
We know that engaging our people with our charity partners and helping them connect to their work is vital to our programme’s success. ‘Foundation Fortnight 2024’ marked our third annual celebration of the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation and its key charity partners. We held a range of activities and events across our three UK offices that both highlighted the work of the charities and offered our people the opportunity to give their time and skills to support them. Events included panel discussions, lunch and learns, volunteering days and fundraising activities. The fortnight was a great success with over 400 of our people participating.
Our Community Investment programme includes initiatives aimed at creating access to opportunities. For example, our flagship Career Start programme and insight days are designed to support young people. They aim to broaden their understanding of professional services careers, enhance their employability skills, and dismantle the barriers they may face in entering the legal profession.
Key facts and figures
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