Spotlight on Governance
2028 Ambitions
Holding ourselves to account
The Governance pillar of our Responsible Business Strategy focuses on our Firm's policies and processes, and how these should be designed or refined, implemented and reviewed to support the efficient and successful running of the organisation, in line with our values and in support of our broader responsible business ambitions.
In the first year of our strategy, we are focusing on ensuring that responsible business issues are fully integrated into our Firm’s ways of working. This includes considering the need to integrate responsible business in the Terms of Reference of our Firm’s main governing bodies and ensuring that our New Business Intake (NBI) platform and processes have the capacity, in due course, to support the collection of appropriate responsible business-related client datapoints.
Our Risk & Compliance team are also closely involved in our Firm’s first formal Climate Risk & Opportunities Assessment – a key goal under the Environment pillar of our strategy, and we will integrate the learnings from this assessment into our Risk Register and risk management processes.
Another key focus of our Governance ambitions and goals is taking a holistic and cross-functional approach to anti-bribery and modern slavery across our international Firm, ensuring that our risk-based modern slavery policy evolves appropriately to reflect our growing business and that our training programme is high quality and targeted appropriately. As part of our holistic approach, we are also committed to partnering with and learning from organisations tackling modern slavery on the frontlines (read more about our work with Justice & Care below) and to supporting our clients to navigate this complex and fast-moving area of risk and regulation.
Accountability in action
Our ongoing work with pro bono client, Justice & Care, highlights the proactive measures we are taking as a Firm to develop a robust, holistic and cross-functional approach to anti-bribery and modern slavery.
Justice & Care: Supporting slavery survivors
Our Firm has been working with Justice & Care, a charity leading the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery both in the UK and globally, since 2019. We were originally introduced via the Firm’s client, Belron, and have been developing a close relationship with them ever since.
In the UK, and through Justice & Care’s Victim Navigator Programme, the charity works closely with the police to help identify and support victims of modern slavery, and improve investigations by sharing evidence and expertise with governments and key stakeholders. Between January 2024-2026 Justice & Care worked alongside law enforcement officers to secure 30 convictions and 184 years of prison sentences for traffickers. The direct impact of its work with criminal investigations has resulted in stronger prosecutions and better outcomes for slavery survivors.
According to Ministry of Justice statistics analysed by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, only 58 people were convicted of 'modern slavery' offences in England and Wales between July 2023 and June 2024, yet various reports show over 122,000 modern slavery victims in the UK alone. Modern slavery affects communities across the UK and beyond, occurring in local businesses, on city streets, and throughout global supply chains.
We have supported Justice & Care through multiple advisory matters and assisted with a pioneering UK Criminal Justice System Research Project secondment. In summer 2025, Associates, Desirée Pedersen and Josephine Russen from our Corporate and UK Private Client teams, took part in a month long secondment to Justice & Care to carry out research on the current state of the UK Criminal Justice System, exploring the barriers that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors and leading criminal barristers face when addressing a modern slavery case.
Secondments are a strategic way that we can support our charity partners. Through this work and providing ongoing pro bono legal advice, we support Justice & Care, as well as their survivors, to navigate often complex legal issues and frameworks."
After receiving outstanding feedback on the recent work of our secondees, our lawyers are continuing to support the charity’s research project, with our Pro Bono team exploring other opportunities for legal support for the organisation.
Our lawyers have provided
pro bono hours advising and assisting Justice & Care, with contributions from
lawyers across three divisions
2026/27 Responsible Business Governance goals include:
- Reviewing the Terms of Reference of the Advisory Council, Operational Committee and Global Operations Committee to ensure responsible business is regularly considered, including as to how responsible business issues impact the Firm's growth and the successful delivery of the firm's strategic objectives
- Enhancing the Firm's new New Business Intake platform and processes to collect necessary and appropriate responsible business‑related client data points.
- Rolling out refreshed anti‑bribery and modern slavery training across the Firm, as necessary and appropriate.
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