Corporate responsibility

Herbert Smith is working hard to be a positive force in its communities. As a firm we promote a culture of fairness, opportunity and community involvement, in which individuals from wide-ranging backgrounds can fulfill their potential and help others to do so, both inside and outside work.

Our internal values, as much as any external forces, determine our approach to corporate responsibility. Three simple desires underpin all our activities.

We aim to:

• ensure that people who cannot afford legal advice have access to services
• encourage a culture of community involvement and engagement
• minimise our environmental impact

This commitment is underpinned by the belief that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and that we should actively contribute towards the creation of a more inclusive society where people, from all backgrounds and viewpoints, can fulfil their potential.

Our corporate responsibility (CR) programme includes a range of initiatives, policy reviews and regular monitoring of the way in which the firm meets its obligations to clients, employees and to the wider community. Indeed, our unique approach to CR activities recently earned us a top award in the Financial Times Innovative Lawyer Awards this year.

We have a long tradition of providing pro bono assistance, which all involved find rewarding on both a personal and professional level. We are also heavily involved in community activities and sponsorship projects.

We have a diversity group that promotes and develops diversity in the workplace. We work with organisations such as the Group for Solicitors with Disabilities, Blind in Business, Stonewall, the Employers' Forum on Age and Opportunity Now, as well as the Law Society's department for Equality and Diversity. We actively encourage diversity at every level within Herbert Smith.

As active members of Business in the Community - a movement of over 700 companies pledged to continually improve their positive impact on society – we take practical steps to practise and encourage responsible behaviour. Herbert Smith has a strong reputation for providing legal services on a pro bono basis to individuals and community groups unable to afford legal fees. This ranges from advising on day-to-day legal issues through the Citizens Advice Bureau, to working for “death row” prisoners in the Caribbean. Through our award-winning Community Investment Programme, which began 15 years ago, Herbert Smith employees help to tackle disadvantage and discrimination in a wide range of imaginative ways.

Everyone is encouraged to volunteer to be involved in community projects, such as working with local schools, helping people who are homeless, and supporting a refuge for women and children who have experienced domestic violence.

The opportunity to make a difference is not just good for the community but also for the development of our people. We encourage employees to take part by encouraging them to commit up to 24 hours every year to community investment projects, which our lawyers record as accountable time.  This spirit of volunteerism is a strong feature of our identity as a law firm.