We’re proud of our culture. It’s supportive and it’s non-hierarchical. We appreciate new perspectives and value the diverse backgrounds of our people. So no matter what your field of expertise, you can be sure that your contribution will be valued.
It’s an environment that will give you the skills you need to achieve your potential. A place where your perspective, ideas and experiences will make a real difference.
Diversity and inclusion is a key part of our culture and we celebrate the uniqueness of our people. Wherever you join us, you’ll find talented people with different views, experiences and backgrounds. This breadth of experience and insight adds new dimensions to how we tackle client challenges, drive innovation and attract the best talent.
We’re home to a wide variety of employee-led diversity networks. These provide firm-wide and client networking opportunities, key note speaker events and seminars. Our networks include Women Lawyers, Women in Business Services, HSF Ability, Family, and Multiculturalism, which celebrates diverse ethnicity, religion, faith and culture.
We aim to increase the number of women in our global partnership to 30%. We were one of the first law firms to commit to global gender targets publicly, and we’re making progress to deliver a greater gender balance in our global leadership team by 2019.
Our commitment to equality has seen us awarded a number of accolades. In the UK for example, we’ve been recognised by The Times as one of the Top 50 Employers for Women, and were delighted to receive the BITC Transforming Cultures Award at the Gender Equality Awards 2016 in recognition of our Working Smarter approach to Agile working. We are also ranked Australia’s number 1 legal graduate employer.
Some of our most rewarding work comes from individuals, NGOs and developing country governments who make up our pro bono clients.
Last year, our global pro bono and citizenship contribution was roughly US$[15] million including more than 57,000 hours of free legal advice, given voluntarily by our people.
On a global level, our Fair Deal Sierra Leone initiative uses firm-wide expertise to deliver free, expert, legal support to the Government of Sierra Leone, for example in relation to the commercial consequences of the Ebola crisis.
We work with the Mental Disability Advocacy Centre and Kenyan Human Rights Commission to protect the rights of those with mental disabilities in Kenya. We’re helping to eradicate slavery with the Anti-Trafficking Anti-Slavery (ATAS) Group, which gives our lawyers the opportunity to take on local and international pro-bono work related to slavery and trafficking. And, our Ambassador scheme supporting the Prisoners' Advice Service offers free legal advice to UK prisoners regarding anything from their rights to their living conditions.
Recently, we have been working closely with one of our major clients to develop a pro bono legal advice clinic in support of Centrepoint, the UK's leading charity for homeless young people. Connect provides free, confidential legal advice to young people who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.
In 2008, we became a founder member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA), an inclusive movement of law firms and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take action on climate change. As an executive member, we now lead the LSA and its 280 law firm members. In Madrid, we celebrate the annual Environment Week with daily activities, taking the aim to assist in the development of sustainable practices across the office.
