Corporate social responsibility

We recognise our responsibilities and the potential impact our business has on the local community and the environment where we all live and work.

 

Responsibility to one another

Equality and diversity
The firm is committed to avoiding discrimination, harassment and victimisation and promoting equality and diversity in its own policies, practices and procedures.
Work life balance
We believe strongly that all staff should have a good work life balance and we offer a range of policies to encourage and support this.

More information on our inclusivity and diversity commitments
to employees can be found here.

Responsibility for equal access to legal advice

We believe it is our responsibility to use our expertise and professional skills to respond to the needs of those who might otherwise not be able to access advice and justice.

We provide pro bono legal advice through our partnership with LawWorks, the country’s leading pro bono charity.

Responsibility to the community

We strongly believe in actively promoting equal access to education and employment and, in particular, using our expertise, time and resources to offer opportunities for education and employment in the legal sector to those who may not otherwise have such access.

We also do this through initiatives such as:

Partnering with The Sutton Trust and PRIME to provide work experience to students interested in a career in law. Read more about the most recent work experience programme and feedback from Sutton Trust and their students here.
Giving talks and running activities related to careers in Law to primary and secondary school students

We also believe in the importance of engaging with the needs of our local and wider community by using our personal skills and interests, time and financial resources.

We choose one or two charities, from a list nominated by employees, on which to focus our fundraising and volunteering activities. In 2022 our staff, by a majority vote cast in a poll, decided that our chosen charity would be Reach Out 2 Kids (ROK).

ROK Logo

This small charity aims to improve diversity, racial and social mobility by working with schools and partner companies to create opportunities for young people. By providing a direct link between professionals and young people, who would otherwise not have the opportunity to connect with them, young people are provided with a unique insight into the world of work and a full spectrum of possible careers. The charity partners with firms like ours to offer training choices and help dispel the perception that some industries and roles are accessible only to a privileged few. ROK strives to address this imbalance by improving the life chances of young people from working class backgrounds and BAME communities.

Wherever possible, Sharpe Pritchard purchases Fairtrade products.

We like things to be fair. We are happy to pay the Fairtrade Premium because this benefits farmers and workers, as well as their wider communities and the planet.

These communities spend the Fairtrade Premium money on whatever they see fit, which could include water conservation, tree planting or solar energy projects.

Through Fairtrade, farmers and workers have the opportunity to invest in their future. Fairtrade also prohibits child labour and works to combat its root causes.

Juli Lau, Senior Associate and member of the CSR Committee explains why
FYA was selected as a charity partner:

We chose them for their outstanding work with disadvantaged young people in our local borough. We were particularly impressed that they were established by young people originally brought together by tensions surrounding their local football pitch, and that over 20 years later, they continue to empower young people to support other young people through sports, community and well-being projects.

We have thoroughly enjoyed working with FYA’s young people on their community planting and clean-up project this year, hosting an introduction to Law careers session at our offices, and raising funds for them through the London to Windsor bike ride. We look forward to continuing to support FYA this year.

Charities we have previously supported include Fitzrovia Youth in Action, our local Trussell Trust Foodbank,
children’s charity Kids Inspire, and cancer charity Bloodwise.

Members of our firm can often be found donning running shoes in support of homeless charity Crisis’ Annual Square Mile Run, or as part of the London Legal Walk which raises money for charities that provide access to justice.

Responsibility to the environment

We take our responsibility to the environment seriously and believe that this goes beyond meeting legal and regulatory requirements. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods.

This includes how we manage our office and the use of resources, promoting energy efficiency and recycling/waste reduction measures and encouraging the use of environmentally friendlier transport options for business travel and commuting.

What makes us different?

CSR committee member, solicitor, Hannah Ismail

I chose to be part of the CSR committee because I wanted the opportunity to contribute to wider society in a positive way. I have really enjoyed working with ROK and seeing some of the initiatives take place, such as our negotiation competition and work experience programme. It’s great to see the positive impact they have had on the students.

Sabrina Keita, bid executive, law student and CSR committee member