Davenport Lyons' Corporate Social Responsibility Group
31 Jan 2012
It is just over three years since Davenport Lyons launched its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Group and its achievements to date have been significant.
While Davenport Lyons has historically been involved in various types of pro bono and voluntary CSR activities, following the endorsement and formal backing by the firm's Governing Board, a dedicated CSR Group (made up of lawyers and support staff from across the firm) was established to develop, monitor and formalise the firm's CSR and pro bono activities.
Last year saw the formation of a new Charity Committee and the firm taking on its first Charity of the Year, Macmillan Cancer Support, which raised nearly £6,000 for Macmillan.
“Macmillan Cancer Support is incredibly grateful to the enthusiastic and committed employees of Davenport Lyons who have supported us as their charity for 2011. The passion in which everyone from Davenport Lyons has fundraised for Macmillan over the last year has meant that you exceeded your fundraising target and helped so many people and their families who have been affected by cancer.
Thank you for the difference you have made to these people’s lives and for your amazing support,” Richard Scott, Fundraising Manager for South East London.
We are delighted this year to have chosen Haven House Children’s Hospice as the firm’s charity for 2012.
“Haven House Children’s Hospice is a special place for special children. We care for children and young people between the ages of 0 to 19 who have life-limiting conditions and who are unlikely to reach adulthood. We help families by providing a range of services that include day, short break and end of life care, together with therapeutic play in the community,” Siobhan Songour, Corporate Fundraising Executive for Haven House Children’s Hospice.
Our Commitment
Since the launch of the CSR Group, the firm has provided over 3,000 hours (approximately 1,000 hours a year) of pro bono and volunteer time for legal services, advisory work and voluntary teaching in the community.
This firmwide support is provided by partners, fee earners and operational staff who have all contributed their time and effort to teaching, advising, and even lending their baking skills to the cause.
One of our keenest and most accomplished bakers, Andrea Ellis who is a secretary in our Film & TV department, said:
“I was inspired to bake for the Macmillan fundraising events because of the support Macmillan gives to those who are affected by cancer. What a great opportunity to raise money for a charity who make a difference to so many people. I wanted to make a difference in being able to raise money for a worthwhile charity.”
At every level, from charity events to teaching in the community and advising clients, the response to all the initiatives relating to CSR has been excellent both from within the firm and from the clients, and those charities and organisations that we have helped.
"I am extremely pleased with how things have gone so far," says Peter Weiss, Chairman of the CSR and pro bono group. "The support we receive is excellent. The commitment from all participants is really admirable and I think overall, the creation of this group, the dedication that has been shown, has benefitted everyone who has participated in it and we look forward to achieving even more in the years to come."
Who we have been working with
We are proud to work with a number of large and small charities for whom we provide both legal and advisory advice; a selection of just a few are set out here.
One of our key CSR clients has been The Prince's Trust. Our work has ranged from advising on development and funding projects requiring regulatory, employment and commercial advice, provided by Abesh Choudhury, Laura Livingstone and Julian Ciercierski-Burns, to IP-related issues surrounding the use of the Trust’s logo which was been provided by Adam Glass.
Both Peter Weiss and Natalie Wright have been active in working with the Prince’s Trust and volunteering on leadership workshops organised for young people.
"I am really proud," says Natalie Wright, one of the founding members of the group and an Associate in the Corporate Department. “I feel really privileged to be involved in this CSR work and think it is important that part of our job is to be involved in the wider community.
We are really lucky to be able to work with The Prince’s Trust. It is a great organisation which has a real impact in enabling young people to start their own businesses, giving them opportunities and providing them with inspiration which might not be available without the support of the Trust.”
We have also helped the Trust by engaging the services of overseas lawyers (which has included helping introducing the Trust to the firm’s Irish Globalaw member firm for specialist advice on its Dublin-based projects), and specialist barristers and have been actively involved in working with the Trust on its Enterprise Programme which helps create opportunities for thousands of young people throughout the UK.
“The Prince’s Trust is delighted with the work done by Davenport Lyons and highly appreciative of the kind provision of pro bono professional services as the cost saving enables us to reach out to more young people who require our support,” says William Hotopf, head of Risk and Audit at the Prince’s Trust.
We have acted on behalf of the Kivuli Trust, a UK registered charity, which provides fund raising and organises teacher exchange programmes for schools and hostels in Africa to enable the education and hostelling of disabled Kenyan children of school age, who had historically been excluded from the education process. Together with our Globalaw associated firm in Kenya, we drafted an agreement for the Trust to work with the Gilgil Township Primary School in Kenya and assisted in establishing a joint venture in the form of a self help group for the operation and upkeep of the hostel in Gilgil.
“Davenport Lyons has been a true supporter,” says Ryan Pape of the Kivuli Trust. “The pro bono legal work that has been undertaken has helped in formalising the relationship between the Trust, the schools in which it operates and the Kenya Government.
The team involved quickly understood the needs of the Trust and were a pleasure to deal with. We were pleasantly surprised that Davenport Lyons incorporated the views of a Kenyan law firm on local legal matters - they did this entirely without prompt! Thank you for your assistance to date, the work you have undertaken has been invaluable.”
Natalie Wright has also assisted Michael Hatchwell, Corporate partner and a member of the Firm’s Governing Board on advising SkillForce on their restructuring activities. This charity helps children who have been excluded from schools and has a real impact on them and society. Michael is also on SkillForce's board of trustees. “I get a great deal of satisfaction being involved, it is a great charity. It is critical for a generation of kids from difficult backgrounds and is a charity that really assists kids who would otherwise find themselves in far more difficult situations. Dame Kelly Holmes for one has come through the programme. We provide the core legal support and try to offer a commercial, pragmatic approach to solving their problems.
I think we could probably do more with getting our clients involved with the charities we are already involved in – everyone I have introduced to SkillForce has wanted to get more involved in one way or another,” Michael Hatchwell.
Michael is currently working with Nic Hart and Julia Guy to advise SkillForce on employment matters, and he regularly advises on charity and legal matters and introduces other leaders and funders to the charity as part of his ongoing commitment.
We have been assisting since its establishment the Kinetica Art Fair. It brings together galleries, art organisations and curatorial groups from around the world who focus on kinetic, electronic, robotic, sound, light, time-based and multi-disciplinary new media art, science and technology.
The Fair provides an international platform for museums, collectors, curators and the public to view and buy artworks in this thriving and advancing field. Alongside the Fair, Kinetica curate a themed feature exhibition, screenings, tours, talks, workshops and performances.
"Davenport Lyons have provided us with invaluable support and advice on matters relating to our contracts with artists, and the loan or commissioning of artworks,” says Tony Langford of Kinetica who has been assisted by fee earners including partner, Michelle Brown.
In addition to providing legal and advisory advice we have been active in other areas:
Macmillan Cancer Support – Charity of the Year 2011
We were really proud to have worked with Macmillan Cancer Support as Davenport Lyons’ Charity of the Year for 2011. The initiative allowed all members of the firm, including non-fee earners to get involved with the firm’s CSR programme and is very much a staff-led initiative with a committee from across different levels and departments of the firm.
The charity is chosen each year following a vote by staff. Fundraising activities have been organised throughout the year, including very popular bakesales for the firm as a whole, and smaller departmental specific activities such as sporting sweepstakes.
Our success with Macmillan Cancer Support has enabled us to start a new project with a new charity this year, Haven House Children’s Hospice.
Involvement and Teaching in the Community
The firm as a whole is entering its third year of the community CSR program. We have continued to work with George Elliott School in St John’s Wood on their literacy programme, and on a numeracy programme with Burdett Coutts School which is based in Victoria. We have a total of 22 volunteers from across the firm who donate their time to this very worthwhile cause.
The firm is now also working with the Westminster Education Partnership to provide industry awareness to schools. We will be working with St Augustine’s CE High School in assisting the 16 to 18 year olds with interview skills and providing them with feedback.
Laura Dowling, a member of the CSR Group who heads up the Charity Committee, is responsible for co-ordinating over 20 members of staff who currently assist in two local schools: "The literacy and numeracy programme has gone from strength to strength. Both the schools and our volunteers find it extremely rewarding, with both the children and the volunteers gaining a lot from the experience".
Althea Pipe, the Deputy Headteacher at Burdett Coutts School said: “The numeracy volunteers from Davenport Lyons are excellent. They relate really well to the children and are quick to understand what they need to do to help the children learn without just telling them the answer. The children absolutely love Number Club! Every time they see me they ask when the next one is.”
A few of the other organisations for whom we have recently provided assistance include:
We are extremely proud of the work we have undertaken and welcome suggestions for further initiatives and other projects in which we and our staff can become involved.
In the current economic climate the demands on charities and communities are greater than ever. We believe that CSR and pro bono work is of benefit to all who participate in it and we look forward to actively growing our involvement in the wider community in the years to come.
