Our responsibilities

Our core values of courage, character, care, collegiate and collaborative are the foundations of our responsible and sustainable business strategy and guide us in our approach.

For us, this means how we:

• run our business;
• look after and develop our colleagues;
• contribute to inclusion in our profession;
• engage with and contribute to the wider community and society; and
• consider our impact on climate and the environment.
  
  

The sustainability of our business and achieving our own ambitious goals while maintaining our position as a trusted adviser and positive contributor to society is dependent on us acting responsibly in such a way as to create long term value. We are committed to challenging ourselves to constantly improve and make progress and to report transparently on the progress that we make towards the goals that we set ourselves.

Our approach supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals and aligns with those goals in the areas in which we think we can have the most significant contribution. Collaboration with a range of stakeholders and empowerment of our colleagues underpins achieving our goals.

How we do business

As a leading law firm, our clients and society rightly expect the highest professional standards from each of us, individually and collectively. We aim to achieve the highest standards of professional ethics, client confidentiality and risk management.

Our colleagues 

Our colleagues are central to our firm and all that we do. We want every individual to realise their potential and we want to play our part in helping them to achieve that. We aim to create a safe, supportive and inclusive work environment for our colleagues, to allow them to thrive, develop their skills and to gain experience. In line with our core firm values that extends not only to the physical environment, but also to the wider working environment and to our colleagues' wellbeing. Both we and our clients greatly value the skills, experience and perspectives that a diverse, inclusive and representative workforce brings to our delivery of first class legal services.

Our line managers recognise that they have a responsibility to set appropriate standards of behaviours, leading by example and to implement our policies, which promote our commitment to nurturing talent and helping each colleague to fulfil their potential. We recognise and value the contribution that training makes to the progress of our colleagues and have invested heavily in firmwide training and development. Our training programmes cover technical and structured training required for the purposes of continuing professional development as well as compliance, regulatory knowledge, client care and soft skills.

Our profession 

We want to make a positive contribution to our profession, its future direction and to support the development of the next generation of lawyers and business services colleagues. We have worked to enhance opportunities and social mobility both within the firm (in our legal and business services teams) and also more widely within the legal services sector.