As a firm we recognise that it is important to contribute our time, skills and resources to good causes that will benefit our communities both locally and internationally.
Bristows takes an active interest in the communities within which the firm and its employees work and live.
For example, the firm volunteers at a local school with regular group mentoring sessions for secondary school aged students. This mentoring scheme is run at a nearby school in Southwark and involves members of Bristows supporting students to make decisions about their next steps in education and / or the world of work. It also involves a visit to Bristows to give the students an increased awareness of the working world, accompanied by Bristows’ mentors sharing their personal experiences throughout their mentoring scheme. The scheme also aims to increase confidence when it comes to the students’ wider skill set, such as around interviews and communication.
The schemes Bristows participates in, which has also included a reading scheme with primary aged students, are highly rewarding activities and a great opportunity for the firm to give something back to the local community. Bristows also regularly attends careers fairs, delivers workshops relating to its practice areas, often with a specific sector focus, to enable students to ask a wide range of Bristows’ people questions about a career in law, both as a lawyer and beyond, including around working within a law firm’s business services teams.
We are also proud to host the Joe Sako Summer Workshop, an annual work experience programme delivered in memory of our dearly missed colleague and friend, Joe Sako. Every Summer a small number of Year 12-aged students interested in a career in law, who may not otherwise have an opportunity to gain work experience within a law firm, attend Bristows’ offices in London for this face to face experience. The programme offers a work placement with a bespoke behind-the-scenes glimpse into life at a law firm, specifically with regard to a career in law, and involves a number of interactive talks and workshops designed to enable the students to learn more about a career in law, whilst developing their skill set. Members from across the firm, from partners and associates to trainees and solicitor apprentices, as well as members from all our business services are involved in providing a jam-packed programme (which includes a visit to the Royal Courts of Justice) to these students.
Corporate Responsibility has a key role to play in our culture at Bristows and to illustrate this commitment from the start, we invite our new intake of trainees to take part in a volunteering activity each year, this has previously included the firm’s trainee cohort volunteering at a local soup kitchen.
In addition, at a personal level, Bristows’ people are engaged in many worthwhile activities, including involvement with cultural groups, churches, school governing bodies and PTAs, as well as acting as charity trustees. Our fee earners are also encouraged to offer their experience to support the firm’s pro bono programme which delivers free legal advice and assistance to community organisations in need. This includes the firm’s work with Advocates for International Development (A4ID) where specialist lawyers are matched to suitable opportunities.
Recent examples of Bristows’ teams supporting charities through its pro bono programme include our media disputes team delivering training about the legal framework around defamation, our data protection team providing specialist advice around the use of data sets in R&D activities and our commercial team drafting and advising on services and consultancy arrangements.