Corporate Social Responsibility (2023 update)

We’re big believers in giving back, supporting worthy causes, and extending our services where they are needed.

Recruitment: As a firm, our approach to recruitment centres around sourcing individuals from a variety of different backgrounds. Pulling away from the traditional format of recruitment, our whole team reaches out to local communities to find potential candidates. Those who are interested are invited to work in our office for a week or even two. Working with candidates in this way allows us to get to know the individual for their personality, work ethic and passions, rather than relying solely on grades, CVs and past experience.

Supporting Charities: Many firms choose to nominate an annual charity to support. Rather than following this approach, we encourage all members of our team to work closely with causes of their choice. This allows our firm to support a number of different causes including women’s rights, the LGBTQIA+ community, mental health, local sports initiatives and cancer charities. Our team takes time to engage with both local and national charities. This has included:

  • coffee mornings/bake offs, the most recent for Macmillan Cancer Support;
  • arranging a table of ten at the Beatson Cancer Charity’s annual Ladies Lunch event in Glasgow;
  • donating to Save the Children;
  • contributing to charity coffee mornings for Robb Residential;
  • donating to Hamilton Rugby Club;
  • arranging a 6-person team for a charity quiz raising money for Children’s Hospices across Scotland;
  • attending the annual Never Mind the Business Quiz raising money for Action for Children;
  • donating to St Andrew’s Boxing club;
  • organising, participating in and attending the LexFactor Charity Battle of the Bands raising money for Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, the Edinburgh Childrens’ Hospital Charity, Archie Foundation and the Great North Children’s Hospital Foundation;
  • donating to Cash for Kids;
  • pledging money to the Glasgow Childrens Hospital Charity;
  • donating to Marie Curie;
  • donating to Cancer Research;
  • sponsoring individuals completing the Kilt Walk;
  • participating in the West of Scotland Insolvency Forum Quiz;
  • donating to the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice;
  • sponsoring a table at the Giffnock Soccer Club dinner dance;
  • attending the HRC Quiz night, donating and raising money for Glasgow Women’s Aid;
  • arranging a table for the MND Scotland 40th Anniversary Ball;
  • donating to Launch Foods Foundation, a group providing free healthy and nutritious goof to primary school children in Glasgow’s most deprived communities; and
  • donating to Maggies Centres.

Through such events, our firm has raised many thousands of pounds in 2022/23 and our support has reached communities across Scotland and beyond.

As well as fundraising, our team engages with local groups in trustee/director positions and everyone is encouraged to do so alongside their work.  Our director Laura McKnight is a board member of Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire, a domestic abuse charity serving the communities and providing valuable assistance to vulnerable women across South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire.  Our director Gordon Lennox is a member of the board of directors of Lanarkshire Carers Centre and a council member of the Law Society of Scotland.   Our associate director Ryan Macready is a trustee of Glasgow Triathlon Club, a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation and Scotland’s largest triathlon club.  Our senior solicitor Peter McEwan of St George’s Tron Church of Scotland, a registered Scottish charity. This allows us to take on a more involved role in the establishment and administration of charitable organisations.

 

ED&I Projects/transactions: As a firm we prioritise projects which centre around equality, diversity and inclusion. In one recent example, we worked with the Asian Business Chamber, setting up partnership and collaboration agreement with Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. This project is intended to engage Scottish Asian owned and managed businesses in the Scottish Asian business community and to engage these businesses and business owner in the wider Scottish business community.  We are continuously seeking out opportunities to build and bolster diverse business communities and to support businesses owned and/or manage by BME individuals.

 

Mental Health: We foster an inclusive attitude towards the mental health of our team. This has included:

  • implementing support mechanisms for those suffering from poor mental health;
  • promoting LawCare resources to help with mental wellbeing;
  • apointing Mental Health First Aiders;
  • our Gordon Lennox organising and attending events to support men’s mental heath in the legal profession and further writing on the topic of mental health in the Law Society of Scotland’s Journal ahead of Internation Men’s Day (November 2022) (https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/blogs-opinions/no-man-is-an-island-it-s-time-to-talk/) and taking part in the Law Society of Scotland’s panel discussion on Time to Talk Day (February 2023);
  • encouraging regular check ins amongst the team;
  • facilitating open discussion about mental wellbeing and sharing ideas for self-care practices; and
  • enabling our team to bring their pets into the office to encourage the real-life benefits that this can have.

We recognise that poor mental health can have an impact on an individual’s ability to engage in daily tasks and these initiatives aim to ensure that our entire team feels that they can reach out where they need support.