Denton Wilde Sapte

Our cultureEvery company - and every law firm - has its own way of working, its own priorities and its own relationships, internally as well as externally. In that respect, we’re no different. But perhaps more than anything else, it’s our culture that sets us apart from our competitors.Our culture isn’t easy to define, and we prefer it that way. People join us, stay with us, grow with us and develop us. Sometimes we have definite goals in mind - our business strategy is no accident, for example - but much of our evolution has been organic and, well, human.That said, it’s important to have values, and we work hard to keep our environment as transparent, inclusive and friendly as we can. This rarely manifests itself in specific policies, but some initiatives do deserve to be properly supported by the firm - our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro bono work, for example. Social activities, on the other hand, are less endorsed from on high, but are driven by the individual passions of our people. (Although we’re quite happy to supply some new kit every now and again.)Corporate social responsibilityWe are committed to operating our business in a way which demonstrates respect for the environments and communities in which we operate.Environmental sustainabilityWe aim to run our practices in a way which minimises our impact on the environment. A cross-departmental Environmental Working group drives firm initiatives and co-ordinates employee engagement. This includes working with both employees and our supply chain to encourage the efficient use of resources, monitoring of energy and water consumption and recycling wherever possible.Community workAround 15 volunteers provide at least an hour a week each to support an Inner City Reading Scheme at St Andrew’s School, Islington, where they work with children on a one-to-one basis.Employees from both the fee-earning and the support sides of the firm volunteer to cook breakfasts at the Whitechapel Mission, a centre for the homeless in East London.We’re also involved in the City Gateway initiative, which provides disadvantaged young people in the London borough of Tower Hamlets with mentoring, training and work experience opportunities.Obviously, the rewards for our community work are intrinsic in the work itself. However, it’s always nice to be recognised. In 2007, we were awarded the Heart of the City Award in that year’s City of London Dragon Awards. These awards recognise the contribution that companies and organisations make to communities in Greater London. We won the award for the weekly PopLaw legal clinic in Poplar and for our volunteer work with the homeless at the Whitechapel Mission.Charitable givingThe Denton Wilde Sapte Social Committee holds various fund-raising events through the year and gives the proceeds of these events to a charity, which is selected by all employees on an annual basis.Every year the Denton Wilde Sapte Charitable Trust allocates a proportion of the budget to funding a wide range of charitable organisations who apply to the firm for funds. The focus is on the relief of poverty, rehabilitation and smaller charities. The Trust supports individual employees who participate in fund-raising activities by themselves. We also match the fund-raising efforts of the Denton Wilde Sapte Social Committee up to a maximum of £5,000.Pro bonoOur pro-bono work is important. We hold a free legal advice clinic in Poplar, East London. We have pro bono relationships with UNICEF, the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) and the HIV/AIDS Alliance.In many cases, these are long-standing and ongoing relationships, but we’re always open to new ideas. If we think it’s right to - and if we can - we’ll always try to help. PopLawEstablished by the firm in January 2006, PopLaw is a legal clinic in Poplar, East London. Our volunteers - a cross-section of partners, solicitors, barristers and trainees - offer free legal advice to local people who would not otherwise be able to access or afford it. Law students from nearby Queen Mary’s University are also involved in providing administrative support.PopLaw was awarded the City of London’s Heart of the City award at the 2007 Dragon Awards. These awards recognise the contribution that businesses make to their communities, and selected PopLaw on the strength of its work in this part of East London.Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED)CAMFED is dedicated to fighting poverty and AIDS in rural African communities through female education. The campaign currently provides a programme of educational support in some of the poorest regions of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Tanzania.We’ve worked with CAMFED since August 2006, acting as sole UK pro bono legal adviser.United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been the world’s leading charity for children, working in 156 countries to improve child health and nutrition, provide good water, sanitation, quality basic education and fight for the protection of children from violence, exploitation and AIDS.In September 2006 we advised UNICEF’s UK arm on an outsourcing contract for their direct marketing campaigns. We hope this will be the first of many projects between our two organisations.International HIV/AIDS AllianceThe International HIV/AIDS Alliance has been encouraging and supporting community-based AIDS education programmes since 1993. It operates through a partnership of organisations in over 25 countries, developing and managing community, country-based and regional programmes.We’ve been working with the Alliance since October 2006. To date, we have provided advice on the opening of a new office in sub-Saharan Africa, including a referral to one of the firm’s associate African law firms.Like our partnership with UNICEF and CAMFED, our work with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance helps them to deliver on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, in particular providing primary education, reducing child mortality, promoting equality between men and women and combating the spread of disease. Citizens Advice BureauThe Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is a registered charity reliant on volunteers to give free, confidential and independent legal advice to members of the public who have cases in the Court of Appeal.Staff from our Dispute Resolution department have been on the legal rota at the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau for a number of years.Equal opportunities & diversityWe are committed to providing equal opportunities and encouraging diversity for all. We believe that everybody should be treated on his or her merits regardless of sex, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, civil partnership status, pregnancy, age, disability, religion or belief.The aim of this policy is to ensure every effort is made to conduct the firm’s activities so that job applicants and employees have an equal opportunity of being recruited and promoted.Pure PotentialPure Potential is an organisation that helps thousands of bright students from the state sector - from year 12s to graduates - with their journey through UCAS forms, university life, student finance and career choices through their events and website.We take part in these events and are involved in running workshops with the students at one of the selected universities.   Social Mobility FoundationThe Social Mobility Foundation is a registered charity, which works to secure placements for bright A level students from low-income families, immediately before they apply for entry to university.Those awarded a placement spend a week working in several departments across the firm, which provides them with information about a career in law as well as certain skills required by many leading employers.Birkbeck, University of LondonBirkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London’s only specialist provider of evening higher education. Their new project, Birkbeck East, based at Stratford, is aimed at increasing access to those who would not otherwise engage in higher education.In August 2008 we received regulatory clearance to use £50,000 of dormant client funds to create a bursary for Birkbeck students. We were able to take advantage of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s new matched funding scheme to boost the bursary by a third and to offer a total grant of £75,000.We also support the Birkbeck hardship fund. We help fund postgraduate bursaries for those students whose work contributes towards creating lasting socio-economic and/or environmental change and development in the local community. In addition, the Denton Wilde Sapte Charitable Trust has committed to funding the education of a Birkbeck student over four years from September 2007.Social activitiesWe have an expansive list of clubs and activities. We take part in over 20 different sports, including hockey, rugby, badminton, softball, football, women’s football, cricket, netball, karate/self defence, aerobics classes and even dragon boat racing. Some slightly less strenuous activities are yoga, pilates, tai chi and a choir. They’re all good fun.We also have a social committee who organise regular firm-wide social events including quiz evenings, sponsored walks and drinks evenings. Proceeds from tickets sold to these events goes to the Denton Wilde Sapte nominated charity, which is currently Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Other events include the annual summer party, departmental away days, departmental Christmas parties and the firm’s Christmas carol service.Trainee reps also have their own budget, which goes towards organising social activities for the trainees.