Clifford Chance

Graduate recruitment in the UK

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Corporate responsibility

Clifford Chance has a long tradition of community and pro bono activity and we take our responsibilities to our people, the environment and the communities in which we live and work very seriously. We have made it a stated goal to develop a corporate responsibility platform that is recognised as unequalled in the legal profession. That means that we are working harder to align our corporate responsibility with the way we do business –because it’s the right thing to do, for our firm, our people and our business, particularly where we act jointly with our clients.

You'll find an overview of our corporate responsibility activities here but for the full picture visit our corporate responsibility site or download our corporate responsibility report.

 People >>     Community >>    Environment >>    

People

Clifford Chance is committed to providing the best possible opportunities for all of our people to develop and contribute to our business. Central to this has been the establishment of the Clifford Chance Academy, which provides a broad range of training and development courses, available throughout our network, as well as tailored training at the local office and practice area level.

At the same time we are committed to broadening access to legal careers – a strategy that aligns with our support for education initiatives – and to ensuring that once here, our people enjoy the same opportunities to grow, to develop and to feel included in the activities and direction of the firm. Visit diversity for more information.

Community

While financial rewards are important, greater career satisfaction can come from knowing that you’ve used the talents you have to help others.

We’re committed to a huge variety of pro bono and community programmes because we believe in investing in the communities in which we live and work. Our pro bono and community activities focus on three key areas – access to justice, access to finance and access to education. By focusing on these areas we are able to advocate positive change and to act to bring it about – providing practical help for those who are unable to help themselves or who historically have been overlooked.

We also think that working beyond the boundaries of our usual business environment helps to give our trainees and lawyers new perspectives, skills and experiences. Throughout your career with us you will encounter many opportunities to become involved in our pro bono and community activities. Many of our people find these activities to be among the most rewarding aspects of their roles.

Access to justice:

  • Representing detainees in Guantánamo Bay

  • Supporting Liberty and Law for All through trainee and associate secondments

  • Advising a range of non-profit organisations around the world, from Hong Kong to Moscow, Washington to Paris

  • Working closely with human rights organisations like ASF (Avocats sans Frontières) and the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP)

  • Supporting anti-poverty group Advocates for International Development (A4ID)

Access to education:

  • The Clare Partnership for Schools works to raise the aspirations of students in East London, Clifford Chance is one of three corporate partners providing funding, strategic programme input and practical support, including business mentoring for students.

  • We support through funding The Thurgood Marshall Academy in Washington DC, a public charter high school educating the city’s most disadvantaged students

  • Our Sao Paulo office supports Vida Jovem, a charity that provides shelter and education to the city’s poorest children.

Access to finance:

  • Working with microfinance institutions to standardise legal documentation and strip out legal costs to enable them to access funding more easily

  • Supporting PlaNet Finance, an international NGO that brings together individuals and microfinance institutions

  • Working with Integra, an NGO that works with small business in eastern and central Europe to alleviate poverty, cut unemployment and help transform communities

The Clifford Chance Foundation

Earlier this year we established The Clifford Chance Foundation to co-ordinate our charitable giving with initial funds of £1 million. This funding will be directed at community-related projects – in addition to the giving and sponsorships already undertaken by individual offices – that align with our core focus on widening access to justice, education and finance.

Environment

Part of our role as lawyers is to advise clients on the ways that their businesses impact the environment. To do so with conviction and credibility we have to be striving to reduce our own environmental impacts. That means everything from recycling paper, plastic and cans to collecting books, clothes and toys to donate to local charities. Some examples include recycling Christmas cards, using fair trade coffee throughout the London office, and even encouraging employees to cycle into the office in Amsterdam.

We have appointed an Environmental Steering Committee to review our progress in this regard and are in the process of introducing a firm-wide environmental management system to set and implement commitments and evaluate progress.

Among our commitments are:

  • To comply with environmental legislation in each country where we operate

  • To gather and analyse data on our environmental performance across our business and to set standards for performance.

  • To work with key suppliers to reduce the environmental impacts of purchases

  • To promote environmental initiatives through our corporate responsibility programme

  • To communicate openly about our environmental policies

On a wider platform we have worked on a pro bono basis with the International Emissions Trading Association (ETA) to develop structures that will facilitate the growth of carbon emissions trading. Clifford Chance also contributed to the World Economic Forum’s debate on climate change in 2000.