Responsible business report 2021 Responsible business report 2021

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2021 RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS REPORT

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Our team of experts are ready to share further insights based on deep understanding of the pressure points across industries and regions. Get in touch to continue the conversation.

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We are so proud of our colleagues, whose work on these and other initiatives helps to build a high-performing, sustainable business with a positive social impact. However, our work is very much ongoing. There is a lot more to do, both internally and externally, and we are frequently reminded of the inequities still prevalent in society. Our 10 Actions for Change initiative will and must remain top and centre of the agenda, and we will continue to embed the principles of the UNGC and SDGs in our day-to-day activities to support positive change in sustainable business practices - something which benefits us all. We hope you enjoy reading this Report, and welcome your feedback on our progress.

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Successful responsible businesses are those that are highly attuned to the needs of society. At Herbert Smith Freehills, we look to address society’s biggest challenges, working with our partners, our people and our clients to shape a better future. We are proud that our diverse talent and positive culture enable us to do this, and that we are trusted by clients around the world to advise and navigate them through ever-changing global trends and challenges."

REBECCA MASLEN-STANNAGE CHAIR AND SENIOR PARTNER

Ethnicity

Gender

Work life balance

ESG

Net Zero Carbon

In September 2020, we launched our 10 Actions for Change, a global set of commitments aimed at improving the representation and experience of Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues. In the Report, you can read more about our goals - which include a target of having minority ethnic partners comprise 10% of our London partnership and Asian partners comprise 50% of our Hong Kong partnership by 2025 - and our progress towards these.

10 Actions for Change

ETHNICITY

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Gender

There is also progress on gender diversity: the percentage of our women partners is now 28%, against a target of having 35% of partner and partner leadership roles filled by women by 1 May 2023.

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JUSTIN D'AGOSTINO, MH CEO AND PARTNER

Welcome to our fifth Responsible Business Report.

The Report contains highlights of our responsible business practices, which support our people, our clients and wider society, and is an indicator of the progress we are making each year against our goals. The Report also demonstrates our firm's commitment to the UN Global Compact (UNGC) Principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), recognising that we are one year into the UN's "Decade of Action" dedicated to achieving those Goals. Here we touch on some of the key initiatives we have launched or progressed over the past year.

Read Onwards and Upwards – a publication launched during Black History Month 2021 to showcase and celebrate the thoughts and experiences of the Black community, from both within the firm and externally.

Onwards and Upwards

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Work LIFE BALANCE

This year, we have also launched our "Agile 60" initiative – enabling our people to work in the office for an average of 60% of their working time - in direct response to the changes to working practices accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Flexible working practices have a major effect on inclusion, whether by improving mental health and wellbeing or making career choices more accessible for a greater number of people.

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Address barriers to recruitment

Improve retention

Deliver anti-racism workshops

Better inform and track approach

Invest in research

Engage meaningfully with our clients

Increase mentoring and work experience oppprtunites

Support diversity within our supply chain

Increase pro bono support

Hold regional executives accountable

Hold regional executives accountable for progress on ethnic diversity

Increase pro bono support for organisations that address racial inequality

Support diversity within our supply chain and support businesses and social enterprises owned by Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic people

Increase mentoring and work experience opportunities for young people from Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds

Engage meaningfully with our clients on anti-racism

Invest in research and continue listening to our people (including leavers) and communities

Better inform and track our approach through robust data collection and analysis, and target-setting where appropriate

Deliver anti-racism workshops in addition to global D&I programmes

Improve retention of Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic colleagues, and improve representation in more senior roles

Address barriers to the recruitment of Black, First Nations, Asian and minority ethnic people

ESG

In February 2021, we created a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Leadership team, streamlining client access to the firm's expertise and specialist capabilities in this area across the globe. The practice has been ranked in the highest category by Chambers and Partners, a recognised source of legal sector intelligence, in their global ESG category. We have observed an increasing focus, including from clients, on ESG initiatives across all sectors. With pressure from investors, consumers, employees and governments, ESG issues have become mainstream business topics that redefine the roles of chief legal officers as much as the organisations around them.

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Net Zero Carbon

In December 2020, we announced a new climate change strategy, aiming to reduce our carbon emissions to net zero by 2030. As a leading international law firm, we are clear about our own responsibility to contribute to a sustainable future.

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Justin is the firm's CEO, overseeing people, practices, clients and growth strategies. A thought leader and skilled practitioner in arbitration and dispute resolution, he has appeared before tribunals around the world and has sat regularly as arbitrator. The founder of the firm's first LGBT+ network in 2007, Justin is a strong advocate and active supporter of the firm's diversity and inclusion strategy and many responsible business initiatives.

JUSTIN D'AGOSTINO, MH CEO AND PARTNER

Rebecca was elected to the role of Chair and Senior Partner on 1 May 2021. She is one of Australia’s most highly rated corporate lawyers and continues to maintain her mergers & acquisitions and broader corporate practice in conjunction with performing the role of Chair and Senior Partner. Rebecca is the firm's first female Senior Partner, and the first Senior Partner of the firm based in Australia.

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REBECCA MASLEN-STANNAGE CHAIR AND SENIOR PARTNER

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Social Impact

The report

General counsel and the dawning ESG revolution

Responsibility Incorporated

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40.75350580891221 -73.97422194358083

48.87104594125198 2.297903230574155

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SOCIAL IMPACT

This year, we provided extensive pro bono and strategic advice, as well as a secondee from our Digital Law Group, to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) for a ground-breaking project on the relationship between human rights and technology.

HSF’s pro bono contribution to the AHRC’s Human Rights & Technology Project has enabled us to undertake a far more detailed and useful analysis than we would have been able to do on our own.

EDWARD SANTOW, HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER AT THE AHRC

Over the course of each four-session cycle, and due to the determined efforts of our incredible clients, the progress they make in their interviewing skills, overall optimism and self-confidence is amazing. To see first-hand their progress in conveying their qualifications and qualities to potential employers is a tremendous joy.

Lawrence Savell, Professional Support Lawyer

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Pro Bono

Economic Empowerment

Our New York team helped with interview skills and preparation for women seeking to return to the workforce after escaping domestic abuse. The Economic Empowerment Program (EEP), run by long-time pro bono client Sanctuary for Families, is New York City’s only living-wage career readiness and hard-skills training initiative offered in-house at a domestic violence agency.