Actions speak louder
Our commitment
to our people, to our
communities and to
sustainable practice.
2015/2016
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Recognition
Diversity and inclusion award
Dell legal diversity award 2015
Top 100 employer
Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2015, 2014
Pro bono Publico award
American Bar Association 2014
Top pro bono firm
Law360, 2014
Best law firm contribution (for work with
South West London Law Centres)
LawWorks 2014
Corporate volunteering award
Mayor of London’s Team London Award 2014
Bronze employer
Australian Workplace Equality Index 2015
Top 50 employers for women
The Times 2013–2015
Inclusive workplace award
Australian Human Resources Institute Diversity & Inclusion award
2015, 2014
Workplace gender equality agency, employer
of choice for gender
Equality Citation, Australia, 2015, 2014
B Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
In 2015, we sponsored Petal
(pictured) as part of the London
City trail in aid of Wallace & Gromit’s
Children’s Charity. Petal grazed right
next to our London office.
01
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Norton Rose Fulbright
Contents
Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world’s preeminent corporations
Our global
initiatives
and financial institutions with04
a full business
law service.
We have more than 3800 lawyers
and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada,
Latin America, Asia, Australia,14
Africa,Our
the Middle
East and Central
Asia.communities
commitment
to our
Pro bono
Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial
mining
Volunteering
institutions; energy; infrastructure,
and commodities; transport; technology and
innovation; and life sciences and
healthcare.
Fundraising
Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality,
28 Our commitment to our people
unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of
our offices and to maintain that level Diversity
of quality at and
every inclusion
point of contact.
Resilience and wellbeing
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright Australia,
Flexible working
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc are separate
legal entities and all of them are members of Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein.
38 coordinate
Our commitment
practice
Norton Rose Fulbright Verein helps
the activities ofto
thesustainable
members but does
not
itself provide legal services to clients.
42 Our business principles
Risk management
Business ethics
References to ‘Norton Rose Fulbright’, ‘the law firm’, and ‘legal practice’ are to one or more of the Norton Rose Fulbright members or to one of their
respective affiliates (together ‘Norton Rose Fulbright entity/entities’). No individual who is a member, partner, shareholder, director, employee or
consultant of, in or to any Norton Rose Fulbright entity (whether or not such individual is described as a ‘partner’) accepts or assumes responsibility,
or has any liability, to any person in respect of this communication. Any reference to a partner or director is to a member, employee or consultant with
equivalent standing and qualifications of the relevant Norton Rose Fulbright entity. The purpose of this communication is to provide information
as to developments in the law. It does not contain a full analysis of the law nor does it constitute an opinion of any Norton Rose Fulbright entity on
the points of law discussed. You must take specific legal advice on any particular matter which concerns you. If you require any advice or further
information, please speak to your usual contact at Norton Rose Fulbright.
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP NRF22639 11/15 (UK) Extracts may be copied provided their source is acknowledged.
02 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Using our skills and knowledge where we can make a difference, whether it is for
our clients, or for the wider communities in which we operate, goes to the heart
of our business principles of quality, unity and integrity.
On behalf of my fellow partners, I would like to thank all those who have
contributed their skills and free time to help bring about change in a variety of
ways over the last year.
Peter Martyr
Chief Executive
Norton Rose Fulbright
03
04 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our global initiatives
The Great Canadian Canoe Challenge was the first of our fundraisers for Special Olympics
05
Athletes at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles
06 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our global initiatives
Special Olympics
Our global charitable initiative in 2015/16 is to work with Special Olympics,
the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual
disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 4.4 million
people in 170 countries. Special Olympics aims to give its athletes the opportunity
to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in
a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics
athletes and the community.
Special Olympics is a global social movement with one key message: people with
intellectual disabilities can – and will – succeed when given the chance.
Over the next 12 months, we have set ourselves a goal of raising US$250,000 for
Special Olympics by holding a series of fundraising events both locally and globally.
Our principal Special Olympics fundraiser was a sponsored paddling (canoeing)
challenge – The Great Canadian Canoe Challenge – in September 2015. This took
place at Arrowhead Camp on the shores of the Muskoka Lake of Bays, between
Algonquin Park and Huntsville.
More than 100 canoeists, beginners and experts alike, paddled for around five hours
each day. Paddlers committed to raising a minimum of US$250 in sponsorship, and
funded their own travel to Canada.
Further fundraising activities will follow throughout the course of 2016.
Our support for Special Olympics builds on our earlier work with the Jubilee Sailing
Trust to raise awareness and change perceptions of disability by sponsoring and
taking part in the Norton Rose Fulbright Sail the World Challenge with a mixed crew
of able-bodied and disabled people.
specialolympics.org
In 2015/2016, we have set ourselves a goal
of raising US$250,000 for Special Olympics.
07
Our global initiatives
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Working Start
Valuing difference and promoting a culture of respect for each individual is central to
our strategy on diversity and inclusion. In 2014, we launched Working Start, a global
initiative to provide employment opportunities to people with disabilities.
Working Start is designed to put our beliefs into practice by promoting confidence
in disability and providing paid employment for people who have a disability. We
believe that when people are able to be themselves at work, they will do better and
we will get the best from them. This means not only ensuring that job opportunities
are accessible to people with disabilities but improving the way in which we recruit
and enable people with disabilities to realize their full potential and career ambitions.
The program, supported by McLaren Honda through our corporate partnership,
underscores our shared focus on innovation and high performance team work.
Successful applicants will participate in a year-long program working with Norton
Rose Fulbright. Our aim is to ensure that they gain valuable, commercial on-the-job
experience and contribute to a project focused on what we can do to become more
disability-confident.
There will also be an opportunity to attend a Grand Prix race during the 2015/2016
Formula 1™ season and participants will be mentored by McLaren Honda during the
course of the program.
nortonrosefulbright.com/workingstart
Valuing difference and promoting a culture
of respect for each individual is central
to our strategy on diversity and inclusion.
08 The Melbourne Grand Prix, March 2015
09
Members of our team competing in the BP MS 150, 2015
10 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our global initiatives
BP MS 150
We have raised more than US$600,000 for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in
the last two years by participating in the BP MS 150 annual fundraising cycle ride to
support and build awareness.
The BP MS 150 is a gruelling annual 180-mile ride from Houston to Austin in Texas,
the biggest of its kind in North America. It raises money and awareness for people with
MS, a progressive neurological disease which currently affects more than 2.5 million
people worldwide, mostly between the ages of 20 and 50. There is no known cure.
In 2015, we entered a team of 45 people from our offices around the world, building
on our effort in 2014 when we were one of the largest teams in the ride, and with the
most international spread.
nationalmssociety.org
11
Our global initiatives
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Movember
Every year across our offices, the arrival of the month of November marks the return
of the moustache. We proudly support men’s health by participating in the Movember
campaign to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.
In 2014, our Canadian team retained their title as top performers in raising funds in
the Norton Rose Fulbright Movember challenge. Overall, our global Movember team
raised more than US$55,000 for men’s health charities.
More than 20 of our offices have signed up to the moustache growing challenge for
the 2015 Movember challenge.
movember.org
12 Our Canadian Movember team
13
14 Our commitment to our communities
Mandela Day 2015: the meal packing challenge in Sandton, South Africa
15
Our commitment to our communities
Pro bono
United States
Transgender civil
rights victory
We helped secure a significant
victory for the LGBT community
in the US in a case involving
the South Carolina Department
of Motor Vehicles (SC DMV).
In March 2014, this organization
refused to photograph Chase
Culpepper, a transgender teenager,
for her driving license unless she
removed her makeup to look more
like a male.
After efforts to persuade the DMV
to change this policy failed, the
Transgender Legal Defense &
Education Fund (TLDEF) filed suit
on Chase’s behalf in federal court.
Our New York senior associate
Peter Guirguis and associate
David Schwartz served as pro
bono co-counsel in the federal
lawsuit against the DMV.
The lawsuit alleged that the DMV’s
refusal to allow Chase the freedom to
wear everyday makeup in a license
photograph constituted sexual
discrimination and a violation
of her right to free speech and
expression. The suit also alleged
that the DMV’s policy was
unconstitutionally vague and broad.
The case was settled on April 22
2015 under terms which required
the DMV to change its policy so
that people applying for a license
16 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
can be photographed in their
regular makeup and clothing. In
addition, the organization must
train its employees to adhere to the
new policy; permit Chase to wear
makeup when she returns to be
photographed for her license; and
apologize to Chase for the way in
which she was treated.
‘Peter and David came up with
a novel and extremely effective
argument in this case,’ noted
Michael Silverman, TLDEFʼs
Executive Director.
‘Work for the LGBT community is
the latest frontier in the pursuit
of equal rights for all individuals,
and I am proud of our office’s
commitment to these matters,’
Guirguis said.
Helping immigrants
become US citizens
Over five years ago, our
Minneapolis office began a
partnership with 3M to assist
low-income immigrants in
taking their final steps towards
naturalization and US citizenship.
US Head of IP brands Tim Kenny
spearheaded the project with
3M’s in-house counsel Carol
Peterson and Maureen Harms,
along with Southern Minnesota
Regional Legal Services (SMRLS),
the largest legal services provider
in Minnesota. After a number of
our lawyers received training from
SMRLS, they spent hundreds of
hours helping to make the dreams
of disadvantaged Asian and
African immigrants materialize.
Our Minneapolis office continues
to partner with 3M and SMRLS on
a pro bono basis.
Litigation associate Joe Mrkonich
is currently representing a young
Liberian woman in her bid to
become a US citizen. Joe has spent
many hours meeting with her,
helping her complete extensive
paperwork for her naturalization
application, including a Freedom
of Information Act request to
ensure that her US Citizenship
and Immigration Services file is
complete and correct. Joe has also
assisted her in preparing for her
written naturalization examination
and will represent her at her
interview for this. If all goes well,
he will attend the naturalization
ceremony when she becomes a
US citizen.
Joe was supported by SMRLS
senior leadership attorney Jennifer
Stohl Powell and mentored by
partner Laura Borst and associate
Leaf McGregor.
ʻWe use our skills
and knowledge
where we can
make a difference,
whether it is for
our clients or
for our wider
communities.’
Peter Martyr, Chief Executive,
Norton Rose Fulbright
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our communities
Lawyers help local
veterans in Austin
South Africa
Five lawyers from our Austin office
joined several in-house lawyers
from Whole Foods Market in
Austin to staff a legal advice clinic
at the Veterans Affairs Outpatient
Center. Volunteer lawyers received
a short training session and, by
the time it was finished, a line of
veterans had formed to meet with
counsel.
We are a founding member
and signatory of the Statement
of Principles of the Law Firm
Diversity and Inclusion Network
(LFDIN). We have agreed to work
with fifteen other Canadian law
firms to promote diversity and
encourage a culture of inclusion
not only inside the firms, but in
the broader legal profession as well.
One initiative we support on
a pro bono basis is Out on the
Shelf, a Guelph-based library
Each lawyer was paired with
and resource center for the LGBT
in-house counsel and spent several communities and allies. We are a
hours advising the veterans,
corporate sponsor of Out on Bay
answering their questions about
Street, which provides resources
divorce, modifying child support
and opportunities for LGBT
arrangements, receiving child
students, young professionals and
support arrears, and providing
pro-LGBT organizations across
referrals for follow-up assistance.
Canada. Our professionals are also
working to establish an equivalent
organization in Ottawa and other
Canada
Canadian cities.
Out on the Shelf
In our Canadian offices we have
pledged up to 30 hours of pro
bono service per lawyer per year
to support individuals and notfor-profit organizations within our
local communities in Montréal,
Québec, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary
and across Canada.
Another major focus for us
is the Success Beyond Limits
Program, which offers career
counselling and mentorship
to high-potential high school
students from economically
depressed backgrounds, as well as
similar programs and activities for
elementary school children.
Land restored to
displaced community
Our work with the indigenous
Eastern Cape community of
Mgungundlovu in South Africa
is testament to the way in which
law can be used to stop abuse and
break cycles of poverty.
In 1979, the indigenous Eastern
Cape community of Mgungundlovu
was bulldozed off the land which
it had occupied and farmed since
time immemorial, to make way
for the Wild Coast Sun, a hotel,
golf resort and casino operated
by Transkei Sun International.
The community received no
compensation for losing its
homes and livelihoods. Left with
nowhere to go, the Mgungundlovu
people were absorbed into other
communities, and have lived in
dire poverty ever since.
We took over the case in 2008 on
a pro bono basis after a number
of lawyers and organizations
had failed to resolve the matter,
and litigated in the Land Claims
Court. In 2014, ownership of the
claimed land was restored to the
community and each household
received around ZAR96,000
(US$8,000) compensation within
60 days of the ruling.
This came nearly two decades
after they lodged a claim under
the Restitution of Land Rights Act,
to have their land restored or to
receive appropriate compensation.
17
Our commitment to our communities
The lease given to Transun
was cancelled and replaced by
new, fairer terms. A Community
Property Association (CPA) has
been established to take transfer
of the restored land and, under the
terms of the new agreement, the
land will be leased by the CPA to
Transun for ZAR4m (US$337,000)
per year, escalating at 6 per cent
per year. The Mgungundlovu
community will also be represented
on Transun’s board of directors.
The settlement has changed the
lives of hundreds of people in this
indigenous community.
ZIMBABWE
BOTSWANA
SWAZILAND
LESOTHO
SOUTH AFRICA
Mgungundlovu
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
TrustLaw helps LGBT lobby in China
We carried out comparative research for Common Language, a Chinese
non-governmental organization (NGO) campaigning for LGBT rights
which will be used to lobby for China’s LGBT community. We became
involved in the project after being contacted by TrustLaw, the Thomson
Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service. This acts as a pro bono
‘matchmaker’ between legal practices and NGOs.
Common Language needed comparative research on how legal systems
in England, Hong Kong, South Africa and the US protect LGBT people.
Each jurisdiction has, to a greater or lesser degree, legal mechanisms
in place to protect LGBT people. Our role was to establish all applicable
pieces of legislation and to review the social context in each country.
Workshops for educators and learners
Conhilledu is a privately funded project which provides educational
programs mainly for educators and learners from under-resourced
public high schools in the greater Johannesburg area. Owned by the
Constitution Hill Trust in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, Conhilledu runs
workshops at the Constitutional Court on Saturday mornings between
February and October each year.
A group of 60 high school learners visit Constitution Hill during that
time to be introduced to the fundamental principles of the Constitution,
South Africa’s Bill of Rights and the Court’s jurisprudence. Conhilledu
brings this learning alive with a variety of teaching methods, including
plays, debates, legal problems and games. Its workshops are based on a
pre-defined curriculum and are entirely run by volunteers from the legal
profession, including Norton Rose Fulbright lawyers.
‘Norton Rose Fulbright has been our most consistent, regular and largest
volunteer base to date. Their support and involvement is invaluable
to my small team and to the project as a whole,’ said Nolu Memese,
education project coordinator, Conhilledu.
ʻNorton Rose Fulbright has been our most consistent,
regular and largest volunteer base to date.’
Nolu Memese, education project coordinator, Conhilledu
18 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Free legal counsel on
domestic violence
South Africa has the highest
femicide rate in the world,
something we are seeking to
help combat by helping at the
Randburg Magistrate’s Court.
We provided free legal counsel
on domestic violence at the Court
during 16 days of activism to
fight violence against women
and children, which took place
in November and December 2014.
On an ongoing basis, we help at
the Court, not as lawyers, but to
expand capacity for advice, and to
provide any help that we can give.
Simple intervention can make a
huge difference.
We help people to complete
protection order application
forms, and to understand the exact
procedures that must be followed.
These tasks can be a challenge
for many women who are seeking
escape from domestic violence.
‘Our experienced on-site team
provides crucial, practical help to
the victims of abuse,’ said Liesl
Williams, a partner and our head
of public interest law in South
Africa. ‘We are also relieving some
of the pressure on the court’s
clerical staff by assisting the
women to complete the correct
court documents, which speeds up
turn-around times on their cases.
We are honoured to support this
worthy global campaign.’
ʻOur experienced
on-site team provides
crucial, practical
help to the victims
of abuse.’
Liesl Williams, Partner and head
of public interest law, South Africa
Australia
Reconciliation: closing
the gap
Reconciliation with Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander people
is a major focus for our offices
in Australia. In September 2014
our Australian offices launched
their first Reconciliation Action
Plan (RAP) through Reconciliation
Australia, an independent, notfor-profit organization. The RAP
identifies our formal commitment
to reconciliation and identifies the
actions we will take to help close
the significant social, economic
and health gap that exists
between Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples and other
Australians.
Under our RAP, we have
committed to increasing the
number of pro bono hours our
lawyers contribute to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples
and organizations. We set a target
Our commitment to our communities
to dedicate 5 per cent of pro
bono hours to them. Less than 12
months from the launch of the
RAP, almost a quarter of our pro
bono hours in Australia related to
matters for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people, businesses
and services – four times the
target. We are incredibly proud of
this result. The nature of our work
ranged from complex litigious
matters, large research projects
into disadvantage in Aboriginal
communities, stolen wages advice,
cultural protection and intellectual
property advice, employment
advice and corporate governance
advice.
To celebrate the launch of our
RAP we engaged an Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander
family-run business, to design
an acknowledgement sculpture
to represent the traditional
custodians of the land on which
our Australian offices are located.
The sculpture is titled ‘Food,
land and water’ and incorporates
a plaque acknowledging the
traditional custodians of the
land and four distinct cultural
components to represent the
Aboriginal peoples of Brisbane,
Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The
sculptures are proudly displayed
in each of our Australian office
reception areas.
19
Our commitment to our communities
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Jawun for economic and social change
As part of our RAP commitments, we entered into a five year
partnership with Jawun, a not-for-profit organisation that connects
corporate resources with Indigenous communities in order to share
knowledge. Established in 2001, Jawun has partnered many top
Australian organizations to provide much needed assistance to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and communities
through coordinated workplace secondments. We have committed
to provide four employees each year on secondment to the Inner
Sydney region, in Redfern and La Perouse.
This year our secondees have worked with the Eastern Zone Gujaga
Aboriginal Corporation in La Perouse, the Aboriginal Housing
Company in Redfern and Wyanga Aged Care in Redfern. All our
secondees have spoken highly of their experiences and have stayed
connected with the organizations they worked with.
ʻThrough Jawun we met a lot of the Indigenous community leaders
in La Perouse and Redfern, who shared a lot of their community
history and vision for their organizations. One common thread
that emerged is that they all want sustainability and economic
independence and view Jawun as a great program through which
they can fast track this vision.ʼ
Gabriel Liew, Jawun secondee to Wyanga Aged Care
Advice for refugees and asylum seekers
Our Australian offices have provided pro bono support over the
past year to a number of organizations that assist asylum seekers
and refugees. In Sydney we seconded three graduates to the
Refugees Advice and Casework Service; in Melbourne we seconded
two lawyers to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre; and in Brisbane
we seconded a lawyer to work with the Refugee and Immigration
Legal Service.
Each of our Australian offices also provides assistance to
organizations representing asylum seekers and refugees through
after-hours and lunch time clinics. This has ranged from helping
clients to fill out freedom of information applications, draft their
claims for protection and prepare for their interviews with the
Department of Immigration.
20 Europe
Walking the talk
Every year our lawyers
participate in the London
Legal Support Trust’s Legal
Walk through the centre of
London to support free legal
advice charities in London and
the South East of England. In
2015, more than 8,000 people
participated, raising over
£600,000. A team of more than
70 people participated from our
London office. We are one of
18 legal businesses which have
taken part in the walk every year
since it started in 2004. We are
proud of our contribution, and of
the award which we won at the
10th anniversary celebration of the
event.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our communities
Legal advice for all
We won the LawWorks award for
the best contribution by a law firm
in the UK, as well as the Mayor of
London’s Corporate Volunteering
Award for our work with the South
West London Law Centre (SWLLC)
in Croydon. The centre provides
the only source of free-of-charge
legal advice on employment in this
area of London.
Croydon was one of the pilot
boroughs for recent welfare benefit
changes and the borough with the
greatest number of individuals
affected by them. As a result, the
clinic has seen a huge increase
in demand, particularly for
advice on housing problems.
Two years ago, we ran a single
clinic, assisting around 100
individuals each quarter; now
we run three, providing help and
advice to more than 350 clients
every three months. Still, demand
continues to increase.
LawWorks is the operating name
for the Solicitors Pro Bono Group,
a legal charity which draws on
the services of 25,000 solicitors,
in-house counsel, mediators and
students in the UK to provide
legal advice to individuals and
voluntary sector organizations.
Each Tuesday evening, six of
our trainee solicitors and a
qualified supervisor volunteer at
SWLLC, advising up to 12 clients
per evening with consumer,
employment, housing and
general litigation/small claims
issues. Supporting the trainees are
students from BPP Law School,
who shadow them and may assist
with research following the clinic.
Volunteers recognize the limits of
what they can do, ensuring that
clients with more complicated or
different issues are passed to one
of our other services for further
advice, such as our housing or
employment teams.
We also assist SWLLC with
financial support, as well as the
use of our office space and design
support for its publications.
In addition to our pro bono work
at the SWLLC, we have been
running a Monday evening clinic
at Tower Hamlets Law Centre in
East London since the late 1970s,
again in partnership with BPP
Law School. This is compulsory
for all our London office trainees.
Commitment to the Law Centre
volunteering programs is now
recognized in trainee appraisals
and forms part of the qualification
process. Visible management
support for the program has
ensured that we have a reliable,
well trained team of advisers on
hand every week.
Ella’s story
In 2015, we helped SWLLC to
launch their deposit recovery
scheme, providing marketing
assistance as well as legal aid.
Ellaʼs story is one example.
Ella* approached a clinic in
Croydon after her landlord
terminated her assured short-hold
tenancy and refused to return
her deposit. Our associate, Trevor
Tan, explained to Ella that the
landlord had failed to protect the
deposit, which is an offence under
English law.
We sought help from the Bar
Pro Bono unit to help represent
Ella at the hearing. This was
unsuccessful, so Trevor agreed
to take the matter to the county
court, where they represented
her and obtained the maximum
penalty. Ella was awarded the
deposit balance of £1,042, a
penalty of £4,626, and a further
£615 in court costs. These are not
issues we would deal with in the
normal course of our business, but
with the back-up and support of
one of our experienced housing
solicitors, Ella got advice and
representation that she would
otherwise have gone without.
* The name has been changed for privacy.
21
Our commitment to our communities
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Liberty Advice Line
World vision works for effective disaster response
Each month, our London office
sends a number of lawyers to staff
the public advice line at Liberty
(the National Council for Civil
Liberties). This is a cross-party,
non-political party membership
organization which campaigns
to protect human rights and civil
liberties. Libertyʼs work includes
parliamentary lobbying and test
case litigation (in particular,
judicial review).
We work with Advocates for International Development (A4ID), a
global charity that deploys the skills of lawyers around the world to
fight poverty. Following a referral from A4ID, members of our London
corporate team recently helped World Vision UK (WVUK) to improve
the effectiveness of the response effort to disaster-affected communities
around the world, such as those hit by Nepal’s recent earthquakes.
WVUK is an international charity with a mission to help children in the
world’s toughest places.
The purpose of this service is to
inform callers about their human
rights and to provide them with
guidance on how to remedy any
infringement of them. Providing
this service relies on volunteers
from a number of law firms and
barristers’ chambers, and it is
often the first port of call for
members of the public who lack
knowledge of the law or the means
to enforce their rights.
Our work will facilitate a better flow of funds and expertise between
WVUK and others as they respond to disasters around the world. Two
of our lawyers advised WVUK on drafting, negotiating and executing
a memorandum of understanding with the cross-sector collaboration
network Communicating with Disaster-Affected Communities. Both
organizations work to make humanitarian action easier to manage.
Our team followed up with a second project to advise WVUK on drafting
sub-agreements for those entities which received funds, which were to
be managed by WVUK.
ʻYour lawyers…went above and beyond
the call of duty, making an incredible
contribution.’
Chris Ford, grants compliance officer, World Vision UK
22 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Volunteering
South Africa
Stop Hunger Now
To commemorate Madiba (Nelson
Mandela) and his love of children
and high regard for education
above all else, Stop Hunger Now
held a hamper packing day at
the Sandton Convention Centre
on July 17, 2015. A total of 87 of
our volunteers helped pack meals
for children who attend early
childhood development centres
in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Stop Hunger Now is a not-for-profit
program focused on eradicating
hunger. It distributes three
meals a day to children all over
South Africa for a period of one
year. With the help of the South
African people, Stop Hunger
Now exceeded its 1 million meals
challenge by 202,040 meals.
A sustainable future for
South Africa’s townships
Some 20 years ago, Afrika Tikkun
set out to redress the inequities of
apartheid and respond to pressing
humanitarian needs. As part of that,
it developed programs to help
disadvantaged children and young
people, and now provides for their
education, health and social needs
from cradle to career. Its services are
used by 17,000 direct beneficiaries
and 70,000 indirect beneficiaries.
We support Afrika Tikkunʼs
early childhood development
program at the Uthando Centre
in Braamfontein. This provides
a safe environment in inner city
Johannesburg for pre-school
teaching to 200 disadvantaged
children, aged from two to six
years. Staffed by 15 members of
the local community, it operates
between 7.30 and 16.30 five days
a week.
Although our support has been
largely in the form of donations
to date, we are discussing ways in
which we can provide more active
help. To mark our commitment
to this, our South African choir
performed with thirty children
from Afrika Tikkun to celebrate
Youth Month.
Our commitment to our communities
‘care’ in Zulu. Each home houses
six children and is run by a foster
mother. Child Welfare places
the children and foster mother
and also funds social workers to
monitor each family to ensure that
the children receive the best care.
Thokomala operates 19 homes
in five South African provinces,
housing more than 100 children,
and it reaches a further 2,000
children through community
outreach programs and social
worker support.
In August 2014, the centre
launched a new program for
children with disabilities and
their families, which will operate
between 9am and 11am each
week day. Twelve children have
been accepted for the program
and the centre is identifying their
challenges and expectations.
Children who lose the one-to-one
care of their parents live with lifelong emotional and developmental
disadvantages. In addition, they
often lose access to social grants,
education and healthcare. South
Africa has an estimated 3.7 million
orphans and 150,000 children
living in homes headed by a child.
Many abused, neglected and
abandoned children end up in
children’s homes, but to have the
chance of becoming well-adjusted
and skilled adults, they need the
stable care of a family environment.
Thokomala gives vulnerable
children a chance
Thokomala works to give them this
in their early years, along with
education and help in finding
work when they reach adulthood.
Since 2009, we have worked
with Thokomala, a not-for-profit
organization focused on providing
a normal home and family
environment to orphaned and
vulnerable children and helping
them reach their full potential.
Thokomala means ʻwarmthʼ or
We supported the Umlazi home
in Durban, including painting
the house, fundraising for winter
clothes and household items,
and taking the children out
to the theatre, the Russian circus,
picnics, the ice rink and Ushaka
Marine World in Durban.
23
Our commitment to our communities
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Europe
Making a difference at school
In London, we run a volunteering program with Tower Bridge School
and with the Mossbourne Academy, primary and secondary schools,
respectively, in our local borough of Southwark. We provide extra help
in reading, maths and sport for children who need it.
We send a regular team of our people most days to act as reading
volunteers, allocating volunteers to work on a one-to-one basis with
children, listening to them read, and reading to them. Our volunteers
also help out at the school’s increasingly popular maths club, as well
as their after-school sports clubs.
Laura Neuvéglise, acting assistant head teacher at Tower Bridge School,
said that March 2015 data shows the children selected for these
schemes are making progress.
We also provide regular mentoring sessions for children from
disadvantaged backgrounds. Partnering with Enabling Enterprise, we
regularly invite children to our London office where volunteers spend
half a day acting as mentors. The sessions help the children to grow in
confidence, build their aspirations and make progress in the education
and career plans.
ʻIt’s having that special someone coming
in once a week, every week, and giving time
to a child, that really makes a difference.
It helps the children who need it to develop
a love of reading. Once you lose that, it’s
hard to get back.ʼ
Laura Neuvéglise, Acting assistant head teacher
at Tower Bridge School
24 Barretstown Castle
For many years, we have
supported Barretstown, a camp
designed to provide therapeutic
recreation programs for children
with serious illnesses, along with
their families. Barretstown aims to
help rebuild these people’s lives.
We have supported Barretstown
for over ten years, providing both
financial and hands-on support.
Katrin Scheicht, a partner in our
Munich office, is a regular ‘Cara’ at
Barretstown Castle. (ʻCara’ is Irish
for ‘friend’).
‘I worked directly with the campers,
alongside the activity leaders who
work there throughout the year,
helping with arts and crafts,
canoeing, archery, fishing and high
ropes. After our training on Friday
morning, the families arrived in
the early afternoon. In my cottages, I
worked with two families – one with
two children, and one with four –
and they could not have been nicer.
The first day flew by with activities
such as horse riding, fishing and
arts and crafts, running into dinner
and the evening program. Saturday
was even busier with circus training,
movie making, group challenges
and theatre in the evening, followed
by early bird activities on Sunday
morning before breakfast.
Barretstown’s staff and families
make it very easy for volunteers so
that people naturally find themselves
doing whatever they can to help
the families enjoy, relax and have
fun on their weekend. Before you
know it, it’s Sunday afternoon and
time to say goodbye.’
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our communities
Asia
North America
Engagement in Asia
The United Way
In Asia, we have created a program of activities under the name
Spark, which is designed to foster engagement across our offices in the
region. Spark is an umbrella organization for everything from
volunteering to social initiatives to encourage our own internal
community across Asia.
In North America, we support the
United Way because its mission fits
neatly with our own — working
towards ‘a world where all
individuals and families achieve
their human potential through
education, income stability and
healthy lives’. We support the
United Way in a number of
different ways across our offices
in the US and Canada.
In keeping with many of our other offices worldwide, Spark has made
children and education its main focus. We give time as well as money
by encouraging employees and partners to use their volunteer days to
contribute to our communities.
For example, seven volunteers from the Singapore office experienced a
different kind of Friday when they spent the day at Willing Hearts Soup
Kitchen, a not-for-profit organization run by volunteers to provide for
people in need. It prepares, cooks and distributes some 4,800 daily
meals to around 40 locations island-wide 365 days a year. These hot
meals go to people who otherwise would go without.
Most of the volunteers get stuck in by helping to prepare the food, cooking
(in giant quantities), and packing thousands of meals into boxes. Our
volunteers spent most of the day preparing food for the following day.
Two of the volunteers then delivered 250 boxes of food to elderly
residents in a residential block at Commonwealth and to a safe house
set up by the Philippines Embassy for abused domestic helpers. It was
a brilliant opportunity to get out and see the charity in action.
Workplace experience day in Hong Kong
Around 20 disadvantaged secondary school students from some of the
poorest areas of Hong Kong were invited to our offices to learn what itʼs
like to work in a law firm. Partners and employees across departments
created an interactive workshop to explain what they do. The aim was
to broaden young people’s horizons and encourage them to aspire to
working in environments which are unfamiliar to many of them.
In April, our Minneapolis lawyers
and business services personnel
completed a community service
project for Simpson Housing
Services, an organization that
houses, supports and advocates
for people experiencing
homelessness. The firm bought
supplies and the volunteers made
100 sandwiches and 50 bag
lunches. In another effort, a group
of volunteers from our Houston
office joined United Way’s project
with Meals on Wheels and
delivered food to home-bound
senior citizens.
25
Our commitment to our communities
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Fundraising
Europe
Asia
Byte Night supports
Action for Children
Rowing challenge supports seafarers
We acted as lead corporate supporter in a gruelling challenge to row a
boat around Singapore Island in under 24 hours to raise awareness and
funds for seafarers who often face severe hardships in their day-to-day
lives. This can include everything from loneliness to the threat of piracy
and slavery.
Three of our lawyers in Singapore – Ian Teare, Kayla Feld and Vanessa
Rochester – took part in Mission Row Around Singapore Island (Mission
RASI) on 22 and 23 April 2015, to raise awareness and money for The
Mission to Seafarers, which supports the 1.5 million men and women
who crew the world’s merchant fleet.
‘We are all involved in the marine and insurance industries and many of
us see first hand, in our professional roles, the hardships and isolation
that seafarers endure in their day-to-day lives,’ said Ian Teare.
In the face of violent overnight storm conditions at sea, which
threatened to halt the event, the team completed their mission in 23
hours and 15 minutes. The event took place as part of celebrations
to mark the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s independence. Overall,
we raised more than S$550,000 in cash donations with a further
S$200,000 received as gifts and services in kind.
The challenge was also an opportunity for young Singaporeans to
develop rowing skills, promoting teamwork and fitness through active
inspiration. Mission RASI will assist children and young adults from
broken homes, low income families, and troubled academic and lawless
backgrounds in Singapore to turn their lives around.
‘We are all involved in the marine and insurance industries
and many of us see first hand, in our professional roles, the
hardships and isolation that seafarers endure in their dayto-day lives.’
Ian Teare
26 We have set a target of raising
£500,000 for Action for Children
by the end of 2015, the cumulative
result of five years of supporting
the annual Byte Night ‘sleepout’ in aid of this charity. Action
for Children is committed to
tackling the root causes of youth
homelessness and neglect and is
one of the UK’s largest children’s
charities. It works with over
300,000 children, young people,
parents and carers through 650
projects. Across the UK, more
than 1,500 sleepers from the IT
industry took part in Byte Night
2014, raising more than £1.1m.
In October 2015, a team of 25
people from our London office, led
by Global Head of Technology and
Innovation Mike Rebeiro, gave up
their beds to sleep under the stars
in St John’s Churchyard, London.
They experienced for one night a
little of what thousands of children
and young people feel every night
when they have no bed to go home
to. Each year the team organizes a
range of different events to bring in
donations, including a gala dinner
with an auction for key members
of the technology industry.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Marathon man supports
Hope for Children
The Marathon des Sables in the
Moroccan Sahara Desert was once
described by explorer Ranulph
Fiennes as ‘more hellish than
hell’. The foot-race, considered
the toughest in the world,
comprises six marathons run over
six consecutive days across the
Sahara. Temperatures reach 53°
Fahrenheit during the day, with
more than 40 per cent humidity,
and drop to below freezing at night.
Tom Bramah, one of our London
trainees, took part in the race
in April 2015 on behalf of Hope
for Children (HOPE), putting in
a phenomenal effort to complete
all six marathons in a total of 31
hours. Competitors were required
to carry everything that they
needed to survive (except water).
Tom finished 235th out of 1,423
competitors, and raised more than
£10,000 for HOPE (including
a generous donation from the
Norton Rose Fulbright Charitable
Foundation).
HOPE works to ensure that children
can reach their full potential. They
identify disadvantaged children
and communities and work with
local partners to have a lasting
impact on the quality of children’s
lives, through helping to build
schools, encouraging education,
and providing essential nutrition
and medical attention.
Our commitment to our communities
Shaun the Sheep visits London
Our London office sponsored a Shaun the Sheep sculpture during the
baaa-rilliant Shaun in the City trail in aid of the Wallace & Gromit’s
Children’s Charity. This charity assists hundreds of projects in hospitals
and hospices throughout the UK by providing life-saving medical
equipment, free family accommodation, a range of arts, music and play
therapy programs, sensory equipment and facilities, and respite care.
The flock of 50 sculptures, created by artists, designers and celebrities,
made its appearance in London from the end of March through May 2015.
In addition to our sponsor-sheep, we held various fund-raising activities
to bring in extra money for the charity.
United States
Raising money for Centreaide/United Way
Members of our Canadian offices raised C$400,000 in 2014 for Centraide/
United Way during our campaigns across the country. The United Way
movement is the largest funder of the volunteer sector and social services
in Canada. The donations are reinvested in local communities to support
programs and services directed at improving the social conditions of Canadians.
Meanwhile, in our Houston office, pink plastic flamingos made surprise
appearances for one week in 2014 to raise funds for our United Way
Campaign. Lawyers and business services personnel paid to ‘flock’
someone’s office, to have the flamingos removed from their office,
to find out who was responsible for the prank, or to protect their office
by purchasing a ‘no-flock’ insurance policy.
In our Minneapolis office, lawyers and business services personnel
purchased school supplies and donated them to a citywide ‘backto-school’ initiative. During the holiday season, our New York office
‘adopted’ a young mother and her two school-age sons who are living in
a residence for abused women. We provided coats, pyjamas, toys, books
and gift cards to the family to let them know that someone cared.
Records coordinator Sue Duffy in our San Antonio office turned her
hobby of making fruit and herbal extracts into a profitable fundraiser
for United Way. Sue and secretary Aida Albiar advertised the extract sale
through posters and word of mouth.
They set up the display of bottles in late morning on September 26, and
all 27 bottles sold within 20 minutes. Sue also organized a bake sale
and a formal seated luncheon. The three initiatives raised US$921.51 for
United Way.
27
Our commitment to our people
28 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our people
Our commitment to our people
Celebrating London Legal Support Trust’s Legal Walk
29
Our commitment to our people
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Diversity and inclusion
Our strong commitment to diversity and inclusion is integral to our
approach to doing business. It enables us to understand our clientsʼ
needs in diverse markets, engage fully with the communities in which
we operate and leverage the diversity of perspective of our people.
We value difference and actively promote a culture of respect for each
individual, encouraging workforce diversity in all aspects and at all
levels. We aspire to create an environment where everyone can realize
their full potential and career ambition.
In South Africa, for example, we set targets based on the Employment
Equity Act and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment legislation.
These are monitored regularly.
In the past year we have focused on implementing our gender targets,
building global initiatives to become more disability confident and
establishing our global Pride network for LGBT(I) employees and allies.
Our business champions diversity and inclusion at the most senior
level; our Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (GDIAC)
reports to our Executive Committee on a quarterly basis, ensuring that
any decisions relating to any aspect of employment are based solely on
ability and performance.
30 Global Inclusion Week
We held our second Global
Inclusion Week in September
2015 to celebrate unity across
all the regions, backgrounds and
cultures that make up Norton Rose
Fulbright. A range of events were
staged in our offices around the
world.
Unconscious bias
We recognize that unconscious
bias pervades the workplace. Many
studies demonstrate that we make
multiple assumptions without
being consciously aware of doing
so, and this has a direct impact
on who is recruited, retained and
promoted within any organization.
To combat this, we run a global
inclusive leadership program,
which we have begun rolling out
across our offices worldwide. To
date, we have held sessions in
our offices in the US, Australia,
Europe, Asia, Canada and South
Africa.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our people
Global advisory council sets 2020 targets
We work hard to create gender diversity at all levels of our business.
Our Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (GDIAC) recommends
achievable targets to drive a more gender-representative partnership and
to encourage accountability within practice groups to achieve them.
In November 2014, GDIAC set a target for female partners to constitute
30 per cent of both our partnership and our management boards by
2020. The target has already been achieved for our Global Executive
Committee and Global Board. Each of our regions are now implementing
action plans to achieve the target.
GDIAC also recommended an annual review of the spread of appraisal
grades and promotions in order to monitor gender neutrality, as well as
a review of pay differentials for partners (including equity partners) and
associate levels.
GDIACʼs aims
to unify our diversity and inclusion efforts under a single strategy
to set global standards and establish best practice
to encourage each region to develop accountability by establishing
measurement and reporting mechanisms.
GDIACʼs global remit
gender equity
people from diverse cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds
people with disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds
people with carer responsibilities
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT(I)) people
people with a disability
people who work flexibly.
31
Our commitment to our people
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Gender equality
Nurturing high performance
As part of our drive to pursue and retain the best talent, we run a
modular development program for high-performing female lawyers,
the first of its kind in the legal sector. We have run the program for our
women in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and have recently
launched in the US.
Each region works to deliver on our commitment to diversity, in
particular in offices or teams where women are significantly underrepresented. Our US offices have committed to actively recruit at
least 50 per cent women associates in order to build a strong pipeline.
Global percentage – female partners (1 May 2015)
2015 %
Australia
25%
Canada
23%
EMEA
24%
South Africa
34%
US
23%
TOTAL
25%
International
Women’s Day
Our women’s networks in our
offices around the world host
events throughout the year in order
to provide learning, development
and networking opportunities
to all our people. This provides
a visible forum where issues
affecting women (in law and
across our clientsʼ industries) can
be raised and discussed freely.
For International Women’s Day,
our women’s networks organized
a range of activities. In Hamburg,
we invited leadership coach Ilka
Piechowiak to run a session on
leadership with natural authority,
which was attended by more
than 50 of our clients. Our Hong
Kong office organized a quiz night
for both colleagues and clients,
with teams competing to win
a HK$10,000 donation to the
Association Concerning Sexual
Violence Against Women.
In London, we held a panel
discussion on women and conflict
resolution, and a lunchtime
theatre workshop and mentoring
session with local school girls.
And in Paris, we hosted a client
event with distinguished speaker,
Brigitte Grésy, who spoke about
working towards a genderbalanced society.
32 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Bring 100 million women into the labour market
by 2025
We are one of the founding partners of the G(irls)20 Summit, which
promotes women and girls, and aims to design solutions to global
economic challenges. Each year, the organisation holds a summit
and presents a communiqué to the G20 leaders, ministers of industry,
health, innovation, economic development and foreign affairs and
ambassadors.
In 2015, at the sixth summit, which took place in Turkey, discussion
focused on the commitment made by the G20 leaders in 2014 to bring
100 million women into the labour market by 2025. Julie Manson from
our learning & development team delivered leadership training to the
girls at the summit and Sally Macindoe, our global head of diversity and
inclusion and chair of GDIAC, introduced the keynote speaker – Amanda
Lindhout, kidnap survivor, bestselling author and humanitarian.
The final summit communiqué was presented to Ambassador Yunt
by Sebiha Güngör, the 2015 G(irls)20 delegate representing Turkey. It
identifies various ways in which jobs can be created for women and
how women can be retained and promoted once in the workforce. In
addition to a written communiqué, the delegates recorded a video
with recommendations to the G20 leaders on how they can keep their
commitment. We are proud to be partners of G(irls)20 and the G(irls)20
Summit, an initiative which promotes the empowerment of girls and
women to be agents of economic and social change.
Our commitment to our people
Early WiN joins
international women’s
networks
During the year we launched
additional women’s networks in
Hong Kong and Milan, and in
London, we launched a forum
called EarlyWiN to support women
in the early stages of their careers.
We have women’s networks in the
following countries:
Bahrain
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Italy
Japan
Poland
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
The Netherlands
UAE
United Kingdom
United States
Women in leadership
25%
Female partners globally
35%
Women on
Global Executive Committee
33
Our commitment to our people
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Race
Black Economic Empowerment recognition in Africa
We have been awarded a Level 3 broad-based black economic
empowerment (B-BBEE) contributor rating by BEE-Matrix, an agency
recognized by the South African National Accreditation System. This
means that our clients will now be able to include 110 per cent of their
expenditure with us as preferential procurement in their own B-BBEE
assessments.
Our B-BBEE strategies and activities are wide-ranging and include
employment equity, skills development, procurement from black
suppliers, enterprise development and social economic development.
The progress we have made with B-BBEE, to date, sets a good base
for our long-term strategy to further promote sustainable broad-based
empowerment and transformation. This achievement is particularly
gratifying as we have identified transformation as one of our strategic
objectives.
A top 10 practice in Black Solicitorsʼ league
We were ranked first for our demographic score and our policies
and practices in a top ten ranking of legal practices by the UK Black
Solicitors Network’s diversity league table. During 2015, we launched
black and minority ethnic (BME) networks in our US and UK offices,
called the Minority Lawyers Network and Origins, respectively.
In London, where a total of 26 per cent of our 2015 trainee intake has
identified as BME, we hosted an event on what it takes for women in the
city’s Afro-Caribbean network to succeed in the workplace. In London
we also set a target for each trainee cohort to include 25 per cent BME
people. Our 2015 intake is 30 per cent BME and 36 per cent of the offers
we made for our 2017 intake are BME.
In Australia, we celebrated Harmony Day by hosting a national event on
cultural diversity through the personal stories of two of our partners who
were not born in Australia, and who have successfully navigated their
way through cultural difference to create meaningful careers and happy
lives.
34 Set your Compass
During Ramadan, our London and
Johannesburg offices arranged
charity food collections and in
Dubai we hosted a client event
for Iftar, the evening meal that
marks the end of the daily
Muslim Ramadan fast at sunset.
In London, we also launched the
More London Muslim network in
conjunction with our neighbours
PwC and EY, and we jointly hosted
an eco-themed Eid event with
cookery demonstrations and guest
speakers.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
LGBT(I)
International Day of Pink
makes a difference
Pride coordinates our approach to LGBT(I)
We rebranded our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender intersex and
allies employee networks (LGBT(I)) across Australia, Canada, London,
South Africa and the US as Pride. We did this in order to coordinate
our approach to LGBT(I) globally, and to capitalize on the invaluable
opportunities it affords us in developing relationships with our clientsʼ
own networks, and with the LGBT(I) community as a whole.
Our offices joined forces to mark the International Day against
Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) in May 2015, with each office
organizing their own activities. In Singapore, for example, we joined
an external event hosted by the US Embassy and some of our clients.
Pride members globally contributed a series of blogs on issues faced by
LGBT(I) people in the workplace as part of our Perspectives diversity and
inclusion blog. In December 2015, Pride will also mark World Aids Day.
We launched our US Pride network in 2014 and in 2015, we launched a
Pride network across our three South African offices with a presentation
from Justice Edwin Cameron on LGBT(I), a Constitutional Court judge
who was instrumental in the inclusion of gay rights in the country’s
Constitution. In Canada, we extended our LGBT(I) activities in Calgary,
Ottawa, where we work in conjunction with Pride at Work, and we were
nominated for the Phenicia Award for our LGBT(I) support. We also
launched Pride in Hong Kong and Singapore. Meanwhile, our London
office was once again included in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers list
for LGBT(I) equality in the workplace and in Australia we were named
a Bronze employer in the 2015 Australia Workplace Equality Index
and ranked third in the legal category.
Pride’s objectives
create a more inclusive and
accepting environment for
LGBT(I) individuals
offer guidance to management on the
development and implementation
of LGBT(I)-inclusive policies
engage allies of the LGBT(I)
community
provide opportunities to participate
in volunteering and pro bono
initiatives which support the
LGBT(I) community
encourage the recruitment,
retention and professional
development of LGBT(I) talent
develop contacts with clients who
are members of the LGBT(I)
community
Our commitment to our people
create a dynamic LGBT(I)
community across our global firm.
Each year on the second
Wednesday of April, our Canadian
offices join the millions of people
who wear pink to remember that
mobilization makes a difference.
Day of Pink symbolizes a shared
belief in being open-minded,
accepting differences and learning
to respect each other. Our offices
in Canada encourage staff to add
pink to their outfits on this day
each year as a sign of commitment
against bullying, discrimination
and homophobia.
Our Canadian offices are active
members of Justicia and the Law
Firm Diversity and Inclusion
Network. These groups explore
alternative working arrangements,
the re-integration of women who
have left private practice, and the
means by which legal practices
can promote diversity and inclusion.
ʻThis network is a
way to embrace
inclusion, give it
a structure and
a backbone, and
use it to foster
community
internally and
promote the Norton
Rose Fulbright
brand globally.ʼ
Justin Haddock,
Associate, Austin
35
Our commitment to our people
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Resilience and well-being
The Norton Rose Fulbright
Canada National Fitness
Challenge
We strive to maintain and improve the mental health of our staff and
to foster a workplace where mental health problems are understood
without stigma. We offer a variety of educational programs and support
options. In Australia, we have trained Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
officers who are available to employees and partners in all Australian
offices to provide support and information about common mental health
problems and offer professional support. These officers transcend all
areas of our business and 20 per cent are at partner/director level. In
early 2016, based on the success of this offering in Australia, we will
make Mental Health First Aid available across our global business.
We have also established a comprehensive, evidence-based resilience
program which is available to all staff.
In May 2015, our Canadian offices
introduced the Norton Rose
Fulbright Canada National Fitness
Challenge to encourage positive
physical and mental fitness within
the firm. The aim is to support
our people to become happier,
healthier and more productive.
In July 2015, we partnered with not-for-profit organization R U OK? along
with 17 law firms to develop and fund a new campaign called ‘Look
Deeper’, which aims to promote mental well-being and connectedness
in the Australian legal community. We have also worked with the Tristan
Jepson Memorial Foundation to adapt a series of workplace guidelines
in order to improve the psychological health and well-being of legal
professionals. We are proud to be a signatory to the guidelines, which
were released in May 2014 and mark a world-first for the legal profession.
Agile working
A total of 14 per cent of our people worldwide work flexibly, which
we recognize brings us business benefits. In July 2014, in London we
followed our Australian officesʼ example by launching a Flex-ability
network for people who work flexibly, and for their managers. The aim
is to normalize the concept of ʻagile workingʼ. Our US offices have also
run presentations on flexible working, including a Q&A session for those
supervising flexible workers.
Family Matters
We run a Family Matters network in some of our offices to provide support
to those caring for family members. We invite specialists to talk about
subjects, including mindfulness, and how to support families through loss
and bereavement. During the year we also provided one-to-one parenting
advice and, in London, staged a short play by the London Bubble Theatre
Company on the value of teaching children tolerance towards others.
36 Goals
• encourage physical activity
• promote team-building across
the country
• create friendly competition
• and have some fun.
We partnered with GoodLife
FITNESS, which supplied our
people with a branded pedometer
to help monitor everyone’s
progress through its online
tracking system. Our people
walked, ran and did a range of
other activities as part of the
challenge, either in teams or as
individuals. In addition, a health
fair was staged at each of our
Canadian offices at the end of the
Challenge on May 31.
Echoing our Canadian National
Fitness Challenge, our Asian
offices are focused on helping our
people to develop and maintain
resilience. We have recently run
yoga workshops in Hong Kong
and Singapore, and this year we
are organizing sessions on healthy
eating, sleep science, exceptional
endeavours (stories of physical
and mental resilience), Tai Chi,
and Chinese medicine.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to our people
Europe
Access
Priming young people
for aspiration
We and 22 other UK law firms
founded PRIME, a professionwide initiative to give fair access
to quality work experience to
young people from less privileged
backgrounds. Research shows that
it is harder for them to get work
placements that give them vital
first experience of professions
like ours.
Supported by the Law Societies
of England and Wales, Northern
Ireland, and Scotland, and The
Sutton Trust, PRIME commits
member firms to provide quality
work experience which gives an
insight into the range of careers
available in the legal profession
and the potential routes into those
careers.
Impress targets 12 to 15 year-olds
Our partnership with Durham
University and the Ashington
Learning Partnership aims to
inspire ambition in 30 children
aged between 12 and 15 in an
underprivileged area of north east
England. Called Impress, it is born
out of a strong belief that more
should be done to raise the
aspirations of children in areas
of the UK outside London.
Our program involves two days
in Ashington, including a launch
event and parentsʼ evening, and
two day-long events hosted by
Durham University.
We invited the three top
performing students from the
Impress program to meet some
of our partners and learn more
about a solicitorʼs day-to-day work.
We took them on a trip to court
and gave them prizes for their
efforts, including a trip to The
Shard, which is located close to
our London office. The students
also gave a presentation at a lunch
hosted to capture their experiences
of the program.
How law firms work
We launched our first Insight
work experience program in
September 2011. Since then, we
have developed long-term links
with schools such as Mossbourne
Community Academy and Baconʼs
College. Students apply to join
the program and we actively
encourage both A* students and
those who, with the right support,
could work at this level.
Students are given five prearranged meetings with a mentor
and participate in a mix of skills
development workshops, case
studies, networking activities
with a variety of teams, and work
experience. Themes covered
include team working, networking,
confidence and resilience.
The students are also given a
one-to-one CV surgery and are
encouraged to write a summer
development plan with short-term
objectives to complete.
Recently we introduced a
new element to the program
to help students gain a better
understanding of how law
firms work with their clients.
We collaborated with Bank of
New York Mellon to deliver part
of the program. Students were
asked to use their creativity and
team-working skills to translate a
transaction into non-legal terms
and present this back to a group
of senior representatives from the
bank at their offices.
Inspire in August
This home-grown program is
targeted at 17-18 year-old students
from organizations such as
Pathways to Law, Social Mobility
Foundation and Whizz-Kidz, to
access a week of work experience
at our offices, including mentoring
and workshops. This takes place
during August each year.
37
Our commitment to sustainable practice
38 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Our mission is to cut our water consumption by 25 per cent in 2015
39
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Managing our carbon footprint
We are committed to minimizing our impact on the environment, to
protect the planet, ensure resources are available for future generations,
and create a better quality of life for all living beings.
We seek to achieve this by integrating sustainability best practice into
our decision-making and business activities worldwide. Measuring
our progress is essential to improving our performance and we are
continually looking for better ways to manage our carbon footprint
and share best practice across our offices globally.
Our Executive Committee is responsible for deciding our sustainability
policy, objectives and targets and for ensuring that the necessary
organization and resources are in place for us to achieve them. It is also
the responsibility of each and every colleague to implement this policy,
and to live up to our commitments. We review and, where necessary,
revise our environmental policy periodically to ensure that it continues
to meet the highest standards.
While we take a global approach to sustainability, each of our offices
manages its carbon footprint in different ways. Our rapid expansion
into new territories over the past few years means that we are still
working towards tracking our performance in a consistent way across
all our offices. Many offices are built to high environmental standards
with excellent facilities for colleagues.
Our key impacts arise from waste generation, energy use (including
travel) and resource consumption. We minimize these impacts through
continual improvement in our environmental performance, focusing in
particular on the following areas:
40 Waste management
We manage waste generated by
our business as efficiently as
possible, and seek to reduce,
re-use and recycle waste wherever
possible. In Australia, one of our
national summer clerk group tasks
was to research and prepare a
national waste management report
and draft action plan, including
recommendations to reduce the
amount of waste sent from each
of our Australian offices to landfill.
The clerks developed short-term
and long-term recommendations.
Where appropriate, these will be
implemented by our Environmental
Sustainability Working Group in
the course of the coming year.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Water consumption
Procurement
We manage our water consumption by installing water-efficient measures
in all our buildings, where this is feasible.
We take into account the
environmental credentials
of suppliers when awarding
contracts, and consider
environmentally responsible
alternatives to products and
services which we procure. Our
procurement team is looking to
include an environmental charter
in all new tender processes.
Our mission is to cut our water consumption by 5 per cent in London
in 2015. Water scarcity is one of the big issues of our time, one we seek
to mitigate in whatever way we can. We are implementing a range of
recommendations drawn up after we commissioned a Carbon Trust
water audit in 2014. This enabled us to map our water usage as well as
any wastage, and identify opportunities for improvement.
The audit concluded that our London site is well managed with very
little evidence of leaks, but we believe we can do more. We have begun
by reducing the tap pressure in bathrooms, and we are looking at
installing sub-metering so that we can assess our water usage by area.
Our offices worldwide are also contributing to this effort in a number of
different ways. In Brussels, Dubai and Milan, we have eliminated bottled
water by installing water dispensers in order to reduce our CO2 footprint
in energy and transportation. In Singapore, we have installed a tank to
collect condensing water from the air handling unit, which is recycled
and used to clean the car park.
Reduction of greenhouse gases
We include environmental considerations such as energy efficiency
into the acquisition, design and operation of all our buildings, where
practicable. In cases where we share buildings with other organizations,
we have chosen those which comply with the LEED sustainability best
practice standard. We promote the use of travel options, or alternatives
to travel, which minimize our impact on the environment.
Stakeholder engagement
We communicate our sustainability
policy internally and externally,
encouraging and promoting
environmental awareness amongst
our staff by delivering information,
instruction and training. We share
our sustainability policy and
objectives with our clients and,
where appropriate, encourage our
clients to adopt environmental
and sustainability strategies.
We comply with all laws and
regulation relating to the
environment. We are members of
the Legal Sustainability Alliance –
a UK body which aims to share
best practice across the legal sector.
41
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Travel
Spotlight on the UK
We choose to use airlines which have carbon-conscious policies,
including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Etihad, United Airlines and
Air Canada. In May 2015, we introduced a new travel system where we
report on the reasons for travel overseas.
We have met or exceeded the
majority of targets which our
London Sustainability Committee
established in 2009 in order to
reduce our carbon emissions.
Earth Hour
All new joiners are educated about
sustainability during induction,
highlighting the expectations
incumbent on each person to
protect the environment.
Marking our commitment to managing our global footprint, we
participate in WWFʼs annual Earth Hour each year. March 28, 2015
marked our eighth consecutive year of being part of this campaign,
which encourages everyone, from businesses and famous landmarks,
to individuals, to turn out the lights for one hour a year as a symbol of
commitment to a sustainable future.
Lights in most of our offices were switched off from 20.30 – 21.30
(local time) for an hour of darkness as part of this effort, which sees six
continents and 120 countries across 24 time zones unite as one to bring
awareness to sustainable use of the earth’s resources through a variety
of actions.
What has Earth Hour achieved?
2014 was the biggest Earth Hour event yet, and achieved some
amazing outcomes:
In Australia, plans to dump waste in the Great Barrier Reef were
scrapped
China launched a Blue Sky app to educate people about smog, and
US$42,439 was raised to protect pandas
Singapore raised more than US$20,000 to combat wildlife crime
In Russia, US$106,000 was raised to protect key species more
effectively.
42 More London, where our UK office
is located, was recently used in a
Hollywood film set and we were
asked to turn our office lights on as
we were the only building on the
estate to be powered down.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Our commitment to sustainable practice
Our performance in 2014/15 to date:
Electricity
Compared to base year (FY2008-09), we have reduced our
electricity consumption by 23 per cent. Our target in 2015
is a further 5 per cent reduction.
Gas
Compared to base year (FY2008-09), we have reduced our
gas consumption by 44 per cent. Our 2015 target is a further
8 per cent cut.
General waste
We have a zero-to-landfill policy and recycle around 85 per cent
of our waste each month. Compared to base year (FY2008-09),
we have reduced our general waste by 37 per cent, and increased
our recycling by 27 per cent. Our target for this year is to recycle
a further 5 per cent, and reduce food waste by 10 per cent. We
have already seen a 4 per cent decrease in food waste following
changes to our catering booking system.
Travel
Compared to base year (FY2011-12), we have reduced our air
travel by 5 per cent and increased our rail usage by 20 per cent.
In 2015/16 we aim to reduce our air travel by 10 per cent, and
our use of taxis by 15 per cent. In May 2015 we released a new
travel policy which allows people to book standard premier
seating class on Eurostar journeys, encouraging people to use
this mode of transport instead of air. We plan to cut our air travel
by increasing Eurostar usage for trips from London to Paris and
Brussels by 95 per cent by the end of our 2015/16 financial year.
Carbon management standard
43
Standing by our principles
44 Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Standing by our principles
Standing by our principles
We are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards
45
Standing by our principles
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Managing risk
Committed to excellence
Like our clients across all sectors,
we face increasingly complex
challenges in navigating an array of
risks. This touches every person at
Norton Rose Fulbright; any mistake
could result in damage to the trust
our clients put in us. We work hard,
using a mix of procedures which
cover professional, regulatory,
business, economic, social and
environmental measures, to ensure
that our exposure to risk is reduced.
GPS
During 2014 and 2015 we ran a
global internal campaign to bring
attention to the procedures that we
have in place in order to manage
risk on a consistent basis across
our offices worldwide, and to
ensure that our behaviour conforms
at all times with our business
principles: Quality, Unity and
Integrity. Called GPS (Global
Practice Standards) they help
safeguard our business against a
range of risks, including bribery
and corruption, ethical conflicts,
breach of economic sanctions,
discrimination, money laundering,
insider trading and share dealing,
data privacy and cyber crime.
Our personnel are made aware
of our GPS policy through
compulsory training. Compliance
is monitored by our Global Head
of Compliance and Global Audit
Committee, and it is enforced by
our Global Executive Committee.
46 Insider dealing/
share dealing
The professional obligations we
uphold as a global law firm in
protecting our clientsʼ confidential
information, and ensuring that it is
not used for personal gain, apply
to all personnel globally. Anyone
wishing to buy, sell, authorize,
advise or persuade others to buy
or sell shares or other securities
issued by a stock exchange-listed
company, must first seek approval
from our global compliance team.
External appointments
External appointments for
everything from company board
members to school governorships
must be approved through relevant
internal channels in each of our
offices, in order to avoid problems
such as conflicts of interest and
loss of legal privilege.
Bribery and
corrupt activity
We do not countenance corrupt
activity in any form, whether it
stems from our personnel or third
party providers and clients, and
regardless of whether someone
is being bribed, or offering a
bribe. We have drawn up regional
policies to protect anyone who
reports an actual or suspected
instance of bribery or corruption
from discrimination or retaliation.
Discrimination
All regions have established systems
for reporting complaints about
discrimination which provide
protections for both complainants
and victims of false accusation.
Economic sanctions
We ensure that our people do not
accept any instruction which would
result in our business breaching
sanctions, or any instruction that
may result in us being liable
because we encouraged or assisted
a client to breach sanctions.
Money laundering
We maintain on an on-going basis,
effective anti-money laundering
policies which fully comply with
the due diligence requirements
in each jurisdiction in which we
practice. These policies are used
to screen clients, to identify who
we are acting for, who ultimately
benefits from our advice, and who
is paying us. Records are kept of
all transaction data obtained for
the purpose of identification for at
least five years.
Cyber security
Our cyber security policy
applies worldwide to protect the
confidentiality of the data we
hold, both our own and that of our
clients. Like any global business
we are constantly at threat from
hackers, social engineering, and
data leakage.
Actions speak louder | Norton Rose Fulbright
Standing by our principles
Business ethics
We are committed to maintaining
the highest possible ethical
standards in all areas of our firm.
We have in place robust policies
and processes to ensure that we
follow and comply with all laws
and professional codes of conduct
applicable to us worldwide, and
we work hard to embed an ethical
culture within and among our
people.
Our ethical principles are
enshrined in our employment
contracts and reinforced through
regular training. We are exacting
in our requirements of third parties
with whom we do business. Our
policies apply to all our people,
regardless of role, in all our offices.
We train our managers to ensure
that they understand our business
ethics and can communicate them
effectively to their team members.
Our business principles of quality,
unity and integrity guide our
behaviour worldwide; they
describe the way we work and
what we stand for. We adhere to
the highest professional standards
in our dealings with clients. We
uphold rigorously our professional
obligation as lawyers to keep all
our clientsʼ information and
dealings confidential. We are
mindful of our clientsʼ expectations,
and we are careful to ensure that
mandates which we accept pose
no risk of improper behaviour or
any breach of relevant laws.
To maintain the highest ethical
standards worldwide, we have
created effective procedures to
detect any instance of misconduct
or wrong-doing and to protect
those who report them. We have
implemented policies which
encourage our people to report
suspected wrong-doing as soon
as possible, to provide a means
whereby concerns can be raised,
and to ensure that all employees
can be confident that their
concerns will be treated seriously,
and in confidence.
We take our reputation seriously.
Our processes are overseen by our
compliance teams who promulgate
policies and conduct the necessary
checks when new business
is accepted, and monitor our
subsequent handling of it.
ʻLike our clients across all sectors, we face increasingly complex
challenges in navigating risk.ʼ
47
Law around the world
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