2005/6 CSR Report - Freshfields

More documents

Recommendations

Info

our community Pro bono award in the large firm category 2005 Young Solicitors Group Pro bono: London 2012 Between 2003 and 2005, we provided pro bono advice to London 2012 Ltd, the company that successfully organised London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We advised on corporate governance issues and helped the company to draft a directors’ code of conduct; we advised on the structure of the bodies that will organise and run the 2012 Olympic Games and then put that structure in a joint venture agreement; and we also evaluated the applicability of EU public procurement laws to London 2012 and its successor bodies. These issues were crucial in the context of a competitive bidding process conducted in the full glare of the world’s media. We also sent one of our corporate associates on secondment to London 2012’s offices for eight months during 2004 to assist the in-house legal team in preparing the bid file for the International Olympic Committee. Pro bono: UNEP FI We are working on a pro bono basis for the asset management working group of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). UNEP FI is a global partnership between the UNEP and banks, insurers and asset managers. It works closely with more than 200 financial institutions to develop and promote links between the environment, sustainability and financial performance. The asset management working group is a core group of UNEP FI members, which explores the emerging relationships between environmental, social and corporate governance considerations and investment decision making. We produced a legal memorandum on the law of fiduciary duty in several major financial markets, focusing on environmental, social and corporate governance issues, and whether fund managers may take these factors, as well as financial considerations, into account when making investment decisions. We presented the report to 500 people, including the CEOs of major international banks, at the UNEP FI global roundtable meeting in October 2005. 14
Pro bono award (over 100 fee-earners category) 2005 Solicitors Pro Bono Group Professional initiatives We participate fully in Law Society initiatives aimed at resolving legal difficulties for victims of international humanitarian crises, natural disasters and terrorist incidents. Pro bono: free representation Our lawyers regularly represent pro bono clients before the courts and employment tribunals. Pro bono advocates provide an extremely valuable service, both to clients who may be nervous appearing before a judge or tribunal, and to the courts and tribunals, who often find unrepresented parties difficult. We ensure that our pro bono clients receive the same high quality advice as our feepaying clients. The firm has a close relationship with the Free Representation Unit (FRU) and regularly obtains instructions from the Royal Courts of Justice Citizens Advice Bureau to represent litigants in person before the courts. Associate Simon Jones represented Mr A, an Iraqi national who had come to the UK as a refugee and was left with a disfigured face after being tortured under Saddam Hussein’s regime. Unfortunately, corrective plastic surgery in the UK was unsuccessful, leaving Mr A with breathing difficulties, so he brought a claim for professional negligence against a surgeon. Simon represented him at a case management conference at London County Court, before negotiating with the defendant insurer’s solicitors, achieving a settlement of over £21,000. In June 2005, Simon was the joint winner of the Young Solicitors Group’s annual pro bono award for the best young solicitor at a large firm. Pro bono: Guantanamo Bay Our London, Paris, Washington and Brussels teams have submitted legal briefs to a US court on behalf of 305 UK and European parliamentarians, including six former law lords, two former foreign secretaries, a former lord chancellor and 11 bishops. The briefs consider whether the military commissions established to try prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay contravene international human rights law. The case is being brought by Salim Hamdan, a detainee designated for trial by the military commissions established by President Bush. He is challenging the legality of the commissions, which, he claims, contravene domestic and international law and the US constitution. In a landmark ruling in November 2004, Judge James Robertson granted Mr Hamdan’s petition in part and suspended the operation of the military commissions. However, the US Court of Appeals overturned Judge Robertson’s decision in July 2005. Mr Hamdan’s lawyers have taken his case to the US Supreme Court, which will hear it in 2006. 15
Page 1 and 2: csr making a difference London offi
Page 3 and 4: senior partners’ statement Our ke
Page 5 and 6: M&A law firm of the year 2005 JUVE
Page 7 and 8: Public law firm of the year 2005 JU
Page 9 and 10: Global law firm of the year 2004 Ch
Page 11 and 12: Gender profile - worldwide employee
Page 13 and 14: Accident trend by quarter 30 25 20
Page 15: Barclays European Community Impact
Page 19 and 20: Saving energy We have saved 541 hou
Page 21 and 22: Activity Units 2001 1 2004 Good pra
Page 23 and 24: 2004/05 financial results Turnover:

2005/6 CSR Report - Freshfields

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?