CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY - DLA Piper Global Law Firm

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CORPORATERESPONSIBILITY“EVERYTHING MATTERS” IS NOT JUST ABOUT OUR INTERACTIONS WITHCLIENTS. IT ALSO DESCRIBES OUR COMMITMENT TO MAKING A POSITIVEDIFFERENCE TO OUR LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNITIES.In each of our offices around the world, we make a seriouscommitment to public service by dedicating our timeand legal experience to projects related to education,enterprise and equality. Our contribution ranges frommajor, multi-regional initiatives of global concern to localarrangements benefiting schools and charities in each ofour communities.In 2011, DLA Piper donated more than 193,000 hours,for a contribution of 108 million worldwide through ourpro bono and corporate responsibility programmes. Webelieve this makes us the largest provider of pro bonolegal services in the world.Along with our commitment to helping those in need,we have also pledged a firm commitment to the globalenvironment. In 2007, we became one of the first in thelegal field to launch a global sustainability initiative aimedat reducing our environmental impact.Another key element in our commitment to the clientsand communities we serve is diversity. Around the worldat DLA Piper, our people reflect the diversity of ourcommunities and our global marketplace. We believethat our efforts to understand, value and incorporate thedifferences that our people bring to our business enableus to acquire the best talent, create effective teams andestablish a culture that is inclusive and sensitive to theneeds of all.We are determined to achieve our vision of becomingthe leading global business law firm by conducting ourbusiness in a way that is consistent with our values. Byengaging with individuals, non-profit groups and nongovernmental organisations where we have something ofvalue to offer and where our efforts can make a difference,we can enrich our own professional and personalexperiences and strengthen our ties to the community, ourclients and one another.We use a strategic framework to deliver CR outcomesthrough Pro Bono, Community Engagement,Environmental Sustainability, Client Engagement andWorkplace.Pro Bono - As the world’s leading provider of probono legal services, we provide access to justice andlegal advice that would otherwise be unattainable forcommunities, charities and social entrepreneurs.Community Engagement - Education, Equality andEnterprise focused activities help us to make a positivedifference in the local communities in which we operate.Environmental Sustainability - We inspire our people,our suppliers and our clients to reduce their environmentalimpacts.Client Engagement - Our clients face many of the sameissues we do and they want to work with an organisationthat reflects their own CR principles and values.Workplace - Our people are at the core of what wedo and we are committed to recruiting, developing andretaining the most talented professionals.

PRO BONOAs a large global business law firm, one of the mainways that we contribute to our community is through theprovision of free legal assistance. In 2011 we undertookmore than 190,000 hours of pro bono legal work, makingDLA Piper the world’s largest provider of pro bono legalservices.Our pro bono clients receive the same high standard ofservice as our commercial clients. Our pro bono practiceis managed by full-time, dedicated pro bono partners,demonstrating a strong institutional commitment to thispractice. Our pro bono practice is truly local, and trulyglobal.LocalAt a local level we operate legal clinics and give free legaladvice directly to the community. We have establishedspecialist legal clinics for people suffering from mentalillness, prisoners and post release prisoners, refugees,clients experiencing homelessness or who are at risk ofhomelessness, people suffering financial hardship as aresult of unpaid debts, women experiencing domesticviolence and juveniles charged with criminal offences.We also provide free legal assistance to local charitiesworking with disadvantaged people and we provide probono lawyers on secondment to local community legaladvice centres.GlobalAt a global level we act for several global NGOs andUN Agencies, such as Oxfam, Care, ActionAid, Habitatfor Humanity, Red Cross, Amnesty, WSPA, UNOPS,UN World Food Programme, UNHCR, UN Office ofHumanitarian Assistance Coordination and UNICEF.We also provide pro bono lawyers on secondment toglobal NGOs and governments in developing countries.For example during the past four years DLA Piper hasprovided four full-time pro bono lawyers to assist theGovernment of Timor Leste, one of the newest nationsrecognised by the UN, and a member of the G7 Group ofFragile Nations.New PerimeterIn 2005 DLA Piper established New Perimeter, ournon-profit affiliate dedicated to delivering long-term,high-impact pro bono legal support to qualifying nonprofits, governments and academic institutions, primarilyin developing and post-conflict regions. New Perimeterdraws on the skills of more than 4,000 DLA Piper lawyersglobally. We focus our work on legal education, women’sand children’s rights, access to justice and law reform,environmental protection, economic development andfood security.New Perimeter supports social and economicdevelopment, as well as transparent and sound legalinstitutions. We do this in part by providing directassistance on projects designed to strengthen a country’slegal system, improve the skills of its judges and lawyers,encourage economic growth, promote the rule of law andstrengthen human rights. We also do this by providinginternal strategic legal counsel to institutions workingto further these same goals. Whether we are teachingat a law school, training judicial officials, helping agovernment draft laws or providing technical assistanceto a NGO, one of our primary goals is to increase thecapacity of the local institution. Because New Perimeter iscommitted to an interdisciplinary approach, we regularlypartner with DLA Piper clients, academic institutions andNGOs to achieve our mutual goals. Recent New Perimeterprojects have included:Kosovo Law Reform - New Perimeter’s project focusedon restoring Kosovo’s judicial and prosecutorial systemsand transferring judicial functions from the UnitedNations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to local control.A team of DLA Piper lawyers assisted working groupscomposed primarily of local judges and prosecutors todraft new laws creating the Kosovar court system andsystem of prosecution. The Kosovo Law on Courts, Lawon State Prosecutor and the laws on the Kosovo Judicialand Prosecutorial Councils were passed by the KosovoAssembly and signed into law by the President in 2010.The New Perimeter team also provided legal skillstraining to lawyers in the Kosovo Ministry of Justice.Zimbabwean Women’s Rights - In collaborationwith international advocacy group AIDS-Free World,New Perimeter worked to document and combat humanrights abuses committed against Zimbabwean womenin conjunction with the 2008 Zimbabwe presidentialelections. A New Perimeter team of DLA Piper lawyersparticipated in four trips to southern Africa to interviewZimbabwean women who were targeted with sexualviolence because of their political views. The team draftedsworn affidavits for over 70 women outlining the detailsof the abuse. New Perimeter’s assistance was vital inproducing the report: Electing to Rape: Sexual Terror inMugabe’s Zimbabwe. New Perimeter lawyers also helpedAIDS-Free World create litigation and advocacy strategieswith the dual goals of bringing about accountability andraising awareness of these grave human rights abuses.COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTTo concentrate our community efforts across DLA Piper’sglobal offices, we focus on supporting projects that benefitEducation, Equality and Enterprise.Everyone is entitled to a good education, regardless ofsocio-economic status, gender, ethnicity, geographiclocation or age. Access to education is paramount forthe economic survival and success of future generationsglobally. DLA Piper contributes to regional andinternational educational needs by ensuring that weallocate skills and resources to programmes that developpeople’s skills and knowledge in order to improve theirchances of making a better life for themselves.DLA Piper – Corporate Responsibility 02

Equality in Education - China - In China, DLA Piperhas joined forces with client Nord Anglia, the BritishSchool of Beijing and the Wuxun Education Foundationto launch The Rural Teacher Training Programme. Theprogramme looks to address poor standards of educationin China’s rural schools, which can be attributed tothe significant lack of training and teaching materialsavailable. The Chinese government has identified thepoor standards of education as a key contributing factorto the poverty cycle afflicting the country’s 800 millionrural inhabitants. Whilst this pilot provided opportunitiesfor 100 rural teachers to experience creative teachingmethods and gain exposure to a high standard educationtheories and techniques, the Government has approvedthis initiative and is in the process of scaling it up byincorporating the materials into other Governmenteducation departments. reakThrough - Creating Brighter FuturesB- In Australia, DLA Piper runs a programme called‘BreakThrough’ as part of our partnership with TheSmith Family, a children’s charity helping disadvantagedAustralian children to get the most out of their educationin order to create a better future for themselves. TheBreakThrough programme was designed by DLA Piperto benefit marginalised 14-15 year olds with CV andinterview techniques, and in the last 18 months 130employees have worked with 62 students. For DLAPiper, BreakThrough offers a source of engaging andchallenging volunteer opportunities, whilst enabling ouremployees to develop their own interpersonal skills andlearn more about other areas of the firm.Equality means equal rights to education, employment,leadership, justice, decent shelter, food, water andresources, and to not be denied the possibility to accessopportunities, services or resources due to age, gender,race, religion, sexual orientation, wealth or health. DLAPiper contributes to initiatives and programmes thatimprove equal access to opportunities which can improvelivelihoods and futures, particularly for those in ourcommunities who are marginalised or disadvantaged. Facultyof Law, UAE University - We supportthe UAE University, through their Faculty of Law, tocompete in international mooting competitions throughsponsorship and training. DLA Piper’s engagement withthe UAE University law teams represents an example ofthe firm’s commitment to using the resources and skillsof our people to unlock local talent and enable socialmobility, in this instance encouraging Emiratis to workin the private sector. Diversifying the employment mixaway from a reliance on public sector work is a materialissue within many Middle Eastern countries and forms animportant government focus in the United Arab Emiratescalled Emiratization.In the UAE only Arabic law is taught during universitycourses. Therefore access to international law experienceis integral to the success of UAE law students seekingroles at international firms and wanting to understand thefull scope of the legal sector. The law students benefitfrom the expertise of our lawyers and the training inEnglish and international law, but they also benefit fromthe opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of what itis like to work for an international firm. We are in thefifth year of supporting the UAE University and theirMoot team. We have sponsored and trained the team tocompete three times in the Jessup Moot in Washingtonand for the past two years in Oxford at the Monroe E.Price International Media Law Moot Court Competition.We train the students on advocacy skills, review theirmemorials and support them putting together their oralpresentations.Reconciliation Action Plan - DLA Piper Australia’sReconciliation Action Plan (RAP) features 14 key actionswhich the firm aspires to achieve to build relationshipsand opportunities with indigenous peoples, communitiesand organisations. DLA Piper believes these actionsdemonstrate how we, as a major law firm, can truly makea difference working alongside indigenous peoples toachieve reconciliation in Australia. Where relevant,the legal advice that DLA Piper provides to clients willinclude an assessment of the possible positive or negativeimpact that our legal advice may have on the rights andinterests of indigenous peoples. This commitment is inline with the firm’s belief that we have a responsibility tomake the communities in which we operate a better place.Enterprise means access to capital, mentorship andemployability/business skills to raise aspirations, inspireentrepreneurialism and innovation, and to provideimproved access to employment opportunities.The Prince’s Trust Legal Helpline - Over the pasttwo years in the UK, as part of a multi layered, 15 yearpartnership with The Prince’s Trust, DLA Piper hasprovided approximately 1,600 hours of free legal andcommercial advice to around 250 young entrepreneursthrough ‘The Prince’s Trust Free Legal Helpline’.This support has been integral to helping these youngentrepreneurs to successfully grow their businesses duringan increasingly difficult economic climate, and at a timewhen youth unemployment is at a record high. For DLAPiper our partnership with The Prince’s Trust providesus with the opportunity to have a positive impact onkey issues of access to justice, education, enterprise andequality, but also to strengthen our relationships with keyclients and develop the skills of our people that providesupport to projects like the Legal Helpline.Supporting Enterprise to Tackle YouthUnemployment in Asia - In 2005, DLA Piper helpedset up Youth Business Hong Kong (“YBHK”), a charitywhich provides start up loans and business mentoring tofirst time entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds.Since then, DLA Piper has provided a range of supportto the young entrepreneurs from free legal advice,DLA Piper – Corporate Responsibility 03

business mentoring, training seminars and careers adviceto developing a ‘Legal Guide for Business Starters’ inresponse to the needs of its entrepreneur clients. Thispublication provides a guide to employment contracts,intellectual property, tax, insurance and more, the salesof which generate income for the charity. For DLA Piper,the partnership with YBHK demonstrates that our firmis aligned with one of the Government’s key objectivesof reducing unemployment, and enables us to use ourstrengths and resources to have a positive impact on asignificant issue affecting our local community.ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYIn January 2007, DLA Piper became one of the first in thelegal field to introduce a Global Sustainability Initiativeprogramme, affirming our commitment to reduce ourenvironmental impact and conduct our business in aresponsible manner. Our approach is to develop a livingstrategy, which will change and adapt as we respondto the demands and challenges of creating a moreenvironmentally responsible business.Within the first year of launching our GlobalSustainability Initiative, we were honoured to becomethe first global law firm to achieve global certification toISO 14001 – the worldwide standard for environmentalmanagement that ensures we take account of ourenvironmental impacts and live up to our commitmentto operating in a responsible way. We are now in our5th year of global certification and we are proud that weremain one of very few global law firms to achieve thisfar-reaching roll out of their Environmental ManagementSystem.Through our Global Sustainability Initiative and thesustained commitment of our people, we will continuallystrive to reduce our environmental impact in four keyareas: energy, waste, travel and procurement.EnergyIn all DLA Piper offices globally, we aim continually toreduce electrical energy consumption. Throughout alloffices, we are promoting energy-saving actions suchas installing movement sensors for lighting systems inmany offices. In April 2009, to encourage smarter use ofelectricity among our global workforce, we conducteda firm-wide “EnergySmart” campaign featuringcommunications, contests and idea sharing. In 2011,the firm was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard, whichcertifies organisations for real carbon reduction andcommitment to ongoing reductions.Waste and recyclingWe are committed to reducing, reusing and recyclingpotential waste and have an ongoing campaign to educateour people on how to produce less waste and recyclemore. We have established initiatives to reduce paperuse globally and recycling photocopier/printer cartridges,paper, glass and plastics.TravelTo raise awareness about the importance of responsiblebusiness travel among all our people, we conducted aglobal campaign in 2008 called “TravelSmart,” whichfeatured a variety of helpful tips and activities. This isstill available and distributed to our colleagues. Thiscampaign had an immediate impact and between 2008 and2009 we reduced air travel spend by 33.57% and reducedtaxi spend by 26.26% over the three years from 2007baseline. However, we have not been able to maintainthese reductions over recent years and are looking atrunning another campaign on responsible business travel.We are committed to using the latest technology tosupport reductions in business travel and greater costsavings. In July 2009 we became the first law firm toacquire TelePresence virtual meeting technology, aimedat reducing our carbon footprint through decreased travel.This has now been implemented in over half of our officesworldwide.ProcurementDuring 2011 and 2012 we updated our IT hardwareacross our global offices, including introducing the latestenergy efficient dell computers and cloud printing thathas seen an increase in the number of printers with duplexprinting set as default. Other responsible procurementpractices include the purchase of paper made fromrecycled paper and our existing cleaning contractors usingenvironmentally friendly options. In October 2009,we conducted a firm wide “ProcureSmart” campaign tofocus on what DLA Piper is doing to purchase suppliesand materials sustainably and what our people can do tosupport our procurement efforts.Encouraging Sector Collaboration onSustainabilityWorking with Business in the Community and the LawSociety of England and Wales, DLA Piper conceived theidea of a legal sector collaboration and in 2007 The LegalSector Alliance Acting on Climate Change was launched.LSA membership now exceeds 200 law firms who workin partnership on matters of environmental sustainabilityand climate change.The LSA has developed the Legal Sector Alliance CarbonFootprint Protocol to assist the profession in managingand measuring its environmental footprint, together with aset of environmental sustainability principles to encouragepublic reporting of carbon impacts so that real progresscan be made to measure, manage, reduce and reportprogress.Thought LeadershipSince 2007 DLA Piper has run and participated inmany high profile climate change-related forums andconferences. For example, the firm organised a ClimateChange Conference with Former Vice President, Al Gore,with speakers including the Chairman Emeritus, SenatorDLA Piper – Corporate Responsibility 04

George Mitchell, who was at the forefront of advocatingthe need to conduct business more sustainably when headdressed the conference. More recently, AlexanderSarac, a Legal Director in our Energy, InfrastructureFinance and Commodities team in London was in Durbanat the UNFCCC’s COP 17 providing video updates andinsight on the critical issues that were discussed at thisimportant conference on Climate Change.The firm is one of the sponsors of the MaydayNetwork, which is collaboration of businesses takingaction on climate change and resource depletion. SirNigel Knowles, our Joint CEO, takes an active role insupporting a number of climate related activities includingbeing on the Leadership Team of the Mayday Network.Environmental Legal ServicesBy far the greatest impact we can have on environmentalsustainability is through the legal advice we give clientsrelating to environmental best practice and climatechange. These services include advising clients onrenewable energy, climate change and emissions tradingand they fall under our Energy and Water sector andRegulatory and Government affairs practice. DLA Piperhas for some considerable time provided commercialenvironmental legal advice, advising commerce andindustry on fast-changing carbon trading regulations andtheir obligations under mechanisms such as the CarbonReduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme.CLIENT ENGAGEMENTWorking alongside clients on our corporate responsibilityprojects enables us to demonstrate shared values, addresskey social issues, develop stronger client relationshipsand provides our clients with access to pro bono andcommunity projects that their employees might nototherwise have had the opportunity to engage in. he New Perimeter Tanzania Law School ProjectT– Through our fully integrated non-profit affiliate, NewPerimeter, DLA Piper’s lawyers are able to contributeto large scale pro bono projects primarily in developingand post-conflict countries. As part of New Perimeter,DLA Piper has been collaborating with major clientsGE and Barclays Bank to bring legal and commercialexpertise to the University Law School of Tanzania. Theprogramme provides a two week training course to thenext generation of lawyers who will represent the interestsof governments, businesses and the wider community inTanzania. Students are given a chance to learn throughhands on practical workshops, while engaging withpracticing lawyers from our global offices, filling a gap inthe predominantly academic delivery of their curriculum.“We are very proud and excited to have participated inthis CR initiative as it fits well with our efforts to expandour international endeavours, now also on the Africancontinent. This gives us an opportunity to give somethingback to communities, by sharing with the students someof the professional skills and expertise we have builtup during our long and intense legal careers at GE.” Hendrik Bourgeois GE, General Counsel, EMEAAchieving More Through Collaboration – DLAPiper and Verizon were recently granted the 2011Pro Bono Partner Award by Corporate Pro Bono, inrecognition of their collaboration on an integratedpro bono programme which addresses veterans,education, and domestic violence issues in the US. Fromproviding co-counselling for individuals and non-profitorganisations, to working with Corporate Pro Bonoto induce a change in legislation to enable more probono work in Virginia, DLA Piper and Verizon havedemonstrated the value of using combined strengths andexpertise to achieve a greater impact.Beyond the US, DLA Piper and Verizon have alsoteamed up on innovative and successful projects inboth Brussels and Moscow. In Brussels, DLA Piperhas worked with Verizon to support Interface3, anorganisation which provides disadvantaged womenwith access to free IT courses and education to helpthem gain employment in the IT sector. In Moscow,DLA Piper and Verizon designed and delivered,alongside partners White & Case, Microsoft andPILnet, a flagship ‘Professional Responsibility andEthics in the Global Legal Market’ course at MoscowState University. Students benefitted from the chanceto interact with experienced lawyers who could deliverfirst-hand knowledge of the ethical issues faced by globalorganisations. As professional responsibility and ethicsare not taught widely in Russian universities, the successof the course is expected to result in its future replicationin universities throughout the country.WORKPLACE“We are defined by our people. Our people are ourglobal identity as an organisation. Our brand is basedon relationships and our people define our relationships.Diversity at DLA Piper goes to the heart of the DLA Pipervalues” Sir Nigel Knowles, Joint CEO, DLA Piper.We believe in making DLA Piper a great place to workand one of our core values is investing in the careers andreputations of our people. We were the first internationallegal practice to receive the prestigious HR ExcellenceAward for our learning and development strategy,recognising our commitment to developing our people.We have also recently won The Lawyer ‘Award forExcellence in Training’ (2012), The Legal Education andTraining Group ‘Award for Best Programme for Lawyers’(2011) and The British Legal ‘Award for Education andTraining’ (2011).DLA Piper’s vision in terms of equality and diversityis not only to comply with legislation, but to take aprogressive approach so that we create a diversity of talentthat makes us more successful as a business. We recognisethat a willing and committed workforce, where there isDLA Piper – Corporate Responsibility 05

equality for all and where difference is visibly welcomedand people are actively included, is a key ingredient in ourrecipe for success.MORE INFORMATIONWe have different approaches to managing diversityacross our global offices. In the US, for example, we havea Diversity and Inclusion strategic plan, Diversity andInclusion team and a Diversity and Inclusion SteeringCommittee. In Australia, we have a defined Diversitystrategy, supported by a Diversity Steering Committeeand champions in each office. In the UK, we haveestablished a Women’s Network, which looks to createan empowering environment and provide a platform forthe development and support of the careers of femaleemployees. We were recently shortlisted for The Lawyer‘Most Effective Diversity Programme - Gender’ (2012).Nicolas PatrickPartnerHead of Pro Bono & CorporateResponsibility, InternationalT 61 2 9286 8378nicolas.patrick@dlapiper.comPlease contact the following:Ben EavisCorporate Responsibility Manager – InternationalT 971 4 438 6218ben.eavis@dlapiper.comWe aim to share best practice with our clients and otherstakeholders through innovative programmes like theGlobal Women’s Leadership Summit that we held inChicago in October 2011 that was aimed at women generalcounsel, associate general counsel and other executivelevel women in the legal field.We are also proud of the good work done by DLA Piperand New Perimeter who together work to support theadvancement of women’s rights and equality throughongoing efforts to empower women in all corners of theworld. The firm works with organisations such as WomenWin, Oxfam, Vital Voices, Room to Read, MADRE andUNICEF. We represent CARE, which increases ruralAfrican women’s access to financial services, as well asthe Global Fund for Women, the grant-making foundationthat promotes women’s human rights by funding womenled organisations worldwide. These efforts aim to givewomen and girls a voice and framework to grow andenrich their lives.Corporate Responsibility is embedded into the firm’sreward and recognition. A key aspect of our employees’performance management reviews is the requirementto outline what ‘wider contribution’ have they made.Employees who play an active role in the firm’s corporateresponsibility and pro bono programmes will receivegreater recognition and reward, with ‘Wider Contribution’accounting for approximately 10% of a DLA Piperemployees’ bonus. Therefore the firm places a great dealof importance on not only what has been achieved but alsohow it has been achieved.www.dlapiper.comDLA Piper is a global law firm operating through various separateand distinct legal entities.For further information, please refer to www.dlapiper.comCopyright 2012 DLA Piper. All rights reserved.AZP11 DLA605 0312

DLA Piper – Corporate Responsibility 02 PRO BONO As a large global business law firm, one of the main ways that we contribute to our community is through the provision of free legal assistance. In 2011 we undertook more than 190,000 hours of pro bono legal work, making DLA Piper