RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS REPORT - Womble Bond Dickinson · Responsible Business Report 03 Contents Awards and achievements 04 Introduction 05 Our areas of focus 06 Communities, People,

Report Title Here: Responsible Business Report 2017/18

RESPONSIBLEBUSINESSREPORT

Our Responsible Business

We take our Responsible Business responsibilities as seriously as the quality of our legal advice. We care about the impact of our actions. Through partnerships with charities, community projects and our own initiatives, we are determined to play a strong role in creating better places to live, work and do business.

We work hard to understand our clients and their commercial challenges. We recognise they want to work with trusted partners who have the highest standards of professionalism, business ethics, and risk management.

We work with people in our local communities and are committed to unlocking potential in the areas of education, employment and entrepreneurship.

We work hard to make Womble Bond Dickinson a great place to work and strive to create a diverse and inclusive culture to attract and retain the very best people.

We are ever mindful of the environmental impacts of our business and our Responsible Business activity forms a central part of our commitment to being a sustainable business that has a positive impact on the UK and wider world.

Responsible Business Report 03

Contents

Awards and achievements 04

Introduction 05

Our areas of focus 06

Communities, People, Clients 07

Communities 08

People 16

Clients 22

Our objectives for 2018/2019 24

WBD-UK Responsible Business Team 26

Other Charities we have supported 27

Right: Julian Kinsey, The Grand Appeal. Philip Knight, Managing Associate, Edinburgh office.

Report Title Here: Responsible Business Report 2017/18D

Awards and Nominations for Awards: • Shortlisted for Scottish Legal Awards – Community Contribution• Shortlisted for Legal Business Awards – CSR Programme of the Year• Shortlisted for Legal Innovation Awards – CSR Innovation• FT Innovative Lawyers Awards – Rule of Law Category Commended for CSR work

with Greenwich University Law School and Small Business Centre• FT Innovative Lawyers Awards – Highly Commended for our apprenticeship scheme• Newcomer Large Employer Award at the National Apprenticeship Awards• Business Leaders Employer of the Year Awards

5,100Hours devoted to

Responsible Business activity equating to

£1.2m in value

360Students have been supported through our Early Careers

Programme

Money raised and donated to support

our communities

£270,000

VolunteeringAll of our people

are entitled to 2 days volunteering each year

Charitable TrustEstablished

Womble Bond Dickinson Charitable Incorporated

Organisation

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion Group formed

D&I and Mental Health Awareness Weeks in 2017 and 2018

D&I Board Sponsor, Paula Dillon Appointed

4 Tonnesof food donated

to Foodbanks

Awards and Achievements

EnvironmentalAccredited with ISO14001Founder Member of Legal

Sustainability Alliance 2018 Carbon report from LSA has shown a further drop in carbon

emission to 1.93 CO2 per employee for the 5th consecutive year of

reduction

Accreditations:• ISO4001 Accreditation –

Environmental Management System• Law Society Diversity and Inclusion

– Gold Status Awarded• Investors in People – Silver Status

• ISO9001 (Quality Management)• ISO27001 (Information Security)

04 Responsible Business Report


2017 was a busy year for us. We successfully completed our combination with US Law Firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice to become Womble Bond Dickinson, and now have a transatlantic footprint. Our clients on both sides of the Atlantic have said they not only value the work and services we deliver but also the commercial and sustainable relationships we build. A coherent and strong culture based on building trusting relationships will help shape our collective identity both commercially and as a Responsible Employer. As we grow, we are committed to staying close to our clients, and to the issues they care about and we are increasingly finding ways to collaborate with our clients beyond the realms of legal services. It’s one of the many things that keeps us connected.

Our commitment to being a Responsible Business is at the heart of our firm. It’s essential to being a sustainable business. We will continue to focus and develop actions we have identified will make the most significant impact for our stakeholders, specifically focussing on social mobility, empowerment and unlocking potential in the areas of Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship – our 3Es strategy.

This report covers a range of activity over the period January 2017 – September 2018. As with all reports

it is a “snapshot” in time but we believe it demonstrates a consistent number of successes. It also sets out our goals for the next 12-18 months which we will continue to review to ensure they remain relevant. Our objectives will also be reviewed alongside the UN Global Compact Principles and Goals, which we support.

At Womble Bond Dickinson we empower and encourage our people to get involved in a wide range of Responsible Business activities in our collegiate atmosphere. It’s just part of how we do things here. I am constantly impressed by the stories I hear about the hard work, dedication and drive of so many colleagues and the varied initiatives they are involved in, and I am proud of the achievements we are making together. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and supported our Responsible Business programme.

Simon Richardson UK Chair

“ We empower and encourage our people to get involved in a wide range of Responsible Business activities in our collegiate atmosphere. It’s just part of how we do things here.”

Introduction

Our areas of focus

HOW WE CONDUCT

OUR BUSINESS

DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND WORKPLACE

ENVIRONMENT

COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND

PRO BONO

COMMUNITIES

PEO

PL

E CLIENTS

Building Sustainable Relationships with our Stakeholders:We focus on being a trusted employer and business supporting our Communities, People and Clients.



CLIENTSResponsible business practicesWe apply the highest standards of professionalism, business ethics and risk management, building sustainable practises for the benefit of our clients.

Environmental SustainabilityWe are committed to enhancing our environmental performance and finding sustainable ways to improve our environmental management system.

Our focus is on managing and minimising:· Energy use· Waste· Resource consumption· Travel

Risk ManagementWe are committed to conducting our business with honesty and integrity. We apply and conduct responsible business practices across the firm. This includes the impact our operations have on the environment, how we interact with our suppliers and the way we do business with our clients. We have put in place a Client Charter which states what our clients can expect from Womble Bond Dickinson.

PEOPLEValuing our peopleWe are committed to creating and maintaining a safe and inclusive workplace where our people can achieve their work potential.

Diversity and Inclusion: We promote a diverse and inclusive culture which attracts and retains the very best people from the broadest pool.

Career Pathways: We want our people to enjoy long and successful careers with us. That means making sure everyone has the opportunity to develop and grow and be rewarded for their success.

Health & Wellbeing: We take mental health and wellbeing very seriously and are committed to supporting our people as much as we can. We aim to create a culture of openness to help break down the barriers that often prevent people from seeking support or advice.

COMMUNITIES Supporting our CommunitiesWe focus on areas where we can provide meaningful social value through charitable giving, volunteering and sharing our expertise.

The 3Es – focus on social mobility and empowermentWe are committed to unlocking potential in the areas of:· Education · Employment and· Entrepreneurship

Diversity and Inclusion: We support individuals from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds and give them greater access to a range of opportunities through our own activities and by supporting the activities of others.

Our national charity partner is The Prince’s Trust, which fits squarely with our commitment to supporting disadvantaged individuals in the areas of education, employment and entrepreneurship via the 3Es.

Access to Working and Justice: · We have pioneered a number of

routes into the legal profession. · Recognising barriers to 3Es

– supporting associated areas; Homelessness, Mental and Physical Health, Disability.· Pro Bono – Supporting Access to

Justice and local economies within our communities.

An overview

We recognise that there are other barriers to people accessing the 3Es, from homelessness and poverty, to mental health issues and caring commitments. For these reasons we also support a range of charities helping these causes.

Communities



Our focus is on social inclusion and mobility. We focus on empowering young people and adults, and unlocking potential in the areas of: Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship – we call this our 3Es strategy. As lawyers and business professionals these are the areas where we believe we can provide social value.

Supporting our communities

We support charities and community activity through fund raising, providing pro bono support and employee volunteering. Our offices support a range of charities and projects local to their communities. All of our employees are entitled to at least 2 days volunteering leave each year and we are open to extended requests.

We support individuals from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds, opening up access to a range of opportunities both through our own activities and our support of others. We have pioneered a number of routes into the legal profession and our Early Careers programme was set up for students who don’t have any work experience or access to a network of connections.

We recognise that there are other barriers to people accessing the 3Es, from homelessness and poverty, to mental health issues and caring commitments. For these reasons we also support a range of charities helping these causes.

We have concentrated our pro bono offering on supporting “access to justice” charity partners and local economies within our communities, providing advice to young entrepreneurs, small businesses, student law clinics and small charities with no legal budget.

The Princes TrustOur national charity partner

We have a long-standing relationship with the Prince’s Trust. At a national and regional level Womble Bond Dickinson has built a strong partnership with the Prince’s Trust – a charity whose purpose fits squarely with our commitment to supporting disadvantaged individuals in the areas of employment, education and entrepreneurship.

The Prince’s Trust focuses on 13-30 year olds who are unemployed or struggling at school. The Trust helps these young people to transform their lives, helping to ensure that every young person has the chance to succeed. It gives practical and financial support to young people developing key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation.

Since May 2013 we have helped to raise £350k for the Trust. In addition to fundraising we have supported a wide range of volunteering activity such as mentoring, providing interviewing skills workshops and supporting events to raise, awareness of the work of the charity.

In 2017 our trainees supported the Prince’s Trust Million Makers event, raising £22k in a six month period. In January 2018, Jason Cousins (Facilities Director) raised 55K for the Trust by taking part in the World Marathon event, which involved running seven marathons, in seven days over seven continents!

Left: Maggie’s Newcastle Culture Crawl. Right: Jason Cousins successfully completed the World Marathon.

Supporting local economies and regeneration – Place-Based Giving in Southwark

We have been an Advisory Member of Southwark Giving since 2016. In 2017 we became a Founder Funder of Southwark Giving place-based giving scheme for the London Borough of Southwark which was set up to find new and innovative ways to address hidden, unmet and emerging social community needs.

Place-based giving schemes are now present or under discussion in 21 London boroughs raising millions for local projects, they aim to bring a new way of bringing together local people with local funders to effect change and positive development by tackling the specific needs in their communities.

Why did Southwark need a place-based giving scheme? Southwark is the third largest inner London Borough and has a long history of deprivation and charitable activity. It currently has over 1,200 registered charities. It has a diverse population of which 48% represent people from ethnic minority backgrounds. Nearly one third of households in Southwark earn less than 60% of the national median income after housing costs.

We wanted to support this project because whilst a number of these place-based giving schemes are in their infancy, the idea that local people from all walks of life can contribute to and benefit from each other’s support is an empowering idea of re-humanising the economic and political system.

From a Responsible Business perspective we wanted to take-up the challenge and opportunity to help drive a movement and make a meaningful difference by working with other investors. We are of the view that businesses can only contribute so much to local communities on their own; but when they collaborate with other like-minded businesses together they can create a greater impact.

Providing creative learning through the Arts – Plymouth Playhouse Project and Supporting Emerging Artists

We are the Creative Learning sponsor of the Plymouth Playhouse Project. The project provides children from the most deprived schools in Plymouth with the chance to participate in creative learning which they would otherwise not have the financial or logistical means to take part in, by enabling schools to produce and perform in theatre productions. The experience builds children’s skills in teamwork and critical thinking as well as increasing confidence. Our support began over 10 years ago.

Our support in just one year alone has enabled the Theatre Royal to work with 1,420 children in Plymouth and Devon, delivering over 70 individual workshops, visits and assemblies over the school year. The sponsorship has enabled 360 children to attend the theatre over the course of the year. In addition to benefitting the children involved, the Playhouse Festival runs over three nights, and many of the audience are parents and carers, many of whom are visiting the theatre for the first time.

Creative Debuts We support up-and-coming artists through our partnership with Creative Debuts who provide the artwork for our client space. Emerging artists are featured throughout our offices. We try to support a wide range of young and emerging artists by featuring new work every quarter. Right: The Plymouth Playhouse Project,

project provides children from the most deprived schools in Plymouth with the chance to participate in creative learning.

Communities


Responsible Business Report

The reading scheme was originally set up in 2008 by Paul Harvey (our Plymouth based Head of Knowledge and Legal Training) and has been running for ten academic years.

St Peter’s Primary School is tucked away behind Union Street, a five minute walk from the office. In terms of a social journey though it is a lot further – it is situated in a very deprived inner city area of Plymouth, many of the children come from difficult backgrounds and struggle with basic literacy and numeracy skills. The school’s most recent Ofsted Report states a high proportion of pupils are eligible for support from the pupil premium – additional government funding provided for pupils who are eligible for free school meals or who are looked after. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is high, as is the number of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

BenefitsWomble Bond Dickinson volunteers regularly spend a lunchtime at the school listening to a child read. This provides a continuity of adult contact and attention that would otherwise be missing for many of the children involved. The feedback from the school is that the children involved have benefited greatly from the scheme. Individual one-to-one adult attention means a lot, especially for those children who have a difficult time outside of school. This is an excellent way to get children excited about reading and forge links in the local community.

What the current volunteers say:“I really appreciate that I am contributing to the education of the children, enriching their experience in school and the success of the school.”

“ The teachers are always really welcoming and positive about us being there to read to the children – I think they feel it beneficial. Most of the children I have read to enjoy the time we give them and particularly like talking!”

New Volunteers:The reading scheme recruited four new volunteers this year. Most of the volunteers read with specific children each time they visit so that there is continuity; it is also a great opportunity to see improvement in the progress of their reading. With the very small children, four and five year olds, it is a case of sitting in the class and spending time with as many children who want to read. All of the new volunteers find it very rewarding and love the interaction as well as the reading.

St Peter’s Primary School Reading Scheme

Communities

Connecting with Schools through Reading Schemes and Mentoring We operate a number of reading schemes from our offices. In Plymouth we have partnered with St Peter’s Primary School – see case study by Paul Harvey relating to St Peter’s Primary.

In Bristol we work in conjunction with the Bristol Sport Community Foundation to support the Community Foundation’s Reading Stars programme; in addition to Reading Stars Bristol office also provide mentoring to Oasis Academy students. The Principal at Oasis has commented as follows: “The mentoring work you and your team at Womble Bond Dickinson do with our students at Oasis Academy Brightstowe is truly exceptional and makes a massive impact in their lives”

In London we have been supporting a reading scheme St James’ Church of England Primary School. We send 3-4 volunteers each week to listen to Year 3 pupils reading to help develop their vocabulary and reading aloud skills. In 2018 we hosted 25 Year 6 students from the school for a morning to give them an insight into working in a law firm, both as a lawyer and in support services.

In Leeds we support the charity Through the Looking Glass, where we work with a variety of local businesses to organise a series of events taking place throughout a week, for students from across the Leeds region to gain experience on what careers there are in professional services. The charity aims to give A-level students from schools in areas that have relatively low levels of social mobility the chance

to gain experience across a number of different professional fields.

Our Leeds office has organised sessions with a number of local businesses including BPP Law School, Addleshaw Goddard, Leeds Crown Court, Yorkshire Bank. The project brought together a number of leading business partners to maximise social impact through collaboration.

In 2018 we began our support of the Book Trust’s Book Start programme which will benefit 200 deaf children. It is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity reaching millions of children across the UK with books, resources and support.

Creating opportunities through our Early Careers Programme Our Early Careers Programme was set up to open up opportunities for students who do not have any work experience or access to a network of connections to come into the firm to learn about different careers, how the firm works and to develop key transferable skills such as team work, communication and negotiation. Since the launch of the Early Careers Programme in October 2016 over 360 students have come through the programme, which is in addition to our formal graduate work experience programme.

The programme provides structured insight days and work experience

placements across our offices throughout the year. There is an open application process and for those who have been able to gain a place on the insight day the students will join us for a structured day of group exercises, learning more about the firm and meeting other students and colleagues. Those who join us for a work experience placement will come along to the insight day followed by up to four days in the office, spending time in legal, secretarial and support teams to experience different careers and see how teams work together.

We have recently expanded the programme to introduce Inspire workshops and Open Days. The Inspire workshops are two hour workshops for GCSE students to have an introduction to the firm, different careers and take part in a small group exercise. The open days are for university students to find out more about the firm but to also take part in exercises that will help them prepare for future assessment days.

Alongside the Early Careers programme we support other schools programmes, for example, working with Business in the Community, attending schools across most of our locations to support careers events and joining careers fairs and talks.

PRIME and Pathways to law are another part of our Early Careers programme. Pathway’s workshops take place in the South of England with workshops taking place at universities, and then a number of students join us for work experience. PRIME takes place in the North of England, we run workshops in our Newcastle office as well as providing a work experience placement.

Left: We partner with schools to provide Reading Schemes and Mentoring.

“ The mentoring work that Womble Bond Dickinson do with our students at Oasis Academy Brightstowe is truly exceptional and makes a massive impact in their lives.”


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Helping families through difficult timesSt Peter’s Hospice is Bristol’s only adult hospice caring for local people with life-limiting illnesses. They are committed to improving the quality of life of patients while extending care and support to their families and loved ones. We began our support in January 2017, as at September 2018 our Bristol office raised £55,000 for the hospice through a wide range of fund raising events including Will Budge cycling from our Aberdeen office to Bristol! The aim is to raise £80,000 for the hospice’s ‘Room to Care’ appeal by May 2019. Our Bristol office is fully engaged with fund raising and raising awareness of the charity to ensure it remains sustainable.

In Plymouth we have supported Jeremiah’s Journey since 2013. The charity offers support to children and their families who live in Plymouth or the immediate surrounding areas who have experienced the death of someone significant or is experiencing the anticipated death of a family member due to terminal illness. They offer support in a variety of ways to best support each family. This could be through therapeutic group programme where creative activities are used to enable children to express their feelings of grief, share memories and explore ways of

coping. The office through a combination of fundraising events including skydives and taking part in the 20/20 challenge in 2017 has raised in excess of £11,000.

Our support for Jeremiah’s Journey has extended beyond fund raising, we have also supported the charity with grant applications, volunteering and use of our offices and conference facilities. Additionally, we work with the view to supporting the sustainability of all our charity partners, to this aim we have leveraged our network connections and introduced the charity to new supporters which has led to further donations.

Our Southampton office has supported Southampton Hospital Charity for some time. In the last year they raised £4,800 to support Southampton Hospital’s Children’s Emergency and Trauma Department Appeal.

Supporting charities does not necessarily mean raising funds, in Newcastle we have supported the Cash for Kids Christmas appeal by donating gifts to families who are in need. Working with charities in this way has really engaged staff at a significant and meaningful level.

Working against poverty – supporting the Homeless and donating to FoodbanksIn Edinburgh we support Social Bite which is a social enterprise that helps homeless people through its sandwich shops and restaurants. It donates its profits to charity and allows customers to purchase an extra meal or drink, which can be claimed by a homeless person. Social Bite, which feeds more than 150 homeless people each day, also has an academy which provides support towards gaining employment. In December 2017 a team from our Edinburgh office spent a night sleeping outside to show support and raise awareness for homelessness in the city. As well as being a corporate sponsor, the team sleeping out also raised £5,000 for the charity.

We have for a number of years supported the CEO Sleepout in Newcastle. The charity invites business leaders to sleep rough to fight and raise awareness of poverty and homelessness. The 2018 long winter was not an obstacle for two members of our Transport Team who raised £2,600. Working with charities such as the CEO Sleepout together with local businesses we recognise that we create greater impact in terms of fund raising and awareness.

Left: Will Budge (left) on his fund-raising cycle. Above: Southampton Hospital Charity. Right: In 2017 we started a campaign across our offices to support local foodbanks.


Our Southampton office have supported Crisis through offering spare car park spaces to staff for a donation to charity. This initiative raised £1,500 for the charity.

Sadly food poverty is very much part of our society. In October 2017 we started a national campaign across our offices to support local Foodbanks. Since the initiative started we have donated over 4 Tonnes of food to Foodbanks in Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth, Southampton and London. We have donated 1 Tonne of food to Newcastle West End Foodbank alone, which is sadly the most utilised foodbank in the country.

Partnering to champion Employability and ‘disability confidence’In Newcastle we support the Percy Hedley Foundation which provides a range of high quality, specialist and personal care and education support to disabled people and their families. It offers a wide range of services to children, young people and adults. We have raised over £5,500 to buy sensory equipment and sponsored football kits for two students who had reached the World Wheelchair Football Finals in the United States. We also run joint events, to support employability initiatives relating to Deaf Awareness, Unconscious Bias, and Job Carving.

Supporting Education and Employability through Health and Wellbeing We have supported the Greggs Breakfast Club Programme since 2014. The Programme was established in 1999 to help primary school children get a nutritious start to their school day. We support the scheme because we know there are children all over the country attending school without having breakfast. Hungry children find it harder to concentrate and learn, ultimately impacting on their academic attainment.

In October 2017, our Leeds office began its partnership with Leeds Mind – the aim of the charity is to help people build on their strengths, overcome obstacles, and become more in control of their lives. Leeds Mind promotes positive mental health and wellbeing, to those who need it. They offer many services including: counselling, group therapy, social support, peer support, housing support, employment support, suicide bereavement and mental health training.

In 2018 our Newcastle office have supported Daft as a Brush Cancer Patient Care, If U Care Share Foundation and Maggie’s Centre Newcastle.

Daft as a Brush offers staffed custom-made vehicles to transport outpatients, free of charge, to and from hospital who are undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy cancer treatment.

If U Care Share provides emotional and practical support with the aims of prevention, intervention and support after suicide.

Maggie’s offer free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their families and friends. Help is offered freely to anyone with any type of cancer.

We have raised funds through various activities, and the Maggie’s Midnight Crawl has become a regular feature in the Newcastle calendar. The office has raised over £8,000 for the charities in addition to raising awareness of the work they do.Below left: Dazzling Divas, Midnight Walk.

Below right: Cheviot walk for If U Care.

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“ We have donated over 4 Tonnes of food to Foodbanks in Newcastle, Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth, Southampton and London. We have donated 1 Tonne of food to Newcastle West End Foodbank alone, which is sadly the most utilised foodbank in the country.”


Communities

15

Pro Bono Partnering with the University of Greenwich to establish the Small Business Legal Advice Centre

The Centre was set up in March 2014 with a focus to advise small businesses/entrepreneurs. Greenwich and Lewisham are areas of social deprivation with high unemployment. There has been a big drive in both Boroughs to encourage individuals to set up in business as an alternative to employed work. A needs analysis revealed a need for a small business service with little to no pro-bono legal advice taking place in the area. The service was fully open in September 2016.

We decided to partner and invest our time with the Centre/University because we wanted to maximise our pro-bono offering by sharing our legal skills with a project which has incredible relevance and is under-supported by the legal pro-bono sector. Small businesses/entrepreneurs are now able to access high quality commercial and business advice which they would otherwise be unable to afford. We have 30 lawyers working in rotation from our London office mentoring, observing meetings, and providing students with access to commercial experience.

The partnership has also widened access to the legal profession. University of Greenwich students come from a diverse demographic. Students are often the first in their family to undertake ‘A’ Levels. They have no connections in the law and struggle to gain access to the profession, particularly in commercial law firms.

The financial value of time invested in this enterprise is to date over £80,000. We have also been shortlisted for our partnership with Greenwich University in a number of high profile awards: the Legal Business Awards, the Legal Innovation Awards and received a Commendation in the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards under their “Rule of Law” category.

Supporting Access to JusticeEach year we support a number of events across our offices to raise awareness of the work of The Access to Justice Foundation. The Foundation works with a network of Legal Support Trusts which operate across England and Wales. The Trusts support the provision of free legal help through law centres, advice agencies and citizen advice bureaux by providing them with funding and other support. Given our national coverage we have been able to leverage the support of our network of offices to raise awareness of the work of the Foundation to support the North East, Yorkshire , South West and London Legal Trusts.

Driving community development with the Drake Foundation We have provided our services pro bono to the Plymouth Drake Foundation, a charity committed to developing wealthy, healthy and lively communities in the city of Plymouth. We supported the charity by securing a lease on a property which will be used as a charity shop. We advised on all aspects of the transaction, negotiating the new lease, handling commercial property standard enquiries and dealing with completion and post completion formalities. The Drake Foundation supports local communities by providing grants to Plymouth’s voluntary sector as well as funding charities, community groups and social enterprises. The charity to date has given out over £650,000 worth of grants to community groups in Plymouth, and is vital to the community in Plymouth and contributes to the development and prosperity of the city.

Left: food collected for the Newcastle West End Foodbank. Right: A number of our offices have taken part in the annual 10km walk to support the Access to Justice Foundation.


People

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is demonstrated by the appointment of Paula Dillon, the firm’s Board sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion, who sits on both our UK and Global Board. Paula has endorsed an action plan, objectives and a robust Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

“ We recognise that Diversity and Inclusion is an integral aspect to building trusting relationships with our stakeholders.”


17

Diversity and Inclusion sit at the heart of our values and is a core theme of our Responsible Business programme, and how we work with our stakeholders. The WBD-UK Board is committed to being a business where everyone can be themselves and feel safe at work in a culture of positive acceptance of all our differences. We seek continuous improvement in developing a diverse and inclusive culture for all our people.

Valuing and respecting our people – Diversity and Inclusion

We value and respect diversity – our approach is about enabling talented people to develop their career and personal potential and contribute in different ways. Underpinning this is our #beyourself campaign – launched in 2017, it highlights the importance of everyone being able to be their true selves at work,

We recognise that Diversity and Inclusion is an integral aspect to building trusting relationships with our stakeholders:

· Our clients operate in diverse markets; Diversity and Inclusion helps us understand their needs and align our efforts.

· Our communities; Diversity and Inclusion helps us engage with our diverse communities and charity partners;

· Our people; Diversity and Inclusion helps us understand the diverse viewpoints and cultural perspectives of all our people.

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is demonstrated by the appointment of Paula Dillon, the firm’s Board sponsor for Diversity and Inclusion, who sits on both our UK and Global Board. Paula has endorsed an action plan, objectives and a robust Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

Paula also chairs the Diversity and Inclusion Group which is made up of representatives within different roles

from each office. The Group has brought many people together to encourage a wider conversation and raise the profile of D&I across the firm. The Group promotes ‘difference’ making it very clear that there is no stereotypical mould we expect people to fit into within the firm. The Diversity and Inclusion Group are integral to, and are consulted on, the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion agenda.

The Group has supported a number of campaigns across the firm including Zero Discrimination Day, International Men’s Day (focusing on men’s health and encouraging flexible working), International Women’s Day, Mental Health awareness and has also highlighted a range of religious festivals.

In 2017 we held our first Diversity and Inclusion week in each of our offices, with a specific focus on inclusion. We wanted to use the opportunity to demonstrate we are an open and inclusive business in an unambiguous way, without awkwardness, to any of our people who may have struggled to feel accepted in different parts of their lives.

The week was about supporting the right to be ourselves without judgement or discrimination from anyone. We wanted to raise awareness and encourage a wider conversation about diversity in the firm, and to acknowledge that whilst we are all different, we all have something to offer. We focused on specific areas relating to Ethnicity and Social Inclusion, Disability, Mental Health and Sexual Orientation. During the week a number of our people including Paula Dillon shared personal studies about a wide range of Diversity and Inclusion issues.

We had our second D&I week in June 2018 building on and cementing the launch week from 2017. In 2018 we focused on culture, gender equality and invisible difference all supporting the #Beyourself campaign which underpinned the activity that took place.

Right: Our #beyourself campaign highlights the importance of everyone being able to be their true selves at work.



· We have achieved the Gold rating by the Law Society in relation to Equality and Diversity.

· We communicate regularly and actively with our people on Diversity & Inclusion related topics.

· There is a dedicated intranet page which is updated regularly to include articles, updates, meetings relating to Diversity and Inclusion

· We ensure our procurement policies and processes take account of equality, diversity and inclusion values and priorities.

· We have a strong culture of personal development. Our current career progression opportunities are available to everyone in Womble Bond Dickinson.

· In 2016 we launched our Emerging Leaders Programme to develop our leaders of the future. We currently have an equal 50/50 male and female split on this programme.

· We deliver Unconscious Bias training to our Diversity and Inclusion Group, Graduate recruitment assessors and as part of our “Recruit the Best” workshops.

· 91% of our people responded to our annual Diversity and Inclusion survey which helps inform our priorities for the coming year.

· We published our first gender pay gap report.

· We are members of several networks including the Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Forum, LAGLA, Bylaw and the NE Inclusion Forum.

· We became Stonewall Champions in June 2018.

· We have supported a number of PRIDE events throughout England and Scotland.

Supporting and promoting a culture of personal developmentWe want everyone to reach their full personal and career potential. To equip people with the confidence and skills they need to support our clients, we invest in our people from the moment they join. Our structured induction programme has been designed to give our people the best start in their new role, making sure they are fully integrated into the business with all the knowledge, skills and new relationships they need to make a success of their role. We help our people to understand our inclusive and supportive culture, vision and values, make sure they know who to speak with to get all of their questions answered and signpost them to development opportunities.

We have structured career paths for ALL our staff. We work with a range of first-class providers, all delivering “best in class” programmes designed to enhance the skills and expertise in our business and, crucially, to ensure all of our people are able to enjoy long and rewarding careers with us. It is not just the technical training (of which there is plenty) but there is also a focus on developing broader business, commercial and people skills to ensure we can deliver a first class service to our clients.

Access to working in Law We have pioneered a number of routes into the legal profession. Our successful Graduate Scheme has helped the firm to become the highest ranked law firm in the Top 100 destinations for school leavers.

Our first apprenticeship programme was launched in 2014 and since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. We have 38 apprentices who are signed up to a variety of apprenticeships including, Legal, Paralegal, Solicitor, HR, Facilities, Administrator and IT. We launched our Solicitor Apprenticeship in 2017, we currently have 5 Solicitor Apprentices on the programme in Newcastle and Southampton.

We have a wider focus on social mobility and encourage applicants from all universities, and are building links outside the Russell Group universities including Huddersfield, Northumbria, Teesside, Swansea, Plymouth, Coventry and Greenwich.

We are supporting a variety of routes to qualification in the profession outside of the traditional qualification route. We have a number of people studying towards their CILEx qualification and are also supporting some individuals in their applications for qualification via equivalent means.

We have won a number of awards including the Newcomer Large Employer Award at the National Apprenticeship Awards, and were Highly Commended in the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards for our apprenticeship scheme and have also won the Business Leaders Employer of the Year Awards.

People


I joined the Audit Committee at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in 2014 and was elected as Chair of the committee in 2017. BALTIC is a major international centre for art and has a prominent place in the North East’s cultural community.

The Audit Committee plays a key role in the governance of the BALTIC and its activities include scrutiny and overview of the external audit process and risk management. Through my role I have developed a number of skills including leadership, corporate governance, effective communication, and risk

management. It also offers the opportunity to be part of a dynamic and growing arts organisation and to use my skills and knowledge to make a positive difference in the local community.

The firm has been very supportive of my role at BALTIC and I use employee volunteering days to attend meetings. Local charities benefit hugely from volunteers in the business community who bring experience, expertise and commitment to enhancing the success of such organisations. I would strongly urge others to become involved!

Volunteer Case Study – Ruth Wintersgill – Chair of the Audit Committee for the Baltic Centre for Arts

Flexible WorkingWe want to be an employer of choice for lawyers, professional advisers, secretarial and support teams and to recruit and retain the best talent. This means responding to the needs of our people and their desire to work more flexibly. At WBD we know that getting the work-life balance right is important and we are proud to support flexible working. After a qualifying period, we offer all employees the opportunity to request to work flexibly. Applications for flexible working, including home working, are made through our Flexible Working policy.

We want to encourage a strong work and family partnership, and try to be as flexible as possible. We were able to accept over 90% of all flexible working request received in 2017.

Health and WellbeingOur health and wellbeing strategy is a holistic framework that ensures our people are supported and enriched within their work life. We believe a healthier workforce means employees are more motivated and productive. We know wellbeing directly impacts our employee engagement and we strive to ensure our employees are fully engaged with our business.

We drive our health and wellbeing campaign with activity around healthy body, healthy diet and healthy mind. We have Health and Wellbeing Advocates across the business to assist in the implementation of health and wellbeing initiatives in all of our offices.

A key focus for us has been mental health. We have done a significant amount of work to build a culture that respects and embraces mental wellbeing and aim to do as much as we can to raise awareness of mental health and provide support to those who need it. We supported Mental Health Awareness week in 2017 and 2018 with a programme of activities that have included a seminar run by MIND exploring the spectrum of mental health and how we can remain healthy. We have provided Mindfulness taster sessions across our offices and also workshops to explore how sleep is an essential factor in the management of stress.

We signed the Time to Change employer pledge to illustrate our commitment to our people and received excellent feedback from the assessors on our past activity and future plans. The firm has rolled out full Mental Health First Aid Training to 22 Mental Health First Aiders based across our offices, which comprise of every level of job, with a gender and age mix so that all of our people can connect to them.

Our mental health first aiders are available to both give initial support and signpost to relevant services. This includes our Employee Assistance Programme, which is a free and confidential service which offers support, information and expert advice to help people prepare for unexpected milestones and events. Counselling, paid for by the firm, is also available to our people.

Other initiatives include step challenges, healthy eating activity and inter-office sports challenges. We value the benefit of physical wellbeing and support a range of physical activities throughout our offices, with the opportunities to be involved in team sports. We also offer an annual voluntary flu jab.

Investors in People – A commitment to focusing on what matters most to our People.We were delighted to be one of the first businesses in the UK to have been awarded an accreditation against the sixth generation Investors in People Standard, demonstrating our commitment to focusing on what matters most to our people and promoting a culture of high performance.

We are committed to reviewing our progress against the Investors in People framework each year to ensure we remain a business known for valuing its people. Our current standard has been awarded at the Silver Level.

People



Why I volunteerGrowing up in a violent home can really have an effect on a child’s future. Despite what my family went through I always knew I didn’t want to be one of those children and I wanted to make a good life for myself and do well in my career etc. I know that things don’t end up that way for everyone. I wanted to do what I could to help others and make a difference – especially those who may now be going through what I went through. I had always tried to ‘do my bit’ for charities from a young age and when I was in school I organised a fashion show to raise money, then in later life I took part in many events and also became part of a committee for Relay for Life (Cancer Research UK). But as I got older I know ultimately I wanted to do more for those who’d been in a situation like mine. The organisation for which I volunteerAbout 12 years ago, when I was working for a different firm, details of an event circulated for a charity called Survive. Survive was a small, local specialist domestic abuse charity. I had never heard of dedicated charity like this before and when I realised they had been operating for over 30 years in the local area, I instantly thought that help was there for my mum and me and my siblings. It made me want to do something – raise awareness and money for this cause. I thought people need to know about this charity.

What I did during my volunteering periodIn the 12 years I volunteered for Survive I have been the chair of the fundraising committee, helping to raise over £75,000 for this charity. Given I worked in events at the time, I knew I could put those skills to good use. We organised many events over the years, I attended and spoke at business breakfasts, trying to encourage others (individuals and corporates) to support Survive. I also wrote a poem about my experience, hoping it would help others. My biggest personal achievement was getting Survive selected as our regional charity in 2015. We raised over £11,000 in over 2 years – the most any corporate sponsorship had raised. But more than that, we raised awareness for the charity. If, as a firm, we helped 1 person – It would be worth it. The support from the firmThe Firm supported me at every stage. Whether that was flexibility in terms attending monthly meetings or allowing me to use my volunteer days – even when Survive was not our nominated charity. The support from the entire office during our 2 years of support was amazing – so many people recognised the amazing work they carried out and supported in so many different ways – time, donations, networking and financial support from the firm. I know that the firm would be supportive of other initiatives I wanted to get involved in to continue helping those in need. That support is one of the main reasons I joined our internal Diversity & Inclusion group – the Firm really has allowed me to do something I was passionate about and be my real self.

Volunteer case study – Rebecca Baker volunteering for Survive

We understand that a failure by us to comply with our statutory and regulatory obligations (such as data privacy, anti-bribery and corruption, modern slavery, financial crime, anti-money laundering and equality) could have an impact on our clients’ reputation through their association with us – we take this responsibility very seriously.

Clients


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Risk Management A coherent and strong culture helps shape our collective identity, influencing how we do things and how we work together. Our Client Service Principles and Charter help us provide a consistent experience for our clients and sets out the service that any client can expect to receive when they work with us. These are the minimum standards (i.e. we shouldn’t expect anything less) we set ourselves when delivering our services to clients and by which we should hold ourselves to account. We understand that a failure by us to comply with our statutory and regulatory obligations (such as data privacy, anti-bribery and corruption, modern slavery, financial crime, anti-money laundering and equality) could have an impact on our clients’ reputation through their association with us – we take this responsibility very seriously. We train our people to understand our statutory and regulatory obligations and to appreciate the consequences which breach will have, not only on our business but on our clients too.

Our Board leads and supports a risk aware culture by embedding an effective risk management structure into our daily routines and encouraging best practice throughout the firm. Our determination to align and embed our risk management structure is underpinned by independent accreditation awarded through ISO9001 (quality management), ISO27001 (information security), and Investors in People Standards. We have a dedicated Risk and Best Practice Team which is responsible

for documenting, communicating, maintaining and auditing compliance with our policies and procedures, and Risk and Security Champions in each legal and support team.

We are committed to conducting our business with honesty and integrity, and we expect all people to maintain the same high standards and comply with our regulatory obligations. We actively encourage our people to report breaches and any wrong doing as soon as possible in the knowledge that any concerns will be taken seriously and investigated as appropriate.

Environmental sustainability We are committed to enhancing our environmental performance and finding sustainable ways to improve our environmental management. We are a founding member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, an inclusive movement of leading law firms and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take positive action on climate change by measuring, reducing and reporting on their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable practices. We also work alongside our clients and suppliers, taking every opportunity to align our environmental strategies. We specifically focus on managing and minimising energy use and waste management, resource consumption and travel.

Our activity in 2017/2018 has included the following: · In 2017 we achieved full ISO14001

accreditation with no major non-conformities. · Our latest carbon report for 2017

(published in 2018) has shown a further drop to 1.93 CO2 tonnes per employee, the 5th consecutive year of reduction. · We are investing in two electric

vans in our Bristol and Southampton office. · We have started a major

campaign to eradicate all plastics in our working environment and have started to measure waste at individual office level. · We are liaising with Planet Mark

about carbon offsetting and international travel. · In addition to the above we have

introduced a new travel policy which has placed more emphasis on environmental considerations. · Where we do extensive office

refurbishment we ensure we improve our EPC rating. · The firm’s environmental approach

is supported by Environmental Representatives operating from each of our offices who promote and engage our people to support environmentally positive behaviours.

Responsible business practices

Above: Legal Sustainability Alliance 10th Anniversary dinner held at our office in London.

We reduced our carbon emissions by

16% last year

Legal Sustainability Alliance’s 2018 Carbon Report.


Communities:· To further develop our 3Es

programme of supporting projects relating to education, employability and entrepreneurship with specific reference to supporting literacy, reading schemes and mentoring projects in all our offices.

· Continue to develop our support for foodbanks close to our offices and support related charities/projects (homeless, and food poverty).

· Develop a more unified approach across our offices to ensure we are supporting projects which provide social value.

· Review our Pro Bono activity and source suitable pro bono projects which are aligned to our Responsible Business focus.

· Assess how we measure our social value impact.

Diversity and Inclusion:

· Continue to keep our #beyourself campaign visible.

· Continue to build upon D&I training, support programme and effective leadership. This will include unconscious bias training to senior leaders, encouraging our female lawyers and support teams to put themselves forward for promotion, and using flexible working effectively.

· Consider our recruitment practices to recruit from a wider talent pool and internal targets for gender (and other) representation and how best to achieve them.

· Obtain and review work force metrics and benchmark them within and outside of the legal sector with a view to increasing diversity.

· Continue to review our progress against the Investors in People framework.

Environmental:

· Aim to reduce our overall emission per employee by 30% by 2020.

· Support environmental

Representatives to promote the firm’s policy to eradicate single use plastic.

· Work with Planet Earth to explore approaches to carbon offset and international travel.

· Implement our environmental policy through the development of an internationally recognised management system.

· Reduce the environmental impacts of our transport use through regular assessment of staff modes of transport and the avoidance of unnecessary travel by use of video and telephone conferencing with colleagues and clients

Begin to map out our objectives against the UN Global Compact Principles and Goals

Our objectives for 2018/2019



Our Responsible Business programme is co-ordinated by our Responsible Business group, which includes our Chairman, Simon Richardson. The group is responsible for the overall strategy and delivery of the programme, and has committed to report on the outcomes and achievements of the firm’s Responsible Business activity.

Our Responsible Business programme is made-up of a number of core areas which is partner led. See below.

WBD-UK Responsible Business Team

Charitable Giving & VolunteeringSimon Richardson (Chairman and Partner) Sally Dallow (Partner)

Pro BonoSally Dallow (Partner)

Diversity and InclusionPaula Dillon (Partner and D&I Board Sponsor)

EnvironmentalMartin Hall (Head of Facilities) Simon Richardson (Chairman and Partner) Stuart Wardlaw (Partner of Environmental)

MarketplaceNicki Shepherd (General Counsel)

WorkplaceTheresa Wilde (HR Director)

Responsible Business ManagerAsmah Baig

Simon Richardson

Sally Dallow

Stuart Wardlaw

Nicki Shepherd

Asmah Baig

Paula Dillon Martin Hall

Theresa Wilde



University of Southampton Cancer Research CentreNeonatal Intensive Care Unit at Derriford HospitalMental Health MattersBig Sleep Cumbria Community FoundationRonald Macdonald HouseHuntington Disease AssociationThe British Heart FoundationStroke AssociationShekiniah Mission In PlymouthFoundation for Liver ResearchCLAN, Cancer SupportMacMillan Cancer SupportHospitality and Hope Mary's MealsComic ReliefBrain Tumour TrustSarcoma UKRNLIMarie CurieTransplant GamesWalk the WalkYouth LegalBristol Children's HospitalElifar FoundationBradley Lowery FoundationBreast Cancer CareSalvation Army Breakfast ClubParkinson's UK

Juvenile Diabetes Research FundTeenage Cancer TrustBritish Red CrossNoah's Ark Children's HospiceChildren in NeedCancer ResearchAlzheimer’s SocietyJeans for GenesThe Northern Head and Neck Cancer CharityGo PinkCLIC SargentNorthumberland Youth Scheme AwardsDoddie Weir TrustBobby Robson FoundationProstrate Cancer UKThe People's KitchenHelp Bristol's HomelessHeadwaySolent MindSociety of St JamesLand AidHelp Bristol's HomelessBeing Brunel (Founder Member)Mayflower 400 (Founder Member) SPIFOXLord's TavernersHerts Young HomelessNaomi House

Other Charities we have supported

Right: Maggies ‘Always in my heart’ messages. The Burgess Park Food Project, London.

© Copyright 2018 Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP. All rights reserved. This communication is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, or other professional advice so should not be relied on for any purposes. You should consult a suitably qualified lawyer or other relevant professional on a specific problem or matter. Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. “Womble Bond Dickinson”, the “law firm” or the “firm” refers to the network of member firms of Womble Bond Dickinson (International) Limited consisting of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. Each of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP and Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP is a separate legal entity operating as an independent law firm. Womble Bond Dickinson (International) Limited does not practise law. Please see https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/uk/legal-notices for further details.

Documents

RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS REPORT - Womble Bond Dickinson · Responsible Business Report 03 Contents Awards and achievements 04 Introduction 05 Our areas of focus 06 Communities, People,