How we do business at Lawrence Stephens is a reflection of who we are. And what we stand for. In delivering the best legal advice to our clients, we want to act responsibly. That means taking our responsibilities seriously.
We aim to ensure that our business operates in a socially conscious and environmentally sustainable manner and that we become a more diverse and inclusive workplace. Corporate Social Responsibility is therefore paramount in our everyday working practices.
We focus on:
Each year, events are held to raise money for a chosen charity and to promote its work. We are delighted to announce Trekstock as our chosen charity of the year 2024 – a cause very close to our hearts. Over the course of the year, our staff will organise events and activities to raise money and promote the vital work of Trekstock.
Many of the internal events that we hold (for example our Bake-Off in March) bring together our people in support of a great cause.
Jeff Rubenstein, Senior Director and Head of the Charity Committee says: "Our charity and fundraising work is part of what makes Lawrence Stephens a people business. From our committee-run events and activities to our overall fundraising efforts, we are committed to promoting the vital work of charities and showing our support for causes and organisations close to our hearts. We work hard to raise awareness for charities we care deeply about, and our ongoing dedication to fundraising is such an important part of the work we do.”
We are committed to encouraging our staff and, where possible, our clients to minimise the impact of our business activities on the environment. Key steps include:
Of growing significance for businesses everywhere, diversity and inclusion (D&I) have become a commercial and cultural imperative for future success. Actions matched by results are now expected at every level of an organisation by management, employees and clients, as well as by regulators and stakeholders.
Our commitment to promoting D&I is underpinned by robust policies and by recruiting from the widest possible talent pool.
We encourage an environment where the culture and ethnicity of every person can be celebrated, enabling them to flourish and thrive. We welcome individuals from lots of different backgrounds, this is also reflected in the number of languages that are widely spoken between us.
We’re always looking for collaborative original thinkers to join our inclusive, welcoming culture. With ongoing training, comprehensive benefits, firm-wide volunteer efforts and more, we provide rich unique opportunities for personal and professional fulfilment.
Every effort is made to encourage women to return to work from maternity leave. We have a policy that applies to all employees, full-time and part-time. We also recognise that arrangements for cover during the period of maternity leave and additional leave, as well as arrangements for communication during maternity leave, are important for ensuring smooth transitions at every stage. Some benefits include, contractual holiday entitlement (which continues to accrue), keeping in touch days and a staggered return to full time hours.
We are proud to share that one of our solicitors have recently launched a wellbeing initiative, our approach is unique. We are very excited for this initiative that will help ensure our staff’s wellbeing as a core focus. The Senior Directors are keen to ensure that we all look after our mental and physical health as much as we possibly can, which is why we have our LS Wellness initiative. The initiative is designed to encourage and provide the resources to support everyone’s physical and mental wellbeing and is headed up by Christina Ioannou, who is a certified Health Coach from the College of Naturopathic Medicine. Katherine Zangana, is our fully qualified Mental Health First Aider.
In addition to providing on-the-job training, particularly through working on Director-led teams, we offer extensive legal education, training and professional skills programmes.
We also have a firm-wide mentoring scheme for new starters. Under the solicitor scheme, every solicitor is paired with a Director or Senior Associate from the same practice area (or they can specify a Director or Senior Associate of a specific gender, background or from outside their practice area). It is a fantastic opportunity to receive regular advice and support from a designated senior member of the team. As well as access to a business development programme. This is documented in our Career Development Guide. We place a great deal of importance in making sure that all fee-earners have exposure to this skill set, not only because they are the future of the firm but, their success also depends on being able to demonstrate some of these skills.