Boutique firm first to commit to ethical quality mark


Brocklesby: Behaving fairly

A niche London disputes practice has become the first law firm to sign up to the Good Business Charter (GBC) – an ethical business initiative that includes such commitments as to employee wellbeing and paying suppliers quickly.

Bellevue Law joins major companies such as Deloitte, Capita, Brompton Bicycles and Richer Sounds in pledging to abide by the 10-point charter, which launched this month.

The GBC initiative stems from the work of a charity, the Good Business Foundation (GBF), which is backed by both the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress.

The charter is partnered with the Living Wage Foundation, the Ethical Trading Initiative and the Prompt Payment Code, among others.

The 10 commitments are to: paying a real living wage, fairer hours and contracts, employee wellbeing, employee representation, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, paying fair tax, a commitment to customers, ethical sourcing, and prompt payment to suppliers.

Florence Brocklesby, Bellevue’s founder, said being accredited by the quality mark was a “recognition of [our] commitment to behaving fairly to our people, our clients and our suppliers, and conducting our business responsibly and sustainably”.

She said: “We support the charter as it encourages and recognises responsible business practices. Increasingly, clients and suppliers are looking to work with ethical businesses, and GBC accreditation allows them to identify these.”

Asked what adaptations the firm would need to make to achieve compliance, she said the application was easier because many good business practices were already embedded.

“We won’t need to make many substantive changes, as we have always tried to run the firm ethically, but the charter requires us to formalise this.”

Four-fifths of Bellevue’s staff are women and all of its employees are working parents who work on a flexible basis.

Ms Brocklesby added: “The application process is straightforward and I’d encourage any business committed to good practice to sign up. We’re proud to be a member of the GBC family.”

GBF chief executive Jenny Herrera said: “When people choose a law firm to represent them we believe they will want to favour ones that as well as helping them get results, also treat their staff well and care about their impact on the environment.

“We hope law firms of all sizes will seize this opportunity to show the public they are committed to doing business responsibly.”

Back in 2015, London firm Bates Wells became the first UK law firm to gain ‘B Corporation’ certification, recognising its commitment to social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

As part of the process, the firm had to amend its LLP deed to provide that it was not just run for the benefit of the partners.

Innovative London firm Radiant Law became the second last year, while there are 33 other law firms around the world – particularly in the US – that are B-Corps too.




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Civil enforcement – progress at last with CJC report

‘When do I get my money?’ is a question that litigators acting for successful parties are used to fielding. The value of judgments is of course in the recovery made.


Paralegals: Progression and recognition are key to retaining talent

Many lawyers could not do their jobs without the support of paralegals and for law firms to remain competitive, paralegals need to be central to their business.


PII excess: a growing risk for consultant solicitors

As more solicitors choose to work as consultants, a concerning contractual trend has emerged – the passing of professional indemnity insurance excess liabilities onto consultants.


Loading animation