We aim to be a socially and environmentally responsible business and make the following commitments.

  • To promote human rights and improve access to justice for people in need
  • To have a positive impact on the communities in which we work, and beyond
  • To minimise our contribution to climate change
  • To attract and retain people from a diverse pool of talent
  • To be an excellent employer

Go to our online CSR report to see how we are measuring up. The report covers our offices around the world.

Assurance

We are the only major international law firm to produce an externally assured CSR report using the AA1000 international assurance standard and the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. We also use the London Benchmarking Group model to evaluate our community and pro bono activities and the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management to analyse our carbon footprint.

Recent CSR awards

  • Winner, 2009 CSR Programme of the Year, Legal Business. ‘By increasing transparency, Freshfields has undeniably pushed CSR at law firms to a new level.’ (Our international carbon neutral status was also cited.)
  • Winner, 2008 Law Firm of the Year Award, The Lawyer Awards (UK). Our CSR achievements were a contributing factor in winning this award.
  • ‘Standout’ in the responsible business category of the 2008 Financial Times Innovative Lawyers report. We were praised for being the first major international law firm to audit ourselves as a responsible business: ‘[this] has had a ripple effect in the legal sector, encouraging other firms to start similar work’.
  • Highly commended, 2008 Law Society Awards, Excellence in Social Responsibility category, for being the first firm to produce an independently verified international CSR report, for our broad and successful range of CSR initiatives, and for taking a ‘bold step’ in identifying areas of improvement and setting targets. ‘Their approach demonstrates clear leadership in reporting and transparency and shows that their activity is not cosmetic.’

News

Freshfields corporate partner relocates to Dubai View

Freshfields bolsters US litigation practice View

Awards

Acquisition of the Year 2009 - The acquisition of Gatwick Airport - IJ Awards (2009)

APAC Infrastructure Deal of the Year 2009 - Project Finance Magazine (2009)

View all awards