Our culture

'People here come from a wide range of backgrounds. They relish the new and the different. And no matter how busy they are, their doors are always open. So whatever the problem, there's always someone who can help you solve it.'
Farah Ispahani, corporate partner

We try to create a friendly, inclusive and supportive environment in which making time for each other is important and everyone's contribution is valued.

We prize the individuality of the people who work here and are committed to sustaining a culture that nurtures talent and enables individuals to thrive. We also strive to engender a culture of trust, outstanding teamwork and excellence. Central to this is a working environment that attracts a diverse range of people and enables them to flourish. It also means investing in communities to help develop people's potential and encouraging talented people, whatever their background, to consider working for a firm like ours.

Memberships

We are members of the Employers' Forum on Disability, Opportunity Now (an organisation representing employers who want to transform the workplace by ensuring inclusiveness for women), Race for Opportunity, and Stonewall Diversity Champions (a programme operated by Stonewall to promote gay, lesbian, and bisexual equality in the workplace).

We aim to use these memberships more effectively during 2009 so we can benefit from their knowledge and experience. In particular, given the number of female trainees we recruit each year, we recognise that we need to review our working practices and environment to determine whether changes can be made to encourage women lawyers to stay longer with the firm in general and, in particular, become eligible for partnership selection. To this end, our associate engagement group continues to explore the issues around flexible working and alternative career paths, and its recommendations will be considered by the diversity working group.

Underpinning our firm, our work and our commitment to be socially and environmentally responsible, is a set of values and behaviours we strive towards: integrity; excellence; understanding of our clients and our communities; teamwork; and imagination.

Find out more about our firm at www.freshfields.com