| SJ Berwin | Standout | International Lawyers for Africa: work placements to young African lawyers through a network of 16 City law firms. | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | The firm mobilised other law firms to help develop the legal profession in Africa through teaching skills and professionalism. A multi-layered program with scalability. Sustainable, as it benefits both the overlooked African professional class and Western business. |
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| Allen & Overy | Standout | Helping a local secondary school, Bethnal Green Technology College, to come out of 'special measures' through a comprehensive partnership. | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 | The firm entered into a formal agreement with a troubled school which locks it into long-term assistance. Combined with other high levels of involvement, particularly at secondary school level, this is unusual. |
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| DLA Piper | Standout | Legal Sector Alliance: an initiative to get law firms to act together on climate change. | 7 | 8 | 5 | 20 | Without DLA Piper, the LSA would not exist. The thinking is that although law firms are not prime polluters, they are huge employers of people and do have environmental impact. This seeks to mobilise law firms to work together to create a footprinting tool for the sector. |
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| Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer | Standout | First audited international CSR report. | 8 | 7 | 5 | 20 | The first firm to take basic steps to auditing themselves as a responsible business internationally. This involved a major internal audit and has had a ripple effect in the legal sector, encouraging other firms to start similar work. |
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| Arthur Cox | Highly commended | Involvement in change in the business community: senior AC lawyers influence improvements in corporate Ireland through advisory positions. | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | Senior partners have been influential in shaping the Company Law Review and the Financial Services Review in Ireland, two of the major reform projects of recent years. Overall commitment to public service is impressive. |
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| Clifford Chance | Highly commended | Skills for Life Development Programme: a training programme for the firm's in-house contractors set up with Inner London Training. | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | An unusual move for a City employer to actively improve the its catering contractors, helping them to achieve basic qualifications. Innovative in terms of its scale, ownership and the fact the firm is taking a look at its whole supply chain. |
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| DLA Piper | Highly commended | MOBI 3 Paris: Unique CSR collaboration between DLA Piper, major French companies and the French Ministry of Education to help underprivileged schoolchildren. | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | Driven by DLA, the breakthrough was getting top companies to work with the Ministry of Education. It sought to engage children, imaginatively, in the world of work. Intelligent choice of corporate partners saw Dassault contributing interactive 3D technology to liven up the sessions. |
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| Various firms | Highly commended | A4ID - Advocates for International Development: connecting lawyers who want to do pro bono work in this area. | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | A focused collaboration of commercial lawyers, students, academics and the judiciary to work towards the UN Millennium Development goals. It enables Western professionals to actively and directly use their core skills to help NGOs and developing countries. |
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| Addleshaw Goddard | Commended | An engaging CSR website and blog written by the CSR manager. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Although a CSR microsite is not unique, this site is particularly engaging and inspiring for employees. |
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| Clifford Chance | Commended | Monitoring the trial of Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia. The firm is instrumental in creating a blog on the daily proceedings so that West Africans are informed. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Nineteen Clifford Chance lawyers attend the trial daily and update a blog that the firm designed and funded. Perfect alignment of the firm's global resources with its commitment to human rights, international justice the and rule of law. |
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| Garrigues | Commended | Pro bono project with the World Bank: teaching Latin American judges the basics of accounting. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | A contribution to the World Bank's Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) training programme via an initiative from the firm's partners who developed and taught the course so judges can get a basic grasp of insolvency and restructuring. |
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| Garrigues | Commended | CSR report. | 7 | 6 | 5 | 18 | First Spanish law firm to produce a CSR report under Global Reporting Initiative guidelines. |
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| Herbert Smith | Commended | King's Cross Business Action Group: encouraging community enterprise at a grass roots level. | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 | One of the founder members of the London Group, which works to increase the value of the development for the local community. Long-term commitment to a variety of initiatives. |
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| Mayer Brown | Commended | Mediation advice clinic. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | A fortnightly mediation clinic set up with LawWorks, one of the first to be set up in the UK to help people avoid the time and worry involved in litigation. |
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| Trowers & Hamlins | Commended | East Potential scheme: a series of work placements to East Londoners with housing difficulty. | 5 | 6 | 7 | 18 | A slightly different work placement scheme that emphasises 'actual' work experience which has led to permanent employment. |
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| Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii | Commended | Pro bono support to national and international communities. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | First free legal assistance programme for Romanian nationals in Italy. Proactive response to a diplomatic crisis triggered by the murder of an Italian by a Romanian national. |
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| Uría Menéndez | Commended | Solidarity law school: teaching 9-12 year old under-privileged school children about the law. | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Part of a well thought-out programme of public education, initiated and designed by the firm. It goes beyond just teaching about the law and includes education on values, respect and tolerance. |
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