Welcome to Lewis Silkin
Hong Kong
Our collective desire is to have a positive impact beyond doing great work for our clients. We’re committed to playing a role in creating a more equitable society, and to conducting our business in a responsible way which seeks to reduce our impact on the environment.
We recognise that social mobility and sustainability are the areas where we have the potential to make the biggest positive impact, and organise our responsible business activities around these two themes.
We also have a significant pro bono programme and fundraise for charity; where possible we align these activities to our strategic themes.
Everyone at Lewis Silkin is empowered and expected to complete 30 hours of responsible business and/or DE&I activity each financial year. This could mean getting involved in responsible business activities organised through the firm, skilled volunteering or volunteering in the local community, acting as a Trustee, working to embed responsible business internally, or fundraising activities for our firmwide charity, the Sutton Trust.
We have four responsible business groups within the firm (education and social mobility, sustainability, pro bono and fundraising). The groups are made up of colleagues with an interest in or experience of the focus area, and their purpose is to raise awareness of and take action on the issues that they represent.
Lewis Silkin has generously supported onboard:earth across a number of vital areas. Their input has helped us professionalise our relationships and navigate some challenges with confidence. Their support has enabled us to start a new chapter in the charity's mission 'to put low carbon travel at the heart of live events culture'.
Responsible Business is at the heart of Lewis Silkin. It connects us to our past; it informs the decisions we make day-to-day; and it gives us the opportunity to be part of building a better future. A future that allows people to succeed regardless of their background; a future that is environmentally conscious; and a future in which we play our part in ensuring that those who need it have access to legal advice and support.
Lewis Silkin's support has been invaluable to us, and business critical as we fight for funding to help drive diversity and fair representation across the marketing, advertising and creative industries. We consider them to be an essential and integral part of our business. A HUGE thank you to everyone at Lewis Silkin from the Brixton Finishing School Team!
Pro bono work allows us to help people and organisations who would otherwise be unable to access legal support. My own experience is that it is extremely rewarding to give something back, and that our clients are increasingly interested in responsible business activity, including pro bono. And as many charities and community groups rely on pro bono advice, I also believe that using our skills and expertise to help them is the right thing to do. The value of this work speaks to who we are as a firm – a team of talented, brave and kind people.
We’re motivated and committed to do the right thing and to help play our part in building a more sustainable future. For us, this means that we support the next generation of talent through our social mobility initiatives and managing and reducing our own environmental impacts over the long term. It also means we support and work in partnership with charities and non-profits with values that align with our own and where the skills of our people can make a real difference.
Lewis Silkin has generously supported onboard:earth across a number of vital areas. Their input has helped us professionalise our relationships and navigate some challenges with confidence. Their support has enabled us to start a new chapter in the charity's mission 'to put low carbon travel at the heart of live events culture'.
Responsible Business is at the heart of Lewis Silkin. It connects us to our past; it informs the decisions we make day-to-day; and it gives us the opportunity to be part of building a better future. A future that allows people to succeed regardless of their background; a future that is environmentally conscious; and a future in which we play our part in ensuring that those who need it have access to legal advice and support.
Lewis Silkin's support has been invaluable to us, and business critical as we fight for funding to help drive diversity and fair representation across the marketing, advertising and creative industries. We consider them to be an essential and integral part of our business. A HUGE thank you to everyone at Lewis Silkin from the Brixton Finishing School Team!
Pro bono work allows us to help people and organisations who would otherwise be unable to access legal support. My own experience is that it is extremely rewarding to give something back, and that our clients are increasingly interested in responsible business activity, including pro bono. And as many charities and community groups rely on pro bono advice, I also believe that using our skills and expertise to help them is the right thing to do. The value of this work speaks to who we are as a firm – a team of talented, brave and kind people.
We’re motivated and committed to do the right thing and to help play our part in building a more sustainable future. For us, this means that we support the next generation of talent through our social mobility initiatives and managing and reducing our own environmental impacts over the long term. It also means we support and work in partnership with charities and non-profits with values that align with our own and where the skills of our people can make a real difference.
Lewis Silkin has generously supported onboard:earth across a number of vital areas. Their input has helped us professionalise our relationships and navigate some challenges with confidence. Their support has enabled us to start a new chapter in the charity's mission 'to put low carbon travel at the heart of live events culture'.
We firmly believe that the job your parents did, what school you went to or where you live should not affect your life chances. Our social mobility programme is focused on helping young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our main aim is to play a role in raising their aspirations and reducing the impact of inequalities, by providing them with the tools and resources they need to succeed.
Our firm is named after Lewis Silkin, whose story of social mobility continues to inspire us. His family were refugees from Lithuania and he was brought up in poverty, but qualified as a solicitor before becoming an MP and government minister. His determination helped inspire our ethos of bravery and kindness, which underpins how we act as a socially and environmentally sustainable business.
We have a firmwide charity partnership with social mobility charity the Sutton Trust. We work together to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds access the legal profession and to contribute to improving social mobility.
We participate in the Sutton Trust’s flagship ‘Pathways to Law’ programme, which is specifically designed to help address social mobility challenges in the legal sector. The programme helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds access higher education, including through providing training in soft skills and work experience opportunities.
Hear from our Responsible Business and Sustainability Manager’. - Lewis Silkin announces new charity partnership with the Sutton Trust
We’re proud members of PRIME, an alliance of law firms committed to improving socio-economic diversity within and access to the legal profession. As members we host annual work experience placements for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
We are ranked 14th on the Social Mobility Employer Index 2023, having rapidly improved our ranking over recent years. We now fall within the Top 10 law firms in the UK. The index ranks UK employers according to changes they are making to how they find, recruit and advance talented employees from less privileged backgrounds.
We have four internal responsible business groups, which include colleagues from all areas of the firm. One of these is the Education and Social Mobility Group, which runs a wide range of initiatives including our flagship Lewis Silkin mentoring scheme (which has won a SOMO bronze award). Other initiatives include our cold spot outreach sessions – virtual careers workshops delivered to students in schools in areas where there are lower levels of social mobility, virtual and in-person primary school reading schemes and our Nikki and Ellen Scholarship Scheme – providing financial support to bright young people embarking on their university career.
As a law firm, we have a unique responsibility to use our skills and expertise to help those who would otherwise be unable to access justice - which is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of a fair and just society. We’re committed to providing time and resource to support our pro bono clients.
This initiative provides a series of pro bono webinars for UK-based charities and not-for-profit organisations, giving them access to a holistic programme of free training covering a wide range of legal and governance issues such as workplace resilience, crypto assets, strategic planning and digital marketing.
This initiative provides a series of pro bono webinars for UK-based charities and not-for-profit organisations, giving them access to a holistic programme of free training covering a wide range of legal and governance issues such as workplace resilience, crypto assets, strategic planning and digital marketing.