Category: Better business

From volunteering to events for our chosen charities, the AC team have so many opportunities to get involved.

Social purpose is at the heart of everything we do at Anthony Collins (AC). Outside their work roles, we also want to help our teams pursue opportunities they are passionate about. This might be attending meetings as a school governor or even acting as umpire chair at the Commonwealth Games.   

We also have a steering group that coordinates a programme of volunteering and fundraising events. Working together, they’re giving more structure to the volunteering and pro bono work we do with charities and making sure more plans turn into action, enthusing and encouraging those across the firm to take part. This started by picking two new charities to support regularly.

Our charity partnerships

We have long-standing partnerships with a handful of charities including the Child Brain Injury Trust (CBIT), The Cauda Equina Champions Charity and The UK Sepsis Trust. Now we’re supporting two more charities – St Basils and Birmingham Mind.

We felt these organisations reflected our commitment to caring for society, as well as being in line with our areas of expertise such as housing and protecting vulnerable people in our society and the firm’s principles.

We’ve already started raising funds for these brilliant charities. Many of our team trained for and ran the Birmingham Half Marathon to support Birmingham Mind. Together they raised £1,567.72 for the charity.

Helping St Basils tackle homelessness

We believe in looking at the bigger picture to solve today’s challenges – and so do St Basils. As a charity and housing association, their services focus on supporting individuals aged between 16 – 25 at risk of homelessness by providing accommodation and developing their skills. However, they also aim to influence national policy and create systemic change.

Having previously regularly taken part in The Big Sleepout for St Basils, in 2022 we sponsored and hosted a table at their 50th-anniversary gala dinner. This was a true opportunity, post-pandemic, for longer-term supporters of St Basils to celebrate the thousands of young people supported by the charity. Two AC teams also took part in Hike for the Homeless while others acted as marshals at Woof Run, a fun obstacle course for dogs and their owners.

One of the highlights for the AC team was helping with the St Basils’ Christmas market stall in the Cathedral Christmas Market. A group of 21 employees took turns staffing the stall which was raising money by selling Christmas cards and hosting a ‘buzz-wire’ game to win a cuddly bear.

Carol’s Commonwealth Games experience

Our organised firmwide programme of events gives anyone the chance to get involved. We have up to 250 days available each year, three days per person, for staff and partners to volunteer in an organisation that brings benefits to the community and that align with the values of the firm.

Many of the team find their own opportunities like Carol Wilson. When she heard the Commonwealth Games was coming to Birmingham, she knew straightaway she wanted to get involved as it might not be held here again.

Carol also felt it was important to make sure there was representation from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds. She also wanted to ensure they had enough volunteers to make it a success.

Carol volunteered for 6 days and was given the role of umpire chair. The umpire chair was at the entrance of Smithfield situated by the beach volleyball, 3″x”3 basketball and a festival site. Most of the announcements she made were about the competitions for the day and safety information.

“Our social purpose volunteering scheme gives people the freedom to focus on the areas they are passionate about. If there’s something they want to do or a charity they want to support as it close to them, then we want to support that and give them the time to do it outside their role.”
Emma Hardman, partner, Anthony Collins

When the main shareholder decided to step back, we helped Fitzgerald Contractors become employee-owned.

Fitzgerald Contractors is a civil engineering firm that employs 120 people and will soon celebrate its 75th anniversary. The business specialises in completing infrastructure across the UK, with an annual turnover of £30 million.

As the majority shareholder in the business, Nick Coley began to think about stepping back from leading and owning Fitzgerald Contractors. Traditionally, this would mean looking for a buyer – either a competitor, an investor or sometimes the current management. But Fitzgerald Contractors wanted a way to secure the future of the business and support the people who make the firm what it is.

How it works

We believe how an organisation is owned reflects its values and can transform how they do business and who benefits. While there are different models for a business owned by its workers, using an employee ownership trust (EOT) made a lot of sense for a sizeable business like Fitzgerald Contractors.

Setting up an EOT means transferring at least 51% of the company’s shares into a trust. The shares are legally owned by a trustee (or trustees) who hold those shares on behalf of all the employees, all of whom can get a profit share of up to £3600 each year which is tax-free. There are tax advantages for the selling owners too, with no capital gains tax payable on the sale price for the shares.

Expert support throughout

There are some things to think carefully about, like the valuation of the business and how the views of employees will be heard in the new structure. But the team at Anthony Collins (AC) know if you get those things right, all the research shows that it can be a real step forward for the business.

For Fitzgerald Contractors, our team advised on the detail of the transaction structure, created the trust and the trustee company, as well as drafting the necessary legal agreements. After being instructed at the start of January, we completed the process by mid-February which meant Fitzgerald could swiftly move on to their next chapter.

The company has placed the future of the business in the hands of its staff who all now share in its success. It’s already clear that it’s been transformative for them and there has been a massive shift in the culture, with employees being more mindful of how materials are used and where costs can be cut.

“When we were ready to go down this road, David and the team from AC made the process absolutely clear, explained the legal documents we needed, and worked really hard to make it happen within our timescale.”
Nick Coley, Fitzgerald Contractors

We’ve partnered with Hamstead Hall Academy Trust to break down barriers to entering the legal profession.

Making our team – and the entire legal sector – diverse is a priority for us. We believe this starts in schools and showing young people that they have a place in brilliant law firms such as ours. We also want to explain that we base recruitment on skills and merit rather than background to further diversify our profession.

We’re partnering with Hamstead Hall Academy Trust in Birmingham to run events for their students. The academy caters for approximately 1100 students and reflects the religious and cultural diversity of the city. It has been at the forefront of inclusion and is one of six schools in the city with a special needs resource base. It also has its own clear core purpose which lends itself to ours – it seeks to remove barriers for its students and teach them that nothing can hold them back, whether that’s ethnicity, cultural background, financial situation or social circumstances.

Guess the job

For the first event, 180 students from years 10 and 11 gathered in the hall. To encourage discussion and give all students the chance to get involved, we divided the group into 4 circles. Most of the young people thought that it was just solicitors that work at a law firm. However, we brought a group from across the AC team who work in a range of roles, including Narinder Singh (associate solicitor), Vik Mistry (IT support manager) and Phil Saunders (head of HR and office services).

We ran different activities to challenge the students’ preconceptions, including guessing who did what job by asking open questions to the AC team member. We then ran a session on writing a CV and a personal statement which offered them valuable advice on presenting themselves to employers. At an age where they are starting to think about their future, the day was a great opportunity to discuss their options and future aspirations.

Exciting plans ahead

This is just the beginning of our partnership with Hamstead Hall Academy Trust. We’ve already got big plans moving forward, with events that will take place throughout the year ahead. We also want to work with younger students to make sure they feel empowered to take control of their future and see opportunities instead of limitations.

For the older students, the team are hoping to arrange an open-day event where a group will visit our offices. It will also involve some great activities to help them experience a law firm, as well as speakers from various departments and the local judiciary with ties to our firm.

Changing perceptions

We’re proud to be working with Hamstead Hall Academy Trust. Having people from different backgrounds as part of our team is essential to the work we do. For example, many children in our communities are from war-torn countries and English isn’t their first language, so having people that represent them is key.

Narinder Singh who is an associate at Anthony Collins (AC) leads a subgroup of the ED&I committee and helps run events. He says, “I actually studied at Hamstead Hall – the students couldn’t believe that someone from their school could do a job like mine. If someone had talked to me at their age, I think I would have had fewer fears about entering a profession which seemed very unachievable and elitist.”

“Seeing diversity in our profession is personally important to me. It hasn’t always been this way and, although we’re getting closer, there is a lot more we can do. I believe it is my duty to make sure the profession reflects the communities we serve.”
Narinder Singh, associate, Anthony Collins

Guiding equality, diversity and inclusivity progression that fits the world we live in.

It is important to us that we are a law firm in tune with the people and communities we serve. To achieve this involves addressing bias and creating widespread opportunities for all. In the past year, our mix of long-term, short-term and grassroots commitments has seen many benefits for our employees, including those returning to work after leave and candidates applying for jobs at the firm.

Women in law

With a 75%-strong female workforce, women’s initiatives have featured a lot in the past year at Anthony Collins (AC). By signing the Women in Law pledge, we have shown our commitment to creating a more equitable and inclusive legal profession. Our gender pay gap shows there is still work to do to reach female senior workforce targets, but we’re just 2% away from our target for female partner levels.

Creating a safe space to discuss menopause has been well-received across AC teams. Feedback already shows boosted awareness and wide support, and our new policy incorporates plenty of practical ideas. All this, and knowing they have the firm’s full support, have made staff more confident to raise the topic when it affects family members and co-workers.

Managing attitudes and bias

To recognise gender neutrality, we’ve taken a serious look at our tone and how we communicate both internally and externally. Staff have been guided to use a more gender-neutral voice that now extends to the formal documents we produce for our clients. Conscious changes include no longer beginning any AC correspondence with ‘Dear Sirs’ and looking at the topic of preferred pronouns.

Showing staff how to manage unconscious bias has been key for redefining recruitment objectives. Names and other personal specifics no longer feature on shortlisted CVs and advanced recruitment tools are improving socio-economic fairness among our applicants. We’ve also focused on creating clear progression routes into senior roles.

New toolkit for teams

Expanding our existing flexible and hybrid work arrangements has been a success.  These are especially beneficial for people with care commitments to nurture a good work-life balance that promotes well-being. We’ve also created new toolkits for staff returning to work from parental, paternity, maternity and adoption leave, acknowledging that both teams and their management need clear guidance. This is an ethos taken further with all staff receiving respect and dignity training.

“To reflect the people we serve, our own house must be in order. That means having those challenging conversations and being open to new ideas. We want to retain the best people, making adjustments that allow them to feel confident in their roles. We’re far from complacent, working continually to improve areas where the legal sector falls behind.”
Phil Saunders, head of HR and office services, Anthony Collins

We’re working in partnership with the FSA to promote sustainable community ownership of local clubs.

The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) is the national representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. They act as advocates for better fan engagement, cheaper ticket prices, fan rights, diversity and more.

A key focus for the FSA is promoting supporter ownership as a way of creating a sustainable future for clubs. This is something that Anthony Collins (AC) fully backs and our team has been providing the FSA with consistent support on a range of initiatives over the last year.

Glaring issues around governance

A recent government fan-led review of football governance by Tracey Crouch MP revealed that the way football clubs are run is unsustainable, with many getting into unsustainable levels of debt. It found clubs are poorly run with ‘reckless decision making chasing an illusion of success and a disconnect between the interests of fans and owners’.

To secure the game’s future, it’s clear to see that things need to change. Community ownership has the potential to provide a broad sustainable base for preserving clubs as community assets.

Ongoing support

The FSA regularly turn to the AC team for advice. Typically, we support with governance arrangements, advise on how football grounds are owned and get involved with potential mergers.

In the last year, we have helped with a shareholder agreement where a club was looking to transfer ownership from private owners to a new supporters’ trust. Our team has also advised a market town who are looking to take ownership of the football ground to protect the future of the club.

Improving supporter engagement

AC is proud to be supporting the FSA in its mission to promote community ownership and help make it possible. Ultimately, it will mean football is run more sustainably, protect clubs’ heritage and improve supporter engagement.

Looking to the future, we are looking forward to providing the FSA with the support they need and acting as a consistent source of expert legal advice.

“AC has offered support to a number of FSA affiliates and been instrumental in helping provide solutions to some difficult and sometimes complex questions. Community ownership in football is not easy and presents many challenges. Our clubs and supporter societies are trying to balance running successful operations whilst delivering benefits to the wider community.

AC has not only assisted in providing legal advice, but the team’s commitment to community ownership models also offers an assurance that the advice is provided from a position of solidarity. Working across a number of sectors, AC provides a breadth of experience in governance issues and practical insights which allow our members to be confident that the support received is sound and relevant.”
Andy Walsh, head of national game and community ownership, the FSA

When Good Law Project asked for our support, we knew their ambitions were perfectly aligned with our values.

Good Law Project is a not-for-profit campaign organisation that uses the law to help create a better world. They focus on demanding good governance from those in power, protecting the environment and empowering those experiencing injustice or inequality. From covid testing scandals to water companies dumping waste along our coastlines, they’re tackling a range of issues head-on.

Although Good Law Project already had some internal legal support, they still used external lawyers extensively which came at a significant cost. The Project team came to Anthony Collins (AC) with their solution – creating their own law firm. Conversations started around how to make this possible and what it would mean for Good Law Project.

Launching an independent firm

What Good Law Project wanted to do is quite unusual. Most law firms are owned by solicitors, so the team needed to get the go-ahead from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

We provided support throughout the entire process, from discussing the shareholder agreement to advising on the governance documents. We also had conversations about how the law firm would work around the existing organisation and how the different structures should relate to each other.

Helping more communities

With support from ACS, Good Law Project now has its own law firm, Good Law Practice. The firm will help tackle any issues that are important to the Project and its partners. It will build specialist advisory capacity to help communities create the ownership models that work for them.

The firm will be funded by Good Law Project, with its services offered to Good Law Project, and its partners, on terms they can afford. And it will show people that the law exists to serve the whole of society rather than only those who can pay.

“We’re so pleased to have been involved in helping set up Good Law Practice as it aligns with our values of improving lives, communities and societies. Having their own law firm means they’ll be able to better hold those in power to account.”
David Alcock, partner, Anthony Collins

Social mobility is at the core of our mission and values here at Anthony Collins Solicitors.

The fight to overcome socio-economic inequality is tougher than ever. Many of the factors influencing social mobility have been exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic.

 

At Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), we focus on building a culture that supports everyone, whatever their background. We recognise that entering work can be difficult for people with no connections, no paid internship opportunities and no mentors.

What does this look like?

Tackling this issue starts with being an accredited Living Wage employer, hiring trainees from non-red-brick universities and recruiting with wide socio-economic reach. For employees, we support their growth, encourage everyone to have a live career plan to map their progression and report pay gaps.

 

It’s not just about our employees though. To make a change, we know we need to help the next generation too. Our team give up their own time to mentor students from disadvantaged backgrounds through A-level, degree and LPC, as well as hosting discussions with other organisations.

What have we achieved in 2021?

We know it can be easy to talk about why social mobility is important, but it can be much harder to translate that into practical steps to deliver change.

 

In March 2021, we hosted a roundtable discussion to encourage business leaders to share best practice. The event was attended by Kate Green MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for Education, as well as a range of senior colleagues from housing associations, the co-op movement, the care sector, and PwC and Timpson.

 

In November 2021, we launched The Social Mobility Toolkit: A handbook for UK businesses. The aim of this toolkit is to support employers in addressing the social mobility challenge. Divided into three broad sections, it covers all stages of the employment journey, including helpful wording and case studies to help employers formulate a new strategy and put it into practice.

 

Raising awareness and making changes to tackle social mobility is vital for creating a more equal society and more diverse workforces.

 

It’s up to all of us to take action that gives everyone access to employment on merit and successful careers without limits. That’s why, in 2022, we plan to launch a regular forum for employers and other organisations to discuss the latest research and collaborate on their strategies.

From closing pay gaps to tackling the climate crisis, we’re starting conversations and taking action.

Here at Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), we believe building a better business starts with better awareness of issues in today’s world, more transparency around pay gaps and concrete plans to improve.

 

Many businesses say they promote equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I), but in our case, these values are central to the way we do business. Fulfilling our commitment to work with a social purpose depends on having a community that fully embrace every aspect of ED&I.

 

Celebrating diversity

Even when we couldn’t be together due to Covid-19, we continued to celebrate the diversity of our teams in different ways, from marking religious occasions to supporting Pride Month and International Women’s Day together. The pandemic also meant it has been more important than ever to find ways to adapt to our employees’ needs and protect their mental wellbeing.

 

Our recent success in winning Law Firm of the Year (Independents) at The Lawyer Awards 2021 is partly due to our truly diverse and inclusive culture. In our latest internal engagement survey, we were delighted to see diversity scored as the highest of all 60 categories, with 94% agreeing that they feel they are treated fairly, regardless of position or any protected characteristics.

 

Advocates for equality

We have delivered on last year’s commitment to sign the Women in Law pledge. Now we’re making good progress with our ongoing targets to improve gender diversity across the firm, particularly at senior and leadership levels.

 

At the time of writing, 74% of our fee earners are women. We have also appointed two women onto our non-lawyer senior management team where no female representation previously existed.

 

Our climate pledge

Being a better business isn’t just about our people. It’s also about looking after our planet for everyone’s benefit. We’re committed to doing everything we can to make sure our clients, our firm and our people are thinking and behaving as sustainably as possible.

 

To show our commitment to change, we’re taking action by creating our own climate pledge. Our journey to net-zero has officially begun.

 

“It’s not enough that we advise our clients on delivering their own green agenda and sustainability pledges. As a business ourselves, we need to lead by example and that’s why we’ve made the pledge to be a net carbon zero business by 2030, which is a full 20 years ahead of the mandated 2050 deadline for the UK.”
Peter Hubbard, senior partner, Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

Our commitments for 2022-2023

1. Sign the Race Fairness Commitment – we will join other law firms making a commitment to racial equality by ensuring fairness at work for people of all ethnic backgrounds.

 

2. Review our internal and external recruitment processes – we will make our processes fair to all (e.g. using blind CVs) and advertise our posts widely. This will include specifically working with agencies that attract people from ethnic minorities and diverse backgrounds. We will also make sure this continues to apply to our trainee programme intake.

 

3. Increase targeted mentoring and coaching – we will support women and employees from ethnic minorities with strong career trajectories. We will help them grow into leadership positions by identifying talent pipelines and providing strong role models.

 

4. Women in Law pledge – now we are accredited, we will fulfil our action plan. This will involve reviewing our promotions policy to support our under-represented employee groups, as well as our flexible working offer. We will also deliver our ambitious line management development programme.

From laptops to mental health first aiders, we went the extra mile to help the team.

At Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS), our purpose is ‘to improve lives, communities, and society’. This is not only reflected in the clients we work with and the sectors we support but also in how we serve our own people.

 

When the pandemic hit, everyone experienced fear, uncertainty, and a host of other emotions. Our clients relied on us for legal advice as they tried to navigate the unknown. To do this effectively, our people also needed emotional and practical support.

 

The ACS central management team explored the best ways to help everyone, from individuals facing mental health issues as a result of lockdown to employees who needed the equipment to safely and effectively carry out their role at home.

 

Emotional support

When the ACS team realised the need for an informal way to reach out to others, ‘Anthony’s’ was born. To combat the feelings of being alone at home during lockdown, this virtual social club ran after work hours. Anyone at the firm was encouraged to join for a friendly chat, providing a connection between old and new colleagues. It offered more than just conversation with breakout rooms where there were activities such as virtual jigsaws.

 

Within the firm, we also have seven mental health first-aiders. At the height of the pandemic, they used their training to spot the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues, provide support, and guide individuals to seek professional support when they felt it was needed.

 

“Taking the course was beneficial to my own mental health and I am happy to use the training to help where it is needed with my colleagues.”
ACS mental health first aider

 

Practical support

Working at home has meant changing the way we work at ACS. To address this shift, we introduced our Hybrid Working Policy which was designed to help managers maintain a supportive and collaborative culture while teams work more remotely. This was created with the input of employee representatives and line managers, giving the ACS community the opportunity to raise suggestions, questions and concerns.

 

When remote working was enforced, the demand for IT equipment rocketed, but we distributed laptops to all our people as soon as practically possible. This meant everyone at ACS could work flexibly and comfortably either at home or the ACS offices, without being fixed to one place during working hours or using older and slower IT systems.

 

What’s next?

As the pandemic continues and hybrid working has become the norm, it’s good to know that our purpose supported us through an extremely difficult time and will be there for us in the future.

 

“We are definitely nowhere near where we started 23 months ago. We are a more confident, capable, social purpose law firm that is committed to serving our clients and wider society at such a challenging time. We have all played a part in our success during the pandemic; being committed and supportive to our colleagues has allowed us to continue giving wise counsel to our clients who turn to us as an essential partner for social change.”
Peter Hubbard, senior partner, Anthony Collins Solicitors

Our Ethical Business Project uncovers a profound shift in UK businesses.

UK businesses are under more pressure than ever before to demonstrate positive values. The disruption of Covid-19 combined with the climate crisis and focus on social inequalities have put businesses of all sizes under the microscope.

 

Businesses are being scrutinised across all areas, from the treatment of staff to their impact on the environment. Organisations viewed as ignoring their impact or not making changes are at risk of suffering reputational damage, financial losses and even business failure.

 

‘An ethical business makes a conscious effort to ensure that its operations are positive, contributing to the long-term wellbeing of individuals, communities and society. This type of business looks to more than just its profits and also prioritises positive social and environmental impact.’

Carrying out our own research

At Anthony Collins Solicitors, we decided to investigate the approach of UK businesses. Working with research partner, Opinium, we surveyed 300 senior decision-makers across the UK about their ethical approach for their businesses.

 

“We hope The Ethical Business Project will provide businesses with both the impetus and knowledge to become more principled organisations, benefitting their employees, suppliers, stakeholders and customers.”
David Alcock, partner and social business lead at Anthony Collins Solicitors

 

The results of the survey revealed a profound shift in how we are doing business. Nine in ten (91%) of businesses were already adopting ethical practices or committed to becoming more ethical. Many (78%) recognised the impact of the pandemic in that process.

 

A new handbook for businesses

While showing the move towards more ethical practices, our survey revealed businesses still face barriers when it comes to adopting them. In response to our findings, we developed The Ethical Business Project handbook to support businesses in taking on a more values-based approach.

 

The handbook is broken down into sections authored by experts across the firm. Readers can find information and resources on a range of ethical business topics, such as creating better workplaces for employees, minimising waste and energy consumption, and securing ethical funding.

 

Making a positive impact

The handbook explains how, by embarking on the ethical journey, businesses can positively impact the society and environment around them, while improving workforce engagement and market reputation, leading to new opportunities.

 

“Businesses do not face this journey alone. Please do engage in the ethical conversation with us – looking at your business and how you are seeking to embed positive impact in what you do. We are all on the same journey. Let’s travel the road together.”
David Alcock, partner and social business lead at Anthony Collins Solicitors