SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Our ethos pivots on our commitment to the promotion of human rights and civil liberties through the law. Social responsibility is at the heart of this, and we support like minded people working to effect positive social change.

Our commitment to the community and wider society means that at any one time Members are either taking part individually or as a group in various social initiatives. Listed below are examples of just some of these initiatives.

Pro Bono and Volunteering

Members of Chambers are actively involved in the diverse communities within which they live, taking an active role in society. Members are encouraged to use their professional legal knowledge to benefit those who are disadvantaged, under-privileged or lack access to justice. Many of our barristers provide pro bono advice to those who cannot afford legal representation and volunteer their free time to legal advice drop-in centres.

Sustainability

Doughty Street Chambers is committed to protecting and enhancing the environment and as such we focus our resources where it is practical to conserving energy and protecting the environment, thereby reducing Chambers’ carbon footprint.

So far as it is reasonably practicable, Chambers’ operations are carried out with a commitment to having a positive social and environmental impact. This is supported by all members of Chambers and the workforce. In implementing this commitment to manage our environmental impact properly we will:

  • Fully comply with environmental regulations, such as the WEEE 2006 directive.
  • Ensure that environmental considerations are integrated into our business decisions.
  • Ensure that we use risk assessments in order to identify potential environmental risks to our businesses.
  • Actively pursue opportunities to minimise the environmental impact of our operations, concentrating particularly on the use of energy and waste disposal.
  • Attempt to develop a wider understanding of environmental issues among our suppliers, tenants and workforce.
  • Regularly review our policies to ensure that they remain properly aligned to the need to reduce waste and encourage the most effective utilisation of scarce resources.
  • Continually review our business processes with a view towards neutralising and reducing our environmental impact, adopting a practice of sustainability.
  • Actively encourage recycling in the workplace and as such work with ISO 14001 accredited suppliers that offer green business solutions and a comprehensive recycling service, enabling us to purchase environmentally friendly and sustainable products.

The Green Team

The Green Team are a welcoming collective of members and staff motivated to act on the climate and ecological emergencies. Our primary aim is to get our own house in order, by helping Chambers go green. We’re doing this by getting to grips with Chambers environmental impact and then taking steps to make it better. But we’re also a place to exchange ideas for how we can use our professional skills to make Doughty Street a leader on green issues and work.

Charitable Activities

Either as a collective or individually, Members of Chambers and staff support a number of charitable organisations of all sizes, through volunteering their time, fundraising or simply making a donation. Doughty Street Chambers awards up to 1% of its annual profits to charities or organisations that reflect the ethos and values of our Chambers. We identify 2-5 supported causes each year who benefit from a large grant for a period of three years. In addition, we make a series of smaller grants and also have a budget for emergency funding of urgent campaigns or activities which seek to protect human rights or civil liberties.

The Donations Committee are excited to share the organisations that will be receiving a donation from DSC in 2022-23.

They are as follows:

  • Supported Causes for July 2022 - June 2023 : Koestler Arts, Lawyers Against Poverty, Justice, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Kalisher Trust.
  • Large and Small Donations so far made to: West London Welcome, Peace Brigades International, Primary Care International, Pakistan Floods Appeal, United Ukrainian Ballet, The National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund, Love 146, Nick of Time Productions, UNJUST, ParaPride, Tender, Central Criminal Court Sheriff and Recorders Fund and PAN Intercultural Arts, DSC Earthquake appeal fundraising event at DSC, Urban Lawyer's IN Law Project, Footnote Counterpoints, Tatchell Foundation, New Horizon Youth Centre.

Applications for supported causes are now closed. For information on how to apply for small donations at any time during the year, please write to the attention of the DSC Donations Committee, emailing: enquiries@doughtystreet.co.uk.