Social & Community Impact
As a purpose-led independent law firm with a mission to ‘make the difference’, we work hard to do good and be responsible.
This includes giving back to our local communities and wider society while being environmentally friendly.
Our objectives
We’re a certified B Corp, which means that we’re independently recognised for being purpose-driven, committed to creating benefits for all stakeholders and operating as a force for good.
‘Leading on social impact’ is one of our seven key strategic business goals for 2024 to 2027, alongside being the ‘employer of choice’ in the legal industry (for which we received recognition by Best Companies in 2023 and 2024) — so we take our responsibilities seriously.
Specifically, our objectives include:
- Developing, driving and improving DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and embedding it into our culture.
- Adopting sustainability policies and practices to achieve net zero by 2030, with a focus on biodiversity and pollution.
- Developing meaningful relationships with purposeful organisations that matter to our clients, people and the communities we serve.
- Strengthening our commitment to pro bono work.
“I’m proud to say that I work at Brabners — a firm that values its employees and the communities that it works in. In my first 12 months I took part in the Charity Challenge, attended client events, celebrated at the Manchester Legal Awards and enjoyed my first annual colleague conference. No two days are the same. The knowledge and encouragement of my team has allowed me to deepen my knowledge and given me exposure to high value, complex and challenging work. As a mother of three, the flexible working arrangements have allowed me to be both a mum and a lawyer. The firm is forward thinking, listens to its employees and genuinely feels like a family.”
Suzi Gardener, Solicitor
“The culture at Brabners is unparalleled. Instead of just saying that we have a brilliant culture, we mean it — and it’s fostered in practice. I work alongside ambitious, driven and (most importantly) kind and selfless people who want you to succeed and celebrate you being yourself, rather than having to fit a mould. I trained and qualified with Brabners in 2020. After exploring other firms, I realised that Brabners was my home and re-joined in 2024. That was the best career decision I’ve made to date.”
Zainab Hussein, Associate
“Learning about [Brabners’] culture and values made me fall in love with the firm.”
Insights programme candidate
Community engagement
We’ve aligned the various community-focused elements of what we do into one Community Engagement Group. Led by our Partner Lachlan Nisbet, this team drives our work around causes close to our hearts, including community partnerships and volunteering, external fundraising, pro bono work and internal initiatives.
Most of these elements involve initiatives to raise funds for The Brabners Foundation — an independent charity that enables our people to continue our rich traditions of charitable giving and alleviating hardship in our local communities.
The Foundation primarily provides support in two ways — partnering and grant-making.
When it comes to partnering, all our people are afforded two fully paid volunteer days each year, which equates to more than 1,000 days of practical support.
In terms of grant making, we’re proud to have raised over £180,000 for charities nominated by our people since 2019.
“Your donation to North West Air Ambulance will help to support our life saving missions across the region and enable us to bring the hospital to the patient, deliver major trauma care and help us to save and change lives… It’s only thanks to the generosity of supporters like yourself that keep us flying to save lives.”
North West Air Ambulance
“Thank you so very much… Your very kind donation will go a long way to cover the cost of our wigs.”
The Little Princess Trust
“We truly appreciate your shared belief in our mission to improve the mental health of children and their families in North West England. These generous grants went towards providing crucial mental health services for children and young people in schools.”
Place2Be
“Thank you so much for your very generous gift to the School-Home Support Welfare Fund. Your gift came at a time of real challenge for so many of our children, young people and families.”
School-Home Support
“Your donation will help us to provide regular and much needed companionship to some of the oldest and most vulnerable people in the UK.”
Re-Engage
“With thanks to your support, in the past year we supported 1,855 young people… we have provided psychoeducation and peer-led workshops at 11 education establishments.”
The Mental Health Foundation
“The Christmas gift was so beautiful it made my child’s Christmas so much better… just to see her face on Christmas morning was amazing. I would like to thank you and School-Home Support for helping me and my family.”
Parent, School-Home Support
“Annie recently had her Wish granted... She got to explore the beautiful city of Paris and spend some time at Disneyland, making beautiful, magical memories with her family.”
When You Wish Upon A Star
“I am writing to thank The Brabners Foundation for its generous donation towards our work in promoting digital skills to young people to overcome barriers to education and employment… [The] grant funding will assist towards staff costs to provide mentoring support to young people enrolled with the project, as research shows that 94% of learners are more likely to progress if mentored.”
Youth Fed
“Few conditions are as devastating as motor neurone disease. There is no effective treatment and no cure… Your kind gift will help us to improve care and support for people with MND across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will also help us fund and promote research and to campaign and raise awareness.”
Motor Neurone Disease Association
“I would like to thank you for this extremely kind donation and express how much we appreciate your invaluable support. Your donations will help us to provide counselling and support, health check-ups, skills advice and training, expert assistance on work opportunities, CV preparation and interview practice, and housing advice and support.”
Crisis
Hear from our charity partners
Sustainability & environment
We have a dedicated Sustainability and Environment Group, led by our Partner Simon Lewis.
One key example of its work is Kingsdale Head, where we’re supporting the Yorkshire Peatland Restoration Project. This aims to restore more than 3,500 hectares of peatland and blanket bogs across Northern England. Kingsdale Head’s part of the project is expected to prevent the loss of at least 450 tonnes of carbon — equivalent to planting more than 22,000 trees — to the atmosphere each year.
In 2022, we provided an initial investment to support the project, which helped to unlock £550,000 in grant funding for restoration work at Kingsdale Head via the Nature for Climate Peatland Capital Grant Scheme. The work includes the creation of 5,000 dams and sediment traps to help make the most of the site’s potential for the recovery of a huge range of wildlife, as well as its ability to store carbon in the soil. We’ve since undertaken several volunteering days, giving our people the chance to play a role in the project.
We also funded an allotment with Rotunda College & Community Hub, a Liverpool-based social regeneration charity that has served the local community for over 30 years. From its Grade II listed Georgian terraces, the charity provides education courses as well as a nursery, café, wellbeing garden, community hub and more.
We continue to provide volunteering time as part of our partnership and in March 2024 our colleague-led sustainability group gathered over 30 of our people to help renovate the allotment space with new beds and poly tunnels.
“On behalf of everyone at Rotunda, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Brabners for its incredibly generous donation and continued support of our charity… Your support plays a vital role in helping us continue to serve the local community and create positive change. We are proud of the partnership we share with Brabners and look forward to continuing our work together to make a lasting impact on those who need it most. Thank you once again for your generosity and support.”
Rotunda
Inclusion & opportunity
In 2018, we established an internal Action Group to support the building of a diverse, equitable and truly inclusive firm.
Led by our Partner Steven Appleton, the group focuses on various key areas of diversity including social mobility, gender equity, physical and mental health (including disability and neurodiversity), the LGBTQ+ community and race, ethnicity and cultural heritage.
Each focus area has a dedicated colleague-led team that works to achieve key objectives, aligned with our firmwide strategy for diversity. These include actively celebrating significant events such as World Mental Health Day and Pride Month as well as important religious and cultural events.
We’re also dedicated to engaging with innovative external initiatives such as Breaking Down Barriers to Law, which seeks to increase access to legal careers for young people.
Through all these efforts and many more, we’re driving meaningful change and creating a working culture where everyone feels valued and empowered.
“I’ve always known that the culture at Brabners is special — but it felt even more so at our recent Partners Conference where, without even having to say anything, breakfast was delivered at 4am for those of us who were fasting for Ramadhan and food ready for us to eat at Iftar. That’s what inclusion is all about — and I certainly felt included.”
Abdul Salam, Partner
Watch: Solicitor Huzaifa Moosa on our culture & working environment
Multi-award-winning
We've won various awards for social and community impact, including:
- Liverpool Law Society — Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award (2024)
- Manchester Law Society — Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Champions (2023 & 2024)
- The Lawyer’s Sustainability Initiative of the Year award (2023)
- Manchester Law Society — CSR Champions of the Year (2023)
We were also a finalist at the British Legal Awards in 2023 for Excellence in ESG and shortlisted for Sustainable Business of the Year by edie in 2023 alongside the likes of Vodafone, EY and E.ON.
Recognised by
We're committed to responsible business
Northern Ambition
The collaborative network for purpose-led businesses. We’re building a more sustainable and innovative tomorrow.
Sustainable Business
In 2022, we proudly became the UK’s largest law firm (and the first outside London) to become B Corp certified.
Community Impact
We channel the energy of our public-spirited people and clients towards improving our local communities.
