Doing Good by Doing Good: Social Responsibility of Law Firms

September 24, 2022 0 Comments

Corporations increasingly subscribe to the principle of corporate social responsibility. CSR is based on the belief that a demonstration of concern for the environment, human rights, community development and the well-being of its employees can make a corporation more profitable. And if not more profitable, at least a better place to work.

Law firms can learn from corporate experience to create their own social responsibility programs. Such programs can help law firms do well by doing good. They can strengthen the reputation of the company and its position in the market. They can help the company identify with the CSR culture and activities of customers and potential customers. They can help lawyers and staff find more meaning in their work and improve as human beings.

In the words of the Social Responsibility Karma Committee at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck: Be nice. Be generous. Be worried. Donate time. Donate effort. Donate money. Just find a cause and give it. You will soon discover that giving is also receiving.

The Rocky Mountain chapter of the Legal Marketing Association sponsored a panel discussion on how law firms can learn about CSR and introduce some of its elements into their own models. The show was held on May 8 at Maggiano’s Little Italy in downtown Denver.

Panelists included Sarah Hogan, Vice President of Barefoot PR; Bruce DeBoskey, attorney and founder of The DeBoskey Group, which focuses on philanthropic advice; Joyce Witte, Community Investment Advisor and Director of the Encana Cares Foundation, Encana Oil & Gas (USA); and Amy Venturi, director of community relations and karma at Brownstein. The moderator was Cori Plotkin, president of Barefoot PR.

At law firms, the product is people: the attorneys and support staff who deliver high-quality legal services. It’s an easy fit. There are many ways this ‘product’ can contribute time, talent and treasure to socially responsible activities.

Social Responsibility: Approach and Strategy

Law firm social responsibility is about making a difference within the community and the profession, and within a firm. Even the best efforts will have no impact if spread too thin. You can’t maximize the value of your contributions or tell your story if your efforts are too diluted. To decide how to invest its resources most effectively, a law firm needs a social responsibility approach and strategy.

Social responsibility efforts must be authentic. Law firms and other entities should always avoid ‘greenwashing’: telling a story that is aspirational, but not actually true. Know yourself. Let your company’s unique culture and skills dictate which efforts to pursue and which to avoid.

When examining your culture, don’t limit yourself to member opinions. Law firms are small communities, almost like families. Any effort to define culture and social responsibility must represent not only the interests of lawyers, but also the interests of all levels of support staff. Efforts must be significant throughout the company. The benefits to employee recruitment, retention, and satisfaction can be remarkable.

DeBoskey described three types of community involvement and expressed his belief that a good social responsibility plan includes elements of all three.

In a traditional model, an organization randomly ‘give back’ to the community on demand, as a good citizen, rather than for strategic purposes. In a social responsibility model, these efforts are aligned with the capabilities of the company, such as the legal skills of lawyers. Every non-profit organization needs legal advice.

In its most sophisticated form, a social responsibility program involves using its core product, legal services, as a tool for social change. Volunteer with organizations like the University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System or the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center.

A strong focus makes it much easier to make decisions. Encana, for example, focuses its charitable donations strategy on issues related to its product: natural gas. Brownstein will donate money only if the request comes from a client or if one of its attorneys is a member of the organization and is on the board.

Law firms seeking additional advice can find valuable resources within the Corporate Community Investment Network. CCIN is an association of professionals whose primary responsibility is to administer community investment programs in a for-profit business environment.

Many corporations and some law firms have created separate foundations to eat part of your donations. A foundation comes with more restrictions and different tax methods. However, as entities with a life of their own, foundations are more likely to continue a useful existence than sole efforts.

Social responsibility: Good policies make good decisions

The strategy and approach lay the foundation for an effective social responsibility policy. Most law firms are inundated with good cause solicitations asking for your support. A policy helps you know when to say “yes” and when to say “no.”

In the law firm model, where all partners are owners with a sense of entitlement to resources, it can be very difficult to say no. A well-focused policy makes it much easier to do so and keep the company’s efforts on track.

Encana, for example, uses a five-step tool to determine the level of fit between a request and the company’s strategic objectives in the field of natural gas, with level five being the highest commitment and level one the lowest.

Tier Five Efforts integrate the core product or service and often involve natural gas vehicles and energy efficiency initiatives that use natural gas. These efforts contribute to industry-leading trends and best practices, while enhancing the company’s reputation as a leader.

Level four efforts focus on strategic partnerships and often involve long-term, sustainable solutions such as workforce development initiatives, unique programs (which may be replicated in other markets), and multi-year grants.

Tier Three Efforts Include Strategic Grants to help with projects, programs or initiatives carried out by local non-profit organizations aligned with natural gas.

Tier two efforts include responsive donations, which is a unique gift to a broad community effort that has local support. The participation of company representatives is required.

level one efforts they include the “t-shirt and banner” category, which contains one-day items such as dinners, receptions, golf tournaments, events, and races. These offer the least impact and awareness for the money and therefore the least support.

At Brownstein, applications to the firm are judged on two factors. The firm considers only requests made by clients and requests made by organizations where one of its lawyers participates at the board level.

Social responsibility: Commitment

Effective social responsibility programs involve not only checkbook involvement, but personal and professional involvement as well.

At Brownstein, the brand has always been about being in the community. Six years ago, Venturi was asked to formalize this essential component of the firm’s culture into a social responsibility program that would further energize lawyers.

He began by spending 15 minutes with each of the attorneys to discover their passions, which were used to identify a good nonprofit match. After all, attorneys and staff will stay involved and do their best only when an organization is something they care deeply about. If there is no commitment, placement will be counterproductive.

Finally, Venturi offers the attorney’s services to the nonprofit in some way, but it must be at the board level. Otherwise, she won’t make the match.

Project Karma is a Brownstein program dedicated to volunteer opportunities and maintains a committee in each of the company’s 12 offices. Sponsors potlucks and learning presentations by local nonprofits to build interest.

The message about the active participation of lawyers and staff must come from the top. Brownstein makes it very clear that the path to association for a new attorney is based not only on legal skills, but also on commitment and involvement with the community.

It’s important to add a community engagement component to attorney reviews, even if it’s just a goal per year. That lets the lawyers know that you are serious. The Colorado Supreme Court asks each attorney to contribute 50 hours of gratuitous I work every year. The integration of these programs leads to beneficial results for the company.

Not all firms can match the efforts of a large firm like Encana or a large law firm like Brownstein. However, there are good combinations for companies of all sizes. Once again, it’s all about focus.

In fact, it’s much easier to get five members of a small firm to focus on a strategic initiative than it is to get 500 lawyers at a huge firm. If a law firm has $10,000 to donate, that money goes a long way and has much more impact on an organization than $100 donations spread across 100 organizations.

Smaller law firms can also multiply their impact by partnering with others in an industry, such as vendors or clients, to support a particular nonprofit.

Social Responsibility: Return on Investment

Corporations measure the results of their social responsibility programs and use these results to make decisions about further efforts. Law firms should do the same.

At the end of the year, Encana uses its five-tier model (chart above) to analyze our charitable giving. How much was given at each level? The company then sends a form to each nonprofit, asking the recipient to rate results (statistics of what was achieved), process (efforts met intended audience) and impact (What difference did it make).

Encana asks recipients to respond within 60 days and uses this information to calculate ROI. Those who do not report are not eligible for further contributions. Nonprofits may complain at first, but seem to change their minds once they’ve gone through the process and find that it has useful strategic value.

It is entirely appropriate to ask a nonprofit organization to document the results it has achieved based on your contribution. It lets them know that you are truly committed to the organization. They will see you more as partners and engage you differently.

Most corporations have created and benefited from well thought out and strategic social responsibility programs. Law firms are beginning to do the same. A program with a strict focus and strict guidelines ensures maximum impact and awareness in return for a law firm’s commitment of time, talent, and money.

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