Corporate Responsibility

We are committed to ethical working practices and to diversity in our workplace. We run an environmentally responsible business.

Diversity

White & Black is a signatory to The Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Charter. The Charter is a public commitment by providers of legal services, regardless of practice size, to develop and implement best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion – as employers, as providers of legal services, as purchasers of services and in their wider roles in society.

White & Black is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment. The firm believes in equality regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins) religion, caste or belief, age, disability, gender, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnerships, surrogacy, adoption and parental rights. This includes any incidents of perceptive or associate discrimination and harassment.

Environmental

At White & Black, not only do we care deeply about ensuring ethical working practices and diversity in our workplace, but we are committed to sustainable and environmentally responsible working.
We strive to be a low-emissions business.

Our central Oxford offices are heated using state-of-the-art low-carbon air source heat pumps which are proven to be more efficient than regular heating mechanisms.

We are supporters of low-carbon commuting and as such we have invested in Electric Vehicle charging points within our offices for the use of our team and clients. We all offer all our staff a cycle-to-work scheme as part of our benefits package, allowing them to buy a bicycle and bicycle equipment tax-free.

Our offices are in a listed building and the rooms are finished with carbon-absorbent limestone plaster.

We have a waste management policy in place and seek to recycle wherever possible. In the event we require catering for internal events, we will strive to use local providers who deliver on foot or by bicycle and produce products locally.

Ethical purchasing

We believe that we should act responsibly and ethically in all our business dealings. We have developed an ethical purchasing policy as a means of enabling us to use suppliers who operate their businesses in an ethical and socially responsible way. Long-term suppliers to White & Black are expected to:

Comply with all applicable laws and regulations to which they are subject.

Communicate the requirement to comply with our Ethical Purchasing Policy to its own staff and suppliers.

Adhere to the core principles of our Ethical Purchasing Policy.

Monitor compliance with our Ethical Purchasing Policy or equivalent standards and adapt to ensure compliance within reasonable time-periods.

White & Black in the community

We have supported and continue to support a number of local and national charities. Most recently we have supported Suited for Success, a charity based in the West Midlands helping unemployed men and women back into work through the provision of interview coaching and smart interview outfits.

We also have recently supported Alzheimer’s Society raising funds through participation in the Memory Walk. As a firm we also take part in the annual Oxford Legal Walk to raise funds for legal aid charities. Every member of our team is also encouraged to donate 1 working day per year to charitable or pro-bono activities at our expense.

We have recently supported City of Oxford College, displaying the work of final-year furniture students in our Oxford office as well as some of our junior solicitors running a workshop for the College’s creative students on how they can best protect their work. We support local sports club Witney Hockey, through the sponsorship of their Women’s 1^st XI team.

Our ‘What About Law’ programme provides an opportunity for students from state schools in the local area, who have expressed an interest in a career in the law, to visit our offices. Students take part in legal-based activities, hear from our team and experience a day in the life of a law firm.

We have adopted a policy of paying a percentage of the payments we receive from our aged trade debts to charity. We also engage with schools and colleges to provide work experience opportunities for young people.

Values

We believe in providing legal advice in plain English with a minimum of fuss and stuffiness. We put client service at the heart of everything we do.