Cleary Gottlieb is celebrating the Lord Mayor’s City Giving Day on September 27 by hosting a group of secondary school students in connection with the National Literacy Trust’s “Words for Work” program. The Lord Mayor is also making an official visit to the firm’s London office to see the day’s activities in action.
The students, from Twickenham Academy, will be immersed into an interactive “day in the life of a Cleary Gottlieb associate,” with members from all of the firm’s legal and business departments introducing them to various aspects of law firm life, and developing their presentation and problem-solving skills. The challenge will see students experience the journey of a deal from the initial partner briefing, through the negotiation phase, on to completion, billing, and reporting the deal to the press.
Raj Panasar, Cleary Gottlieb London partner, commented:
“City Giving Day is a fantastic initiative by the Lord Mayor that combines support and fun with true community spirit. It is an extremely important day in the social responsibility calendar for the City of London and this year for us it is particularly significant. We have an ambitious day of events lined up, and we are very excited to welcome the Lord Mayor to our office to help us celebrate.
“We are delighted to launch our participation in the Words for Work program with the National Literacy Trust this City Giving Day and we look forward to growing this CSR partnership over the coming years.”
City Giving Day, which celebrates the corporate social responsibility and community service contributions made by businesses in the City of London, will see over 200 organisations across London showcasing their pro bono and CSR efforts, and raising awareness of the programs and services in which they participate for the benefit of the wider community.
As part of its ongoing support for the National Literacy Trust’s “Words for Work” program, which brings businesses and schools together to empower young people towards successful employment, Cleary Gottlieb will be providing volunteers to deliver lessons in presenting, interviewing, CV building, and other employability skills to students in London schools.
Cleary Gottlieb’s support for the “Words for Work” program follows on from last year’s launch of the firm’s partnership with Toynbee Hall. Over the past twelve months, this successful partnership has helped the charity to expand its provision of women-only free legal advice services in the East End of London. Female attorneys from the London office of Cleary Gottlieb have together devoted over 300 CSR and pro bono hours to the project. The success of the project has meant over 70 new clients have been able to receive advice on a range of legal problems. The firm’s volunteering now enables an average of 15 women to receive legal support in each Saturday morning session. A high proportion of these clients have queries involving domestic violence or sensitive family-related issues, for which the advice of a trained lawyer is essential. The firm is now working with Toynbee Hall to expand their partnership into its second year.