South Westminster Legal Advice Centre (SWLAC)
The SWLAC offers free legal advice on a drop-in basis to the Westminster community and beyond. The public can receive advice on a range of issues including housing, employment, debt, consumer issues, bankruptcy, wills and personal injury. The Centre offers an important safety net to those who could not otherwise afford legal services. Bird & Bird lawyers and trainees volunteer at the Centre on a regular rotational basis, overseen by IP partner, Lorna Brazell.
LawWorks
Bird & Bird’s London office is a member of LawWorks, a non-profit organisation that coordinates a variety of pro bono programmes for member firms. Through LawWorks, Bird & Bird’s London-based lawyers and trainees regularly advise charities, community organisations and individuals on a range of legal matters. These organisations and individuals would not otherwise be able to afford legal services.
The Prince’s Youth Business Trust
Bird & Bird Real Estate Partner Russell Dellar is a panel member of the Prince’s Youth Business Trust. A subsection of The Prince’s Trust, it gives loans and grants to young people with talent and a good business idea who would like to start their own business but do not have the resources to get started due to misfortune, disability, disadvantaged background or other circumstances where other funding or personal finances are not a possibility. The Prince’s Youth Business Trust panel volunteers review their business cases, conduct interviews with the candidates, make recommendations and award the grant or loans and in Russell’s case give free legal advice as well where required. Russell also acts as a mentor to certain businesses on an ongoing basis.
University House Legal Advice Centre, Bethnal Green
The Centre runs weekly evening drop-in sessions to provide free legal advice to members of the local community. The Centre advises on matters that include housing, employment, welfare benefits and consumer contract issues and provides an important service for those who could not otherwise afford legal advice. Volunteers from Bird & Bird have worked at the Centre and there are continuing opportunities to volunteer.
University of Oxford MalariaGEN
Bird & Bird lawyers are involved with intellectual property policies with this international project searching for the genes for malaria resistance in order to help develop treatments for the disease.
University of the Arts - OwnIt
The OwnIt programme helps graduates in the creative arts avoid being taken advantage of as they venture into exploiting their IP for commercial purposes. Members of Bird & Bird’s London Intellectual Property (IP) department regularly attend the OwnIt clinic to advise on issues faced by the graduates and to occasionally give presentations at their seminars.
Lawyers in Schools Twinning Scheme
Bird & Bird’s London office participates in an initiative which was launched in 1999 and currently has 11 participating law firms and corporate in-house legal teams across the UK. The Scheme involves volunteer fee-earners discussing a range of legal issues with students by working through a series of activities on a chosen topic. The volunteer takes on the role of facilitator, stimulating discussion on a variety of legal issues such as police powers, employment law, discrimination and human rights.
London Schools Symphony Orchestra
Bird & Bird’s London office sponsors the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO). The LSSO aspires to professional musical standards and is considered the UK capital’s leading youth orchestra. It is made up of young musicians who audition to take a place with the orchestra.
This is the second year that Bird & Bird has sponsored the scheme which provides free tickets for approximately 1500 London school children to attend LSSO concerts at The Barbican Theatre (home of the LSSO).