Making a positive difference in our communities is a fundamental part of our ambition to lead the way as a responsible business.
Our efforts focus on charities local to each of our offices, all of which have social inclusion at their heart. This helps us ensure that our charitable support has a positive impact on individuals from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds.
How we do it
Central to achieving this ambition is the work of our Community Engagement Committees, who lead the relationships with our local charity partners, encourage colleagues to get involved in fundraising and organise volunteering days. Individuals from around the firm lead these committees, regardless of seniority or career path.
The WBD Foundation supports the structure and administration of our charitable giving, led by eight trustees from across the business (of varying seniority levels). Their work includes deciding which charities to support under the Foundation's new grant-giving scheme.
In addition, our network of Pro Bono Coordinator's help to arrange our pro bono clinics and other pro bono assignments, ensuring that we use our skills and expertise to give back.
Our local charity partners are:
- Bristol – Alive Activities
- Edinburgh – Canongate Youth
- Leeds – Children's Heart Surgery Fund
- London – Beyond Food Foundation
- Newcastle – The People's Kitchen
- Plymouth – Hugs Children's Cancer Charity
- Southampton – Abby's Heroes
- Teesside – Hope Foundation.
How our people get involved
Charitable giving
Volunteering
Pro Bono work
To support the work of the WBD Foundation and fundraising for our local charity partners, we encourage participation in a range of events such as quizzes, virtual auctions (WBDbay) and physical challenges (e.g. Pedal for a Cause, a static cycle challenge).
Match funding is our way of celebrating the funding raising efforts of our staff, whether for one of our local office charity partners or for their own chosen charity. In addition, all our employees have the option to use payroll giving to make it as easy as possible to give to causes they care about.
We donate items including furniture and laptops supporting our environmental goals as well as our charitable giving and helping to tackle the digital divide.
We also recognise the role we play in the legal sector by supporting the Access to Justice legal walks local to our offices, as well as our role as global citizens by responding to humanitarian disasters when the need arises.
Whether that’s making up food parcels, gardening, or mentoring young people, there’s an opportunity for everyone at the firm to use their skills to support others.
They may volunteer at one of our charity partner programmes or find their own opportunity.
Many teams use their away days to volunteer together, and this now forms part of the annual trainee induction process at our Newcastle office.
Colleagues also share expertise through our Pro Bono work, with four of our colleagues recognised for their exceptional contributions in the Pro Bono Recognition List 2025.
Our commitment to pro bono work is firmly rooted in the belief that it has a positive impact on individuals from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds, providing important access to legal services that may otherwise be unavailable to them.
Current pro bono involvement includes:
- The Small Business Clinic run with the University of Law
- The Free Legal Advice Clinic at the University of Edinburgh
- The Ethical Property Foundation (the only dedicated property advice charity in the UK that facilitates free advice to the voluntary sector)
- Supporting requests for pro bono support from our charity partners
- Ad hoc requests for support aligned with our specialisms.
Measuring our progress
This year, we’ve provided support to our 8 charity partners and other worthy causes totalling £143,823.42.
We've also contributed an exceptional total of 1,604.5 volunteering hours for local charities across the UK.
To discover more about our community engagement and pro bono activities – head to our Responsible Business Report.
"The expertise provided by Womble Bond Dickinson has been crucial in establishing this refuge. Their pro bono work has not only aided us legally but has also inspired hope for a brighter future among those we serve."
Firoza Mohmed, Chief Executive Officer of Humraaz
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