Client Case Study

This law firm was struggling to retain their young lawyers who were too frequently leaving after a couple of years. You can imagine the lost investment to the firm - the time to train them, the client relationships lost, the cost to find replacements and hire and train them, not to mention the potential impact on the firm's reputation. They were hearing interest from the younger lawyers in being able to give back, and with the firm's anniversary celebration approaching, they thought this was a good time to act and be able to announce their support of an organization as part of the celebration.

Spearheaded by one of the partners, some casual conversations within the firm suggested they were looking for volunteer activities that would have a connection to their work, but wanted the whole firm to be able to participate, so they weren't looking to do legal work. They thought they could all support education in some way, having completed significant education themselves, and they liked the idea of supporting kids. They turned their attention to supporting literacy, and soon met with the Executive Director at a local literacy organization offering their support.

While the first meeting started off sounding like the firm had it all figured out - they knew they wanted to select an organization to support where all the members of the firm could participate, and had already met with a literacy organization - by the end of the meeting they seemed less sure. As a cause to support, literacy might be terrific, but to meet the firm's needs, it didn't seem to be the best fit. Firm members wanted to work together as a team, to strengthen their connections to each other and the firm, and adult literacy is conducted one on one between the volunteer and learner, so there really wasn't a teambuilding opportunity. In addition, the literacy organization was looking for a 1 year commitment from each volunteer, for 2 hours each week. This sounded like the kind of commitment that would be challenging for lawyers in particular to fit in their schedules, so there likely wouldn't be many firm members signing up to volunteer. And, we later discovered that teaching/mentoring weren't the most popular volunteer activities for the firm members, again reducing participation.

The result would likely have required a lot of effort on behalf of the firm to try to make this work, but the firm members wouldn't have been able to participate as they'd wanted, unable to make the weekly commitment. Those that did volunteer wouldn't have a team building experience as they and the firm had hoped. As a result, young lawyers might well continue to leave the firm at the current rates, and the firm really wouldn't have the kind of impact on the community it had hoped.

Unfortunately, if this were the case, the firm would have a hard time proudly talking about their support of the literacy organization, because it would be a handful of people involved, so making little impact, and a cheque. This would provide little benefit back to the firm. No doubt the firm would end their support at the earliest opportunity, deeming the initiative (and perhaps all philanthropy) unsuccessful.

After the initial meeting, it was a matter of meeting with the firm’s partners to determine the business goals of their philanthropy and any parameters around their support (what they would/wouldn’t support and how).

That led to 2 focus groups – one with lawyers and another with staff to get a sense of their interest and support, and frame the all-employee survey which followed. The results of this input (a process which leads to higher engagement, as broad input is sought), determined the criteria for selecting a non-profit organization.

With agreement on the criteria (things like low/no training required, supporting children/youth in an organization related to education or community service, able to volunteer in teams during the work day for a half to full day, good fit for the firm in size, culture and work), we then focused on non-profit organizations that best met the criteria, and narrowed it down to 2 opportunities to pursue - a local school and community centre, both of which support a group of less advantaged kids in the area. Supporting either organization allows for a unique volunteer program to be developed, involving a variety of volunteer opportunities for the firm, leveraging their firm members’ skills and interests. In fact, the firm has decided to support both organizations to make a greater impact on the group of kids both organizations serve, and provide flexibility in volunteer opportunities.

2H2M then helped launch the program with firm members, including creating a volunteer policy outlining how to get involved, a sign up process, identifying key projects and project leaders.

This solution provides this small-medium firm a community support program to call their own, an opportunity to engage as they wish and truly have an impact, and proudly support and promote how they are able to make a difference in their community. There has been an enthusiastic response from within the firm, and the receiving organizations are thrilled about the support and commitment. The opportunity for members of the firm to give back in a meaningful way, to do the sort of volunteer work that they enjoy, to feel connected to the firm and their co-workers, and to take pride in what the firm does, drive engagement and community impact, and countless other benefits to the firm.

Incidentally, simply by the firm meeting with the school and community centre, bringing those two organizations together, the children have benefited. It’s opened the dialogue to share needs and develop solutions together. For example, to ensure parents are able to attend parent-teacher interviews, parents are now being shuttled to the school in the community centre van. In addition, the school newsletter is advertising the community centre’s services, and teachers from the school are volunteering at the community centre’s breakfast program.

The firm has been recognized for its program, as its Managing Director was a finalist for the HRPA (Human Resources Professionals Association) National Award for Corporate Social Responsibility. While not the winner, the firm was proud of its accomplishments to date, and was delighted to issue a press release saying so while encouraging other small-medium businesses to get involved in giving back. This of course provides additional visibility to the firm and the not for profits it supports, and creates an additional source of pride for all involved.