I’ve been prompted to ponder some big questions recently. An exercise on how to take my freelance PR business forward on a strategy day I was attending ended in me thinking more about my own values.
Balancing business purpose with personal values
While securing quality media coverage for my clients is my key business purpose, striving to balance that objective with my own values is important to me too. So when I was asked on the strategy day if my sole purpose is to make a profit at any cost, the answer was no; who I work for and how I do that work matters.
When I look back at the firms I have worked with since 2015, they all have a strong moral compass. I wouldn’t feel comfortable working for a law firm that I knew to be highly aggressive in its dealings as that stance isn’t aligned with my own approach. Equally, I am careful about the people I am working for – are there any “red flags” in their professional history which might suggest dubious practice?
It helps that the legal sector pioneered and has a strong reputation for pro bono work and that law firms are highly regulated, there are rules (e.g. anti-money laundering) and principles (e.g. the SRA Code of Conduct) which must be followed by lawyers and their firms and which keep everyone to the same standards.
Going the extra mile
Recently there has been a trend for law firms to go further, voluntarily submitting themselves to scrutiny to join the B Corp movement, thus showing they hold themselves to a higher standard than the minimum required to operate in the legal sector.
Freeths became the first top 50 law firm to announce it was B Corp certified in February 2024 following a surge in other legal services firms gaining B Corp accreditation last year including Stephens Scown, Brabners, and Anthony Collins.
Ethics matter more and more
The practise of law has always involved ethical questions, but ethics certainly seem to have moved up the agenda in the legal sector. For example, the recently exposed behaviour of the Post Office’s legal team during the Horizon scandal has horrified the public.
Perhaps this has something to do with the social media age, but law firms are increasingly turning clients away on ethical grounds – for example after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine -and on the face of it this seems like a positive development but, is it?
Could the principle that everyone is entitled to legal representation be threatened by this closer focus on ethics? The cherished “cab rank principle” which operates at the criminal Bar forces barristers to represent whoever is next in line (whatever they are charged with). If law firms turn down clients on ethical grounds, is it right that law firm partners get to decide where the line is drawn?
The recent NatWest de-banking scandal saw CEO, Dame Alison Rose, resign and the bank come under intense media scrutiny for allegedly withdrawing banking services from those whose views it deemed didn’t align with its values. No law firm would want to have to deal with that type of PR storm so perhaps this is a cautionary tale!
In conclusion
I believe in professional karma – how you treat people comes back to impact you and your business. So, while I always settle my invoices on time, treat people I work with, with respect, and help people where I can – through formal or more informal pro bono work, I have been very fortunate in my legal clients; they all have a strong set of values and want to do the best for their clients, they are inspiring to work with.
With the right internal checks and balances I believe law firms can find the answers to their ethical questions and many are already discovering that holding themselves to good, strong and transparent values can enhance their business, not hold it back.
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