Community

Simmons & Simmons plays an active role in the local communities in which it is based. The firm’s strategy is to tackle social exclusion by creating opportunities for diverse or less privileged sections of society, local to each of our offices.

Mentoring schemes

In London we are involved in five mentoring schemes which include reading schemes with primary school children, language mentoring with GCSE students and mentoring of college and university students. Primary school schemes provide younger children with an opportunity to experience the joy of reading and improve their skills, particularly where English is not their first language. Secondary school, college and university mentoring schemes focus on providing career advice and guidance to older students thinking about further education or their choice of career.

Our mentoring scheme at Tower Hamlets College has been so successful that we have extended it for the duration of the students’ degrees, and offered an annual contribution towards their university fees and legal work experience placements.

Mentors are recruited from across the office and include partners, lawyers and business services staff. One of our mentors describes her experience:

“I became involved with the mentoring scheme at Moreland Primary School because I wanted to give something back to the local community. It's very easy to get caught up in City life, without realising that there are communities on our doorstep that we can contribute to. The main benefit I have got from being involved in the mentoring scheme comes from watching the children improve their reading throughout the year. More than that, it is often noticeable that a child's confidence improves as they benefit from the one-on-one attention that they would not normally get within the classroom.”

Twist Partnership

Simmons & Simmons has joined the Twist Partnership to support a pioneering youth inclusion programme, ‘Step Up’. This project aims to empower young people from Tower Hamlets who are at risk of offending or exclusion from school by giving them the responsibility to organise and execute a large project, supported by members of the firm, and the opportunity of work experience placements across the business services departments.

International community work

Below are some examples of recent community projects undertaken by Simmons & Simmons internationally:

• Hong Kong

  Partners and associates in our Hong Kong office volunteer on the Law Mentorship Programme organised by the Law Faculty at the University of Hong Kong. The office has also been involved in a number of fundraising activities, including for the Red Cross Sichuan Earthquake Appeal and for Community Chest, a charity which supports services to the elderly, the mentally and physically

• Shanghai

  Our Shanghai office has supported law students at the Fudan University in Shanghai through the provision of scholarships and internship positions to high performing students, the donation of used computers to students in need and by participating in university seminars on merger and acquisition transactions. 

• The Netherlands

  As Unicef’s legal partner, the Dutch offices have supported them through fundraising initiatives, selling Unicef products in the office and, at the opening reception of the Amsterdam office in April 2007, asking guests to make a donation to Unicef.

• Middle East

  Our Abu Dhabi office has donated funding to a special needs school in Abu Dhabi and are involved in the ‘Academy of Excellence’ which provides scholarships to university students. Our Dubai office has supported the Mission to Seafarers with a "Take My Junk" collection.