ONE OF US.
CHALLENGERS.
ACCEPTED.
Our Culture
Many individuals, one shared culture. The environment we strive to cultivate is just as important as the work we do. Let’s take a look at what makes our workplace so popular with our people.
Responsible Business
It’s no secret that the last couple of years have led to a culmination of critical environmental, economic, and societal challenges affecting all of us, our clients and our communities.
At Dentons we, like other businesses, recognise we have a responsibility in responding to these issues. It is important for us to positively impact the lives of others and to minimise the impact of our operations on the environment.
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Environment – Minimising our impact on the planet addremove
Dentons is fully committed to understanding the impact our operations have on the environment on both a local and global basis and taking appropriate actions to mitigate that impact.
We have partnered with Planet Mark and follow their Net Zero programme which aligns with the Science Based Target initiative’s (SBTi’s) Corporate Net Zero Standard to deliver against the 1.5 degree global warming target set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
We are committed to responsible consumption and internal processes that are streamlined to minimise the use of resources. We were one of the first law firms to be accredited as a Carbon Neutral company and hold accreditation standards for environmental and energy management. We make conscious contributions towards reversing climate change and we set targets to reduce our consumption of natural resources, our emissions, carbon footprint and waste.
We have an Environmental Sustainability Committee comprised of representatives from across the firm. Representatives from our early careers cohorts working alongside other Dentons colleagues to identify changes we can make to further our environmental sustainability efforts e.g. changes to how we recycle.
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Inclusion & Diversity addremove
Success is seeing gain differently. It’s not about you and it’s not always about us either. Blurring the lines. Moving away from personal or business benefit. Helping the community, and adding a dimension to your career. Doing good feels good.
At Dentons, inclusion and diversity is not just a core value, it is an integral part of our strategy. Building a more inclusive and diverse law firm is core to our strategy because it leads to better business outcomes for our clients, our communities and for Dentons.
We believe in creating an environment where everyone can thrive. We work hard to nurture a sense of inclusion that is empowering to the individual, to the teams and to the Firm.
Examples of our inclusion strategy include a focus on allyship program, access initiatives, mentoring programs, and a series of events and conversations focussed on equity and inclusion.
Our I&D Network Groups also play a huge part in fostering a sense of belonging and support for everyone at the firm. These groups include GLOW (LGBTQ+), Fusion (Asian Professionals), BPN (Black Professionals), Inspire (Gender Equality) and AccessAbility (persons with disabilities).
Early careers colleagues actively help us to foster an inclusive culture.
A good number of individuals from our early careers cohorts are actively involved in the different Network Groups, and some are even in co-chair roles. This provides an opportunity to establish relationships across the whole of the firm, to actively contribute to fostering an inclusive culture here at Dentons, and to develop a broader range of skills e.g. project management, delegation etc. Thanks to the hard work of many of our early careers colleagues activities such as Pride celebrations and the annual networking event for Black History Month have been huge successes.
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Wellbeing addremove
At Dentons, your wellbeing matters. We want you to work well and live well.
We strive to promote and support the health and wellbeing of our staff; to enable everyone to work in a sustainable and rewarding way; and to respect the balance between professional and personal lives.
We are committed to developing a working environment where people can be themselves, wellbeing is prioritised and mental and physical health can be discussed openly. We want everyone at Dentons to be empowered to look after their health and wellbeing and to support their colleagues to do the same.
Early careers colleagues helping everyone to prioritise their wellbeing.
We have an active wellbeing committee in place who meet monthly and help us to ensure a strong focus on wellbeing here at Dentons. Our early careers colleagues have been instrumental in helping us to mark key wellbeing and mental health dates, and are in the process of arranging a walking challenge to get colleagues outside during winter months.
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Pro bono and community addremove
Our CSR and Pro Bono programmes provide opportunities to help those in need in our local communities. They’re also a great way to develop your personal and professional skills.
We recognise the importance of supporting and bettering the communities in which we live and work and we support those who may be less advantaged than ourselves through numerous pro bono and community initiatives. Dentons’ employees invest significant time in volunteering and education initiatives and pro bono and fundraising efforts. We promote access to justice in the broadest possible terms by providing free legal assistance to charities and NGOs promoting important social causes and to low income and marginalised individuals and groups.
All early careers colleagues are actively involved in pro bono and volunteering opportunities. Many are regularly on the rota for our dedicated free legal advice clinic PopLaw, or regularly attending Whitechapel Mission to provide breakfast to the homeless and marginalised. A number are members of our office charity committees, devising creative ways to fundraise from Doughnut sales, to cake competitions and the infamous office quizzes that often get very competitive!
Pro Bono Case Study
Together with LawWorks, Dentons set up the first Poplaw clinic in January 2006. The drop-in clinics offers free legal advice to individuals who may not otherwise be able to access or afford it.
So far the clinic has provided:
- Over 17,500 Hours of free legal advice
- Services to over 6500 Clients
- £7.8 million in chargeable time.
Away from the desk
It’s not all work. Once you’ve settled into your programme, we’ve got lots of social activities to keep you busy.
Our Social Committee organises an annual calendar of events, including spring balls, Christmas fairs, cheese and wine evenings, and our very own bake off. Alongside this we have clubs to suit every interest from sports to theatre.
Our Trainees also have budgets to organise social and networking events, to continue to grow their networks and build strong working relationships.
“WE ARE INVITED TO BE PART OF THE SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND, IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A NEW GROUP OR ACTIVITY, THE FIRM WILL SUPPORT YOU IN ORGANISING THAT.”
Innovation
This is a theme that’s critical to our identity as the world’s largest law firm. It’s not something that sits in isolation – innovation is encouraged at every level and is welcomed from every single one of our challengers. It’s just one of the ways we cultivate a diverse and progressive corporate culture, as opposed to a single-minded one.
Every lawyer at Dentons is expected to engage with innovation. We’ve established innovation gatekeepers and a dedicated charge code, allowing lawyers to allocate up to 50 hours per year to innovation projects. This commitment ensures that innovation is part of our daily work.
Each department is assigned a budget specifically earmarked for legal innovation. These resources are instrumental in implementing cutting-edge solutions. Our innovation department actively sources new solutions and educates teams about existing legal technology within the firm.
We’ve crafted a highly bespoke programme for our apprentices from year four onwards, enhancing their understanding of legal innovation and digital transformation. During each seat rotation, apprentices undertake an innovation project. With guidance from their Innovation Training supervisor and the Innovation team, they choose projects from a range of categories, such as AI, Document Automation, Design Thinking, RPA (Robotic Process Automation), Data Visualisation, or a Business Case. These projects not only expand apprentices’ knowledge but also help us identify and address innovation gaps.
We’re committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Our Values
Our values guide everything we do at Dentons, and play a vital part of our journey from largest to leading, from now to next.
- Always human: we are open, honest and empathetic towards each other, our clients and our community
- Stronger together: we work as one, using our diverse strengths to succeed together
- Here to win: we are ambitious and future focussed.