Social

The Fernando Pombo Foundation is the main pillar of our commitment to society and people. The Foundation was created in 2010, jointly by the Firm and one of its founding partners, Fernando Pombo.

Thanks to it we carry out initiatives for the strengthening of the rule of law and the promotion of human rights, mainly through the pro bono involvement of our lawyers in legal projects promoted by the Foundation. All of them play a leading role in our ESG strategy, given the sector and activity carried out by the Firm.

The Foundation is also the compass that guides our strategy in the areas of diversity, equality and social inclusion, areas that are part of our corporate effort to distinguish ourselves as socially responsible.

We have various committees whose purpose is to define and implement the Firm's policies and strategic objectives in relation to equality between men and women, respect for the LGBTI community, generational diversity, the social and labor inclusion of people with disabilities, and the well-being and mental health of our employees.

In parallel, we help our clients to comply with applicable regulations and to define strategies in these areas.

Our Sustainability Group's lines of advice

Equality

Equal treatment and opportunities between women and men is a priority for the Firm. We have a new Equality Plan 2022-2026 that contains measures that have a direct impact on policies related to training, promotion, conciliation, remuneration and working conditions, among others. All of this with the sole objective of guaranteeing equal opportunities in the work environment

Disability

We are committed to the labor and social inclusion of people with disabilities in the legal sector and, in particular, in the Firm. For more than fifteen years, several people with disabilities have been part of our team.

In other actions, we collaborate with the Course of Legal Assistant with Disabilities of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos -having created a position of paralegal technician for people with disabilities in the Firm- and we are part of the working group "Di-Capacidad" of the Fundación para la Investigación sobre el Derecho y la Empresa (FIDE), through which good practices are promoted in law firms in the field of disability.

LGBTI Diversity and Inclusion

We want to be an inclusive Firm, free of all forms of discrimination against the LGBTI community. To this end, in addition to periodically organizing internal awareness-raising activities such as the "GA_P Proud" forum, we are members of REDI - Business Network for LGBTI Diversity and Inclusion - and have subscribed to the United Nations "Standards of Conduct for Business --Tackling Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex People".

Generational diversity

We have carried out a diagnosis of intergenerational barriers and opportunities in the Firm, which will allow us to define the strategic objectives for the coming years, in which we want to prioritize the management of senior talent and foster intergenerational relations.

Wellness

We consider it essential to advance the well-being and health of all the Firm's employees. We have different programs with the objectives, among others, of promoting sports activities that encourage healthy lifestyle habits or team activities that offer value to society.

Another of our priority objectives is to implement an emotional well-being action plan in the coming years, which is essential given the high exposure of the legal profession to situations of stress and anxiety.

We also have occupational risk prevention services through which all occupational risk prevention activities in the Iberian offices are coordinated.

Conciliation

We have a Teleworking and Time Flexibility Plan available to all the Firm's professionals. This plan allows, on the one hand, all positions that are able to provide their services remotely one day a week if they so wish, and, on the other hand, flexible working hours in terms of start and end times.

We have also implemented other measures to promote co-responsibility in the Firm, such as, for example, a Flexibility Plan for parents or paid leave in specific situations.

Networks

We collaborate with a large number of national and international public and private associations, networks, groups and professional bodies. Annex II of the Non-Financial Information Report 2022 contains a list of all those to which the Firm belongs.

In 2022, Almudena Arpón de Mendívil, partner of the Corporate and Commercial practice, has been appointed president of the International Bar Association (IBA). Almudena will lead for at least two years this international bar association, which includes 190 Bar Associations from 170 countries and more than 80,000 professionals.

In addition, some of our professionals participate in the governing bodies of professional corporations in Spain and Portugal.