Pro Bono

Being philanthropic is part of our DNA. When we see somebody struggle our natural instinct is to help and many people do this by donating to charities in their lifetime or leaving charitable legacies in their wills. Other people decide to create their own charity to achieve their philanthropic aims and there has been a noticeable increase of this happening in England and Wales. As at October 2023, there were over 169,000 charities registered in England and Wales and collectively their income was circa £89 billion.

Entering the legal profession is an extremely daunting task in and of itself. The odds of success are slim – 2% if you want to be specific (Chambers Student, 2020). Against this background, those seeking to enter the profession face a cacophony of dissonant perfectionism. It is a constant rhetoric that every part of your academic journey must be flawless, coupled with an exceptional level of work experience and a multitude of extra-curricular activities. It is frankly exhausting before you have even written a word of the application. So, what do you do when you don’t fit the mould of the perfect candidate? 

Refugee Week seems like the perfect opportunity to celebrate and introduce CARAS, one of KN’s two newly nominated charities which we will be supporting for the years 2022-2024.

It has now been over two months since Russia launched its military invasion of Ukraine. Since then, thousands of people have died, towns and cities have been destroyed and 13 million people have been displaced. As a result, people around the World have mobilised to help in any way they can and Kingsley Napley also wants to play its part.

This quarterly environmental law update provides a summary of a cross-section of news stories in the period July 2021 - September 2021. 

This quarterly environmental law update provides a summary of a cross-section of news stories in the period April 2021 - June 2021. 

This quarterly environmental law update provides a summary of a cross section of news stories in the period Jan 2021 - March 2021. 

Following the tragic events of this week, I have thought back to the past two weeks and considered how my position might have been different if I was a woman.  I now recognise just how incredibly ‘normal’ it has become for women to be warned against walking alone at night, which is something I have never had to consider as a man.  This dichotomy between the experiences of men and women has been made clear by the reaction across traditional and social media.

Kingsley Napley continue to support International Women’s Day to help forge a more gender equal world. As a firm we pride ourselves on having a workforce made up of over 69% women, with more than 50% in the partnership. However, we know that much work still has to be done in the legal sector and beyond.

Kingsley Napley had the pleasure of hosting an evening with Spark Inside. The charity coaches prisoners and advocates for change within the criminal justice system. Please read on to find out what we learnt and how you can help.

Pro bono is part of our DNA at Kingsley Napley. It is part of many fee earners’ weekly if not daily work. We have provided pro bono legal advice and services for several decades and it is now a cornerstone of the Responsible Business (RB) offering at the firm which I manage.

Today (September 10th) is world suicide prevention day and an opportunity to raise awareness, reach out to those that are struggling and demonstrate that loss of life can be prevented. 

On 22 June, people will come together to celebrate what has now been called, “Windrush Day”. The day is being marked with celebrations around the country, which may well be a challenge given social distancing. However, as a quick reminder, this day is to mark the injustice and scandal that many people faced, predominantly from the Caribbean who, after being in the UK for more than 50 years were asked to leave the country.

Carers are often unpaid relatives and/or close family friends; they can face practical problems such as not being able to speak to third parties on behalf of the person for whom they are caring and it can be difficult to access that person’s funds without legal authority. These practical issues can unnecessarily add more stress and challenges to the carer’s role, which should otherwise be focused on caring. To help alleviate this pressure, it’s important for anyone to look at ways they may be able to plan for and organise their financial affairs to help make these situations better for those who may need to care for them. 

During Carers Week 2020, we help to make caring visible by sharing voices of staff members at Kingsley Napley, who are either carers themselves or witness the effects of others being required to fulfil a carer’s role. Today, we share Sarah Harris’ story about caring for her father, who suffers with MSA, whilst balancing responsibilities for her young children and for clients and colleagues in her role as partner in our Regulatory team. Sarah offers her advice to colleagues, friends and others caring for loved ones during COVID-19.

During Carers Week 2020, we help to make caring visible by sharing voices of staff members at Kingsley Napley, who are either carers themselves or witness the effects of others being required to fulfil a carer’s role. Today, we share Satvir Sokhi’s story as he reflects on his mother’s role as carer for his grandparents and some of the challenges she faces: practically, physically and culturally.

This week (8-14 June 2020) is Carers Week.  The rallying call “lets raise our voices together and help make caring visible” could not be more relevant given the current situation the whole world is facing. In this blog, we reflect on the importance of marking caring visible and shares a story about her friend's experience as a carer at this time.

As the UK settles into its tenth week of lockdown, we are starting to see glimpses of hope that we might soon be back to work, the gym, and school. But while we are all looking forward to enjoying things we did before lockdown, we shouldn't be so hasty to revert back to all of our old ways.  

The importance of kindness and mental health is always high on the agenda at Kingsley Napley, and we embrace the annual Mental Health Awareness Week as an opportunity to raise awareness among our people about the tools and channels available to support their mental health and wellbeing. 

We are using this week to support #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and specifically the theme of kindness at Kingsley Napley. As a black woman, mental health is a topic that has long both interested and troubled me. Specifically, why is mental health still reported to be taboo within ethnic communities?