London — The Refugee Employment Academy, a flagship community program in Mayer Brown's London office, was recognized in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Innovation category at the Legal Week Innovation Awards 2018.
The scheme, delivered in partnership with a London charity, Breaking Barriers, helps refugees improve their chances of employment by providing work placements, skills training, coaching and mentoring opportunities.
Commenting on the award win, London Head of CSR at Mayer Brown, Heidi Newbigging, said: "We wanted to deliver a CSR project that enables our people to use their skills to make a positive and practical difference to people's lives. Through our partnership with Breaking Barriers we are able to do just that. The firm provides much needed work placements, whilst our partner and employee volunteers support the skills training and CV workshops. It is a very rewarding program. We would encourage more businesses to get involved."
The Legal Week Innovation Awards recognize innovation, creative excellence and best practice in the legal profession from disciplines such as CSR, marketing, business development, finance, IT, project management, operations, PR and recruitment. The Awards are in their fourth year.