Corporate Social Responsability

We set high standards of ethics and integrity to our business activity. We comply with national and international law as well as the lawyers’ professional ethics.  In our internal code of conduct we have formulated binding standards of rules and principles of conduct in order to avoid business crime and corruption, conflicts of interests, information and data misuse as well as discriminating behavior. The adherence to the rules is monitored by an ongoing control system.

We see the potential in each of our employees and are constantly developing this potential. As a result we demand and promote autonomy, a sense of responsibility and a motivation through an inclusive and mutually respectful environment, which makes no distinction between gender, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability or other aspects of ones personal history.

We are convinced that resource friendly action is the best way to combine quality, economic efficiency and environmental protection. Wherever possible, we avoid using paper. We are reducing our travel to an absolute minimum, making the most of our large national and international network and through the use of videoconferences. Our offices are situated in modern, climate-friendly buildings and we regularly donate to environmental organisations.

We feel as though we have an obligation to the public interest and we support pro bono charitable and cultural institutions.

Please find below a selection of our community activities:

The Germany Scholarship

University of Cologne

The Germany Scholarship was created by the government in 2010 and was launched at the University of Cologne in the winter semester of 2011/12. In particular students with especially good academic performance and social engagement are supported, as well as students whose life and education have already provided even greater challenges. The scholarship holders can specifically concentrate on their higher education.

Half of the students’ financial support comes from the government, and the other half from businesses and private donors. Since the winter semester of 2013, we have been promoters of the project and thus make our contribution to the education of tomorrow’s top students in conjunction with the University of Cologne.

KunstSalon e.V.

Brühler Strasse 11-13 | 50968 Köln
Tel +49 221 373391 | Fax +49 221 9348782

The  ‚KunstSalon‘ (Art Salon) is a private initiative to promote art and culture in Cologne. We support the various activities of the KunstSalon in the realm of artist support and artist presentation with an annual financial contribution. In addition, our partners participate as hosts to the KunstSalon’s music and literary festivals.

Stiftung Stadtgedächtnis

Große Budengasse 10 | 50667 Köln
Tel +49 221-933 502-0 | Fax +49 221-933 502-99

info@stiftung-stadtgedaechtnis.de

Stiftung Stadtgedächtnis (The City Commemoration Foundation) is a non profit organisation to save and preserve our cultural heritage, which was damaged by the collapse of the Cologne city archive in 2009: 30,000 meters of shelves filled with documents of over 1,100 years of European history have been shredded and soaked. This collective store of knowledge of politics and law, cultural life, everyday life, religion, economics, social affairs and education must now be carefully restored.

We are committed as a donor and a member of the ‘Rescue Round’ and support the restoration, the coordination of the portfolio, digitisation and research of archive materials.

Engagement in Secondary Schools

We work closely with schools and inform them on vocational guidance days and project weeks based on studying law and the legal profession in general, but in particular about being a lawyer. Our lawyers are at their personal disposal and provide insight into the professional opportunities offered by a successful completion of law school followed by the second state examination. At vocational training fairs at schools we also present the job of a legal secretary.

So we support the students in the form of lectures, workshops and personal interviews in their career choice and support them in their daily life-planning. We also offer students through internships a first glimpse into the everyday work of a major law firm.

Support of non-profit organizations and associations

We regularly donate to non-profit organisations and social institutions, amongst others the children’s hospice “Regenbogenland” in Düsseldorf and “DKMS".