Making a difference, together
We're more than a law firm. We operate as a community with our people, our clients, and our connections. Great things are achieved when we work together, not just in the legal world, but throughout the communities in which we work.
Every year we support charities and organisations who share our passion for the arts, and prioritise progress for change on inclusion and sustainability. In this section of our report, you'll see just some of the ways our people have helped make a difference.
Fundraising for Ukraine
We've had an office in Ukraine since 2008 and were shocked at the news in February of the attacks on the country. The safety of our colleagues and clients in the region were, of course, our first priority at this extremely difficult and concerning time, and we've continued to support in more ways.
Since Russia's invasion our fundraising activities have resulted in donations of over €250,000 to support the people of Ukraine.
The funds have been distributed to Emergency Aid Ukraine, Nothilfe Ukraine – Deine Spende hilft, the British Red Cross, and directly to a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
Board member and partner in our Private Equity team, James Goold also made a 2,500 mile round-trip to the Polish city of Przemyśl to distribute 400 sleeping bags and medical kits to refugees fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, which raised over £75,000 in sponsorship donations for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.
Round the Houses
There's a natural affinity between the work the Roundhouse is doing to inspire young people and the importance we place on supporting the arts, inclusion and the community. You can find out more about our partnership here.
As part of our partnership, every year we support the Round the Houses challenge. In June 2022 participants completed a 36-mile walking route to support the Roundhouse’s creative work with young people, and this year’s challenge raised over £200,000 with teams from Inflexion, Taylor Wessing and The Foundation taking part.
The challenge was led by our Responsible Business Partner, Al Watson, who kicked things off from our London office at 4am, and was joined by Kris Champaneri, Anna-Mariya Angelinova and others for part of the journey.
We raised over £5,000 for this year’s challenge, making us one of the top three fundraisers for the event.
Oxygen for India
In May 2021 India found itself at the epicentre of the pandemic, with the virus spreading to the country's hinterland, and with record daily infections and deaths being reported from rural areas, home to over 70% of India’s 1.3 billion population. During this difficult time we donated £1,500 to The British Asian Trust to help get essential oxygen and medical supplies to India.
Supporting St Mungo’s during the Christmas lockdown
St Mungo’s is the nation’s leading charity for ending homelessness, supporting people all the way from the street to employment and everything in between. We’ve had a relationship with St Mungo’s for over 10 years and work closely with The Lodge, the St Mungo’s specialist hostel located near our New Street Square office. It helps older long-term rough sleepers find safety, security, and recover from the trauma of living on the street.
We support them every Christmas with gift packages, preparing Christmas dinner and providing a sense of family, comfort and extra support during the festive period. While we were unable to visit and volunteer in person last year due to the pandemic, the fantastic chefs in our staff restaurant, Cloud Nine, stepped up to prepare a festive meal with all the trimmings for 50 residents of The Lodge, which we delivered on 18 December 2021.
Supporting learning in our local communities
Schools also suffered during the pandemic, with shortages of laptops and basic stationery to provide for home schooling. Though we were prevented from operating our reading scheme, to help support remote learning we donated 50 laptops to St Jude's Primary School in London and Notre Dame Catholic College in Liverpool.
The donation of high-quality laptops from Taylor Wessing meant some of our most vulnerable pupils were able to access our online offering. The global pandemic highlighted the gap between the haves and have nots and although schools have tried to narrow it down, there are always budget constraints; getting support from community partners, like Taylor Wessing, has allowed us to reach more pupils.
Matt Jones
Acting Assistant Headteacher, St Jude's Church of England Primary School
Total payroll giving donations from 2019-22
Let's get quizzical
In November 2021 we held our first in-person quiz for nearly 18 months. Teams in London and Liverpool sat down for an intense battle of wits.
£4,000 was raised for our charity partners, which was split between the Roundhouse and Future First.
On the ball
Our men's football team in London marked a return to five-a-side action by taking part in the Mayer Brown tournament in Shoreditch. This charity fundraising tournament saw teams competed for the cup while raising money for Community Music, Gendered Intelligence, and the Marine Conservation Society.
On your marks
July 2021 saw the return of the Great City Race. A team of 20 runners represented Taylor Wessing in this 5km corporate running challenge where workers in the banking, accountancy, insurance, legal and media industries race around the closed streets of London’s Square Mile for charity.
Santa Dash
A big highlight of our year in Liverpool is the annual Santa Dash and December 2021 was not to be missed ahead of the national lockdown. As the biggest and longest established Santa Run in the UK, the 5k fun run sees an army of Santas, and Taylor Wessing people in disguise, run from Pier Head to the Town Hall to raise money for charities including Alder Hey Children’s Charity, Claire House Children’s Hospice, Clatterbridge Cancer Charity, Marie Curie and more.
The Vienna Marathon 2022
After a break last year because of international lockdowns, we were back for the 39th Vienna City Marathon.
Over 150 people from the firm, across seven countries and 13 of our offices, laced up their running shoes and were among the 42,000 people taking part. Funds raised weren't the only success on the day, with one of our relay teams from the UK taking second place!
