Simont Braun

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PRO BONO

Social equity and economic efficiency are major concerns at Simont Braun. These issues are an important part of our strategy and we continually strive to actively defend the fundamental values of social commitment.

We promote a fairer and more equitable world, a process that starts in-house. In the workplace, we ensure the well-being of all our staff while enhancing diversity and reducing our environmental footprint. To this end, we also enter into partnerships with businesses, non-profit organisations and civil society.

PRO BONO WORK - Every year Simont Braun provides hours of legal support to non-profit organisations and vulnerable individuals. Some of our lawyers are also involved in the drafting of key legislative texts on a pro bono basis.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT - In our day-to-day activities we are committed to a healthier, cleaner and sustainable planet. We are continuously adapting our behaviour and have implemented a series of measures to reduce our environmental footprint. We also make sure that our selection criteria for external providers incorporate these issues.

DIVERSITY - Diversity is part of our DNA, whether in terms of gender, profile or background. We have always placed great emphasis on empowering and retaining women, all the way to the very top. One-half of our associates and one-third of our partners are women. Two of our five executive committee members are women, and our past and current managing partners are women. Such a high proportion of women in leading positions is rare in law firms and, more generally, in the corporate world.

We are also a member of Women In Law and Leadership (WILL). This is a Brussels-based project for all law firms designed to support talented women on their way to becoming leaders, providing them with the tools they require to succeed.

Simont Braun is a sponsor and Sandrine Hirsch is a member of Women on Board, a non-profit association created by women dedicated to promoting access by women to directorship roles within Belgian enterprises.

Simont Braun is a co-founding member of the Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance (LDIA), a collective effort by several law firms in Belgium and nominated as an Outstanding Network/Group for the Chambers Europe Awards 2021 within the Diversity and Inclusion categories. By joining LDIA, member firms confirm their commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment, to the exchange of good practices on diversity and inclusion, and to raise awareness of non-discrimination and diversity issues by combining efforts to organise events, workshops, training and other activities. LDIA is a very young initiative (early 2019), and beyond these initiatives, its ultimate goal is to increase awareness of law firms and of the legal sector in Belgium in order to achieve concrete results and improvements regarding diversity and inclusion. In this framework, Simont Braun organises internal events to raise awareness on diversity matters. The next event will take place on 8 March for the International Women’s Rights Day – we are hosting the author of the book “All people are equal, including women” (Dirk Van Gerven).

Gender diversity: We have always placed great emphasis on empowering and retaining women all the way to the top. Since its founding, our firm has always had in average one-third of female partners. Gender diversity, with women becoming leaders, even before gender diversity and quotas (in certain areas) became an important topic, felt natural. We have continued on this path, and currently, one-half of our associates and one-third of our partners are women, two of our five executive committee members are women, and our past and current managing partners are women, just as our communication & marketing manager. Simont Braun is an active member of WILL (Women in Law and Leadership) and of Women on Board.

In more general terms, and as illustrated by our numerous pro bono activities, we are striving to achieve greater diversity, both internally and with our external partners.

DONATION POLICY - Every year Simont Braun allocates a budget to support a number of selected charities.