MARGARET TAYLOR

PERSONAL injury firm Digby Brown Solicitors has been praised for its focus on corporate social responsibility by people management accreditation agency Investors in People.

The Edinburgh-headquartered outfit, which last week was crowned The Herald’s CSR firm of the year at The Law Awards of Scotland, has become the first law firm in the UK to achieve platinum Investors in People status, with its focus on CSR one of the main reasons.

Digby Brown’s CSR efforts, which are led by CSR manager Kathleen McMonagle, see it work with a range of national charities whose focus chimes with the kind of work the firm does while its seven offices also partner with schemes in their local communities.

Firm spokesperson Neil Cardwell said that while Investors in People recognises businesses for the efforts they make on behalf of their own people, the fact it encourages employees to become involved in CSR work was seen as a particular positive.

“Investors in People came in and talked to our staff and one of the things a number of our colleagues talked about was the opportunity to become involved in CSR work,” he said. “They get involved in fundraising and we commit the time for that.”

Among the organisations the firm supports are road safety charity Brake and Dundee-based Asbestos Action. It provides £10,000 of funding a year for the former’s bereavement helpline and the head of its industrial disease team Fraser Simpson volunteers as its Scottish media spokesperson while for the latter it provides free office space and £16,000 a year towards running costs.