Each month ELBA interviews a Corporate Social Responsibility contact at one of our corporate partner companies to find out about the latest developments in CSR and why supporting local communities is important to them. This month we are shining a spotlight on Gill Baxter, Office Administrator at Davis Polk & Wardwell London LLP.

Davis Polk is a global law firm headquartered in New York with nine other offices located across the world’s key financial centres, including London. Gill has worked at the Firm for four and a half years and is responsible for the business support teams for Davis Polk in London. She has an incredibly varied role, overseeing in particular: Human Resources, payroll, premises & facilities issues, and general secretarial & office support.  She is also part of the team that coordinates the CSR and pro bono efforts for the London office.

Hi Gill, tell us a bit about your involvement in CSR
During my career I have always had opportunities to work on CSR projects and have been particularly focused on the education sector. In fact, my very first full-time role, for British Petroleum during my university placement year, was in their Community and Educational Affairs Team, which in the early 1990s(!), was a relatively new initiative for both the City and the oil industry. It is wonderful to see that CSR is now a regular part of doing business.

Why is CSR important to your organisation?
Davis Polk has a long history of supporting community and social issues. We believe that our CSR initiatives – complemented by our extensive pro bono work – strengthen our ties to our global communities and make our neighbourhoods better places to live. It is an integral part of our firm’s culture, and we have been very fortunate to partner with ELBA on these important initiatives for a number of years.

Which topics, themes or initiatives are your organisation currently focused on?
Our focus through ELBA has been working with specific schools in East London to support the students through a career mentoring program. Presented by our lawyers and staff, the programs emphasise engaging with the students and exposing them to a variety of roles and responsibilities within our business. Giving students a glimpse of different opportunities in the City – and in particular in the legal field – will hopefully enable them to make more informed choices as they prepare to transition to the workforce. Our volunteers work with students on interview techniques, provide assistance on CV best practices, and help to strengthen their public speaking and presentation skills, which all help to build the students’ confidence. Our employee volunteers also really enjoy having an opportunity to work with students – they’re able to step away from their day job for an hour or two to see the world through a different set of eyes, and make a positive impact on their community.

As a firm, we are also particularly focused on diversity. For example, our DPWomen affinity group in London hosts lunches for high school-age girls to discuss careers for women in law, and a significant portion of our global pro bono program is dedicated to defending the rights of women and minorities and the LGBT community.

What is the best part of your job?
At Davis Polk I work alongside a high calibre team of professionals in all areas of the business, which means I am challenged on a daily basis to ensure my team provides excellent service and support to our legal teams.  I love this challenge and also the variety of my role. One day I could be making sure that our payroll is correct before submission or meeting candidates for a vacant support position, and another day I could be assisting with a CSR session hosting Year 10 students and helping them develop their presentation skills and self-confidence. It is true to say that no two days are ever the same.