This month’s CSR profile feature shines a spotlight on Francesca Jus-Burke of Ince & Co. Francesca is a solicitor by day but has also worked with ‘give-back’ minded colleagues to develop a fantastic CSR programme at Ince & Co. Francesca is a wonderful example of someone who has gone above and beyond in their volunteering efforts by not only giving up her own time, but ensuring that others are able to volunteer too. We caught up with Francesca to find out about her programme and what inspired her to get involved in CSR activity.

1) Tell us about your current role and any other related experience that you have
I am a lawyer at Ince & Co LLP, an international law firm with its HQ in Whitechapel. On joining the firm, a few of my colleagues and I led a drive to increase the firm’s CSR programme, a major part of which was setting up a pro bono clinic in Tower Hamlets and of course signing up to ELBA.

Prior to joining Ince, I worked for the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, and was involved in a number of social action projects for disadvantaged young people, it was as a result of similar experiences that the CSR committee was keen for Ince employees to have access to a wide programme of CSR activities.

2) Why is CSR important to your organisation?
As a firm with a global reach, Ince recognises that the impact of its economic, social and environmental activities can be felt beyond its core business activities. CSR is important as it ensures that our impact is a positive one. It also enriches the firm’s culture, demonstrates a commitment to our local community, is good for well-being and mental health, and helps attract and retain talent.

In recognition of the importance of CSR, the firm introduced ‘CSR Leave’ for employees to take part in Ince CSR projects, most recently used for our Team Challenges at Spitalfields Farm and the Forget Me Not Project in Blackfriars, and billable hours for CSR committee members, so the momentum is really growing!

3) Which topics, themes or initiatives are your organisation currently focused on?
Ince’s CSR programme is based around three focus areas: our people, our local community and our industry sectors. Our people means supporting Ince employees with their CSR endeavours and using CSR for personal development, this varies from providing donations for employees running the London Marathon to organising cakes sales in support of employees’ fundraising activities. Our local community means supporting people, projects and organisations in East London, which is one of the reasons we signed up to ELBA, the Team Challenges and School/University Insight Days are a perfect example of providing support to the local community. Our industry sectors means supporting charities in transport, trade, insurance, energy and infrastructure, as an example, we regularly provide support to seafarers.

4) What is the best part of your job?
There are quite a few, the variety, the people and openness to new ideas. The tasks I deal with vary completely day to day and you never know what might land on your desk. I work with two teams of driven and enthusiastic people, which makes coming into work a lot of fun. The firm is also very open to new ideas, which means you can start up whatever projects/programmes you find interesting. In addition to being part of the reconstituted CSR committee, I started up a netball team and running club, and recently joined a business book club!