Above photo: Jonathan Tait (bottom left) and other members of the Linklaters Community Investment Team.

For this month’s CSR Profile, we’re shining the spotlight on Linklaters, as told by Jonathan Tait, Corporate Responsibility Senior Advisor.

Please provide a short outline of your current role and a brief description of any other relevant career experience:
I am responsible for delivering Linklaters’ Realising Aspirations: Young People portfolio in the UK. The portfolio is comprised of a series of community investment programmes which support young people from underserved and underrepresented communities to gain insight into the world of work and develop the skills they need to pursue fulfilling careers. Those initiatives provide a range of support to young people from our focus geographies of Haringey, Hackney and Newport, as well as those from all across the UK. Interventions range from primary school world of work weeks, through to a mentoring programme for Headteachers!

Prior to joining Linklaters in June 2023, I spent over a decade in the charity sector, including six years at East London Business Alliance and BIG Alliance. I believe that my experiences in the charity sector have equipped me well for my current role as I like to think that I have a good understanding of community need and some of the challenges that young people might be facing, as well as how organisations such as Linklaters might be able to support them to overcome those challenges.

Why is CSR important to your organisation?
Linklaters invests a huge amount of time, energy and resources in delivering Social Impact. I sit within the firm’s Community Investment Team which, alongside our Pro Bono Team, forms our Social Impact function.

There are so many different reasons why CSR is important to Linklaters. We pride ourselves in being a responsible business and leveraging our position and expertise to support the communities in which we operate. There is, however, so much more to CSR than simply “doing good”. Volunteering activities help to create connections which foster increased engagement with both internal and external stakeholders, they provide opportunities for Linklaters people to step outside their comfort zones and learn new skills, and manage their own well-being.

The work of the Community Investment Team is inextricably linked to a number of other workstreams across the firm, for example, our Environment Team who ensure that we are operating in the most sustainable way, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion function who create fairer systems and a more inclusive culture within our firm and beyond, as well as our Recruitment Team, who are responsible for sourcing the best diverse talent for the firm, and creating an environment in which all Linklaters people can reach their potential.

Which topics, themes or initiatives is your organisation currently focused on?
At Linklaters, our global Community Investment themes are, Realising Aspirations: Young People, Realising Aspiration: Adults and Growing Capabilities. We deliver a number of different initiatives across those themes in partnership with ELBA. For example, Linklaters has been a proud supporter of the Mentoring Works programme for almost 25 years. It’s a fantastic initiative which can deliver transformative impact.

Another example is Evolve, which is a collaborative partnership between Linklaters, and other corporate partners, delivered by ELBA. Evolve aims to build the capacity of community organisations in local communities to enhance the sustainability of the third sector during a period of economic instability.

More recently, we have been collaborating with ELBA’s Equibalance Project, to deliver activities which equip black and ethnically minoritised students aged 16-18 with the knowledge, skills and experience required to achieve their ambitions.

What is the best part of your job?
I am in the very privileged position of being able to say that I love my job. Given that my role centres around supporting young people to achieve their potential, it won’t come as a huge shock to learn that having the opportunity to see young people’s development and progression first hand is definitely a key highlight.

Since joining Linklaters, I have been so impressed with how much time our people give to Social Impact activities, despite their incredibly busy working lives. The array of skills and expertise that those people bring to Community Investment projects is quite phenomenal. Having the opportunity to draw on so much talent and enthusiasm to address community makes my role really fulfilling.

Finally the support from senior leaders at Linklaters is really inspiring – they genuinely lead by example. I have seen so many of our Partners and Directors not only give their time and expertise to good causes, but also go the extra mile to deliver the best possible support.