For a leadership or management team that has made an outstanding contribution to their firm.

2019 winner

Bates Wells Braithwaite

Bates Wells Braithwaite has given a masterclass in how a professional services firm can use its business for good. The firm has done this by certifying as a B Corp, a widely-respected – and tough to achieve – international benchmark that’s been embraced by many corporates to maximise their positive environmental and ethical impact. Bates Wells has flown the flag for the B Corp movement over several years and remains the only B Corp law firm in the UK.

The senior management team has put in a lot of effort to ensure every part of the organisation puts the B Corp ethos at the heart of their work. Making change happen is a hard task for any firm yet they have underlined that, with effective leadership, professional services firms can be changemakers.

“We are honoured to have been recognised in this way at the Managing Partners’ Forum Award, and are flattered to be named alongside such an impressive array of different organisations. When we decided to become a B Corp, we were aware of how it could play a positive role in helping us live up to our values. I’m happy to say that it has helped us do this and, in recent years, the B Corp movement has continued to go from strength to strength in the UK and internationally. Hopefully this award win will help to raise the profile of the B Corp movement in the UK, and encourage other professional service firms to follow the B Corp principles and find a way to use their business to make a positive impact.”
Martin Bunch, Managing Partner at Bates Wells

Lucy Porter, Martin Bunch (Bates Wells Braithwaite) and Jon Shipley (Harvard Business Review)

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