Engagements

August Debouzy a legal entreprise
that is socially committed and responsible

As a legal enterprise and player in the economy, we recognize the need to balance economic, social, and environmental considerations.

In delivering the excellence to which we aspire, based on our values of hard work, fair play, equal opportunity and commitment to the broader community in which we live, we have made social and environmental responsibility into one of the key pillars of our sustainable development model.

Diversity

35%

Men

65%

Women

40%

Female partners

60%

Male partners

A female Managing Partner

1 Management Committee with a 50/50 gender balance

Strong commitment to the community and to social justice reflected in our choice of social and solidarity-based enterprises (providing us with office supplies and courier services for example)

Environment

Our firm has adopted an environmental policy aimed at reducing our environmental footprint. We have cut down on the consumption of paper and plastic through several initiatives, including double-sided printing when a hard copy is necessary. Our objective is to encourage behavior that is more ethical by promoting ways to better live together in a sustainable manner.

The firm’s certificate of carbon offsets, issued by the Good Planet Foundation, illustrates our environmental approach. This carbon offsetting action supports projects in several countries around the world promoting renewable and sustainable energies and better management of household waste.

In 2019, our carbon offsets, as certified by the GoodPlanet Foundation, for air and land travel corresponded to 71 tons of CO2. By way of illustration, when air and rail travel was required, the firm’s lawyers chose to travel by train 91.6% of the time.

In 2020, the firm has also been involved in a reforestation project with Reforest'Action. The firm financed the plantation of 4,000 trees as part of the revitalisation of the Séguié forest in Ivory Coast, read more here.

Click here to download the certificate

PRO BONO WORK
AT AUGUST DEBOUZY

Radio interview in July 2019 (Europe 1) with Fabienne Haas explaining the firm’s pro bono work and policy.

Skills-based volunteering

Since our firm was founded, we have been providing assistance to several not-for-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations and grant-assisted private educational institutions with their legal needs (charter of incorporation, labor and employment law, commercial law, litigation, etc.). They operate in the fields of health, education or support services and include, by way of example, “Toutes à l’école”, the “Fondation Abbé Pierre”, “Amref – Flying Doctors”, the educational institution “Centre Madeleine Daniélou” and the Association française des Victimes du Terrorisme (AfVT).

We are also proud of our efforts to help disseminate culture and knowledge. Through our corporate philanthropy, we promote access to culture, support training and talent development as patrons or partners of La Comédie-Française (the oldest active theatre company in the world), La Réunion des Musées Nationaux (a cultural umbrella organization responsible for 34 national museums), Le Choix de l’école (a private initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Education to reduce educational inequality), Sciences Po (one of the top social science universities worldwide), ADPE / Panthéon Assas (the public economic law association of University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas) and Le Club des Juristes (legal think tank).

We do not treat associations any differently from our clients, we provide them with the same scope and level of service, the same level of priority, and the same proactive approach.”

Corporate civic engagement

ADay to give is an initiative launched by the firm in 2019 to give all of the members of the firm, whether lawyers or support staff, the opportunity to do some social work one day a year for the charity or organization of their choice.

In this scope, our teams decided to do this as a group and organized a large clothing drive for donation to Barreau des rues (a group of lawyers collecting donations from fellow legal professionals for distribution to impoverished clients and their communities).

For many years now, August Debouzy has also supported several causes and associations, via corporate philanthropy activities, to help them accomplish the missions they have set for themselves, whether in the areas of health, education, culture or the sharing of knowledge…