A person pours milk from a steaming jug into a green mug with "Forsters" printed on it, in a setting with a professional espresso machine.

Communities

Making a positive difference in our communities

We recognise the importance of engaging with our communities and the value this delivers back to the firm. Our people work together to support a range of pro bono, charitable and community activities.

  • 1,200+

    hours of pro bono legal work

  • 950+

    meals served annually by our Lunch Club volunteers

  • 25%

    of the firm used their Volunteering Day

All data FY25/26

Pro bono: sharing our expertise

The aim of our pro bono programme is to share our legal expertise and help individuals, charities and community groups who cannot afford to pay for advice. We work with a number of pro bono partner organisations (connecting firms with charities needing support) and legal advice centres, offering support directly to vulnerable individuals.

We have a pro bono committee and are a signatory to the Joint Pro Bono Protocol for Legal Work which governs how we undertake our pro bono work. Our pro bono policy encourages lawyers at every stage of their career to get involved.

Our pro bono partners
Citizens advice logo
Logo featuring a stylised crown above swirling designs. Text reads: "Queen Mary University of London." The blue logo is set against a white background.
The logo displays the text "TrustLaw" in large, blue letters, with "A Thomson Reuters Foundation Service" written in smaller grey letters beneath.
Trans Legal Clinic logo

Connecting for positive impact

For more about our pro bono projects please read our Responsible business review 2024/25.

Read the review

Forsters responsible business review 2024/25 front cover

Getting involved in our community

Our aim is to have a positive impact on the community around us and beyond. Our employees work together to support a range of charitable and community activities through fundraising, volunteering and gift donation drives. This includes supporting a firmwide charity that unites all of us behind one common cause.

The Children’s Book Project

Our firm charity partner is the Children’s Book Project, a charity working to tackle book poverty across the UK. They collect pre-loved books and distribute them to children through primary schools in areas of high deprivation, as well as food banks, women’s refuges and organisations supporting children with a parent in prison.

The Children’s Book Project’s work closely aligns with our responsible business priorities, supporting social mobility by developing vital literacy skills, while also promoting sustainability by giving pre-loved books a new home.

Over the course of the partnership, Forsters colleagues will have opportunities to support the Children’s Book Project, through fundraising, volunteering, book donations and pro bono support.

An impactful partnership

From January 2024 to September 2026, we partnered with the Marylebone Project, a charity providing life-changing support to women facing homelessness. Throughout the partnership, we supported its work by sharing our skills, volunteering our time and fundraising. Watch our highlights video here to see what we achieved together.

The Forsters Charitable Trust

The firm’s charitable activities are supplemented by The Forsters Charitable Trust, a grant-making charity established in 1998 and funded by our Partners. The Trust’s trustees welcome applications for support from clients, employees, intermediaries and other business connections of the firm who are engaged in fundraising or volunteering for charity.

Volunteering our skills and time

Each year, we encourage all members of the firm to take one day, or two half days, paid time during working hours to volunteer. We organise a range of volunteering opportunities for teams and individuals, from outdoor activities helping nature conservation charities to skills-based workshops supporting social mobility initiatives.

In addition, Thursday Lunch Club is a long-standing initiative whereby our volunteers help to provide a hot meal and warm welcome once a week to people in the community in need of support. Thursday Lunch Club is currently hosted at St Marylebone Parish Church.

A group of people holding paint rollers smile for the camera in a room covered with drop cloths and painting supplies. A "Sports Direct" bag and a ladder are visible in the background.
Painting and decorating at The Marylebone Project.
Three people in life jackets smile while holding collected rubbish by a river. Graffiti-covered buildings and greenery line the waterfront in the background, indicating an urban setting.
Restoring our waterways by clearing rubbish from the River Lea in Hackney.
A group of eleven people stand smiling in front of a large pile of branches and foliage, situated in a green park area with trees and a bridge in the background.
Pruning trees and shrubs, and planting spring bulbs to help restore Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.
Forsters team members prepping hundreds of meals for Londoners in need for the Felix Project.
Prepping hundreds of meals for Londoners in need for the Felix Project.
Women preparing and serving a weekly meal to members of our local community.
Preparing and serving a weekly meal to members of our local community.
Members of the Forsters team creating a green space at The Marylebone Project
Creating a green space at The Marylebone Project.
Member of the Forsters team litter picking and clearing large areas of invasive bamboo with Holland Park’s horticultural team
Litter picking and clearing large areas of invasive bamboo with Holland Park’s horticultural team.