This statement is made on behalf of Forsters LLP (Forsters), a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registration number OC306185. Forsters provides legal services to clients, based primarily in England and Wales, but also elsewhere in the world. This statement is made pursuant to section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) as Forsters’ slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2024.
About Forsters
Forsters is a leading law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales with SRA number 400249. All of our offices are in London. Our mission is to provide exceptional legal advice to clients, principally drawn from the real estate and private wealth sectors. Our aim is to be collaborative and responsible in all that we do and we embed these values across the firm. Forsters takes the issue of modern slavery very seriously and is committed to ensuring that unfair working practices have no place in our business, nor in any of the businesses we engage with. We work in a low slavery risk jurisdiction and, as a provider of legal services, we consider the likelihood of any form of modern slavery being present in our business to be minimal. However, we have taken the following steps to ensure that slavery and human trafficking does not take place in any part of our business, nor in any part of our supply chain.
Supply chains
Our service providers include: suppliers of IT and communications equipment and services; property; office cleaning and other facilities management services; transport and delivery services, including couriers; marketing such as merchandise suppliers and conference providers; office equipment and supplies; and professional services such as auditors, legal counsel, banks, insurers and recruitment agencies. Forsters is committed to ensuring no modern slavery or human trafficking is present in our supply chains or any other aspect of our day-to-day operations. We expect all our suppliers and service providers to uphold the highest professional standards and to ensure full compliance with all laws and regulations. We only appoint highly reputable third parties to work with us and, in many cases, have long-standing relationships with them. We monitor the performance of suppliers and providers of services and we review our supply chain regularly to identify areas of possible risk. As part of our procurement process, we have introduced requirements for the vetting of suppliers and providers of services to the firm. These requirements include stringent expectations of suppliers in terms of business ethics which also include requirements concerning sustainability practices. We have a Supplier Code of Conduct in order to monitor and implement the steps referred to above.
Risk monitoring and compliance
Our Risk and Compliance team is responsible for overseeing compliance with our policies and requirements. Forsters provides broad ranging training in relation to compliance. We will continue to focus on risk and compliance to help us comply with our obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This will include undertaking due diligence that is specifically supplier focused.
Training
We provide training to all staff on the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in our supply chains and our business.
Partners and members of staff are required to report any known or suspected breaches of laws or ethical standards. We have implemented a whistleblowing policy, which is designed to support individuals who wish to raise concerns about any matter, including slavery and human trafficking, so that any person raising such concerns, in accordance with the policy, will not suffer any repercussions as a result.
Approved by: Emily Exton, Managing Partner, for and on behalf of the members of Forsters LLP
Date: August 2024