In terms of our One Firm Vision, we commit ourselves to the success of our clients, the financial success of the Firm and our own personal development and success. In pursuit of those goals, we rely on education, training, hard work and the exercise of initiative and we employ skills and abilities that are unique to the legal profession.

However, we acknowledge and embrace responsibilities to the wider community in which we work and we encourage all our people to employ their skills and abilities in pro bono work, which we view as comprising two elements:

• pro bono legal work, and
• service to the community

Pro Bono Legal Work
We aim to ensure that our legal skills are made available to the charitable and not-for-profit sector on an affordable basis and will therefore provide our full range of services to the sector on either a discounted basis, or for free, depending on the financial circumstances of the client.

Where appropriate, we will offer our services to individuals on a pro bono basis, but the aim of our pro bono policy is always to match a client's needs with the range of skills and services that we provide and therefore, as a commercial law firm focussing on the provision of legal services to the corporate sector, it is likely that our pro bono legal offering is best-matched to charitable and not-for-profit organisations.

In terms of our commitment to the success of our clients, we make no distinction between pro bono work and our normal chargeable work. We apply the same care and professionalism and outstanding commitment to the success of our clients to all our work.

Community Service
We enjoy privileges gained through education, training and hard work. We owe a responsibility to our community to apply our skills and attributes for the benefit of others, and we therefore encourage all our people to participate in community service, with a particular emphasis on improving access to education, training and healthcare. Our contribution to our community includes corporate service - where the firm participates in programmes with community organisations, and individual participation - such as service on educational, health, humanitarian and other charitable trusts and other individual voluntary work.

Operational Issues
Our pro bono work is co-ordinated and managed by a Pro Bono Manager. The Pro Bono Manager is responsible for the following:

• approving the Firm's involvement in pro bono legal work
• approving the Firm's participation in community service initiatives
• maintaining a record of our pro bono work
• maintaining a record of those individuals who have volunteered to participate in pro bono work, identifying those fee-earners who participate in pro bono legal work and all staff who participate (through the firm's involvement) in community service
• co-ordinating our pro bono work, so that we maintain a proper balance between pro bono and our normal work, both in terms of the Firm's commitment and the commitment of those individuals who volunteer for pro bono work

There is no restriction on the time that a fee-earner may spend on approved pro bono legal work in any year. In relation to pro bono community service, each fee-earner is permitted to commit up to 35 hours per annum of firm time.

In undertaking pro bono community service, all participants require to take account of their work commitments. The firm gives full credit for approved pro bono work in performance reviews, so that there is no distinction made between normal and pro bono work.

Charity of the Year
At the start of each financial year, our staff are invited to nominate a Charity of the Year. During the course of that year, we aim to ensure that office-wide events involve fund-raising activities for that charity. Also, at Christmas, in lieu of sending corporate Christmas cards to clients, we will contribute our normal Christmas cards budget to our nominated charity.

Supporting the Arts
MacRoberts acts for a number of bodies involved in the promotion of the arts in Scotland (including in relation to education and performance) and we regularly sponsor the arts, which we see as an extension of our pro bono work. As well as performing legal services for organisations involved in the promotion of the arts, we actively encourage all our partners and employees to commit their own time to service on governing bodies and to act as volunteers in the sector.

Advances in Medical Science
We will support companies and other organisations who promote advances in medical science, by extending our pro bono legal services to them, particularly where there is a significant measure of philanthropy in the work of the organisation, or where the work undertaken by the organisation aims to alleviate critical under-provision of healthcare in the Third World.