Corporate Social Responsibility

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Corporate social responsibility is embedded in everything we do at Potter Clarkson. We call it "doing the right thing" for our people, our communities and the world around us.

Our commitment shows up in practical ways every day: creating pathways into the IP profession for young people from all backgrounds, mentoring the next generation of scientists and entrepreneurs, championing innovation across Europe, upholding the highest ethical standards, and reducing our environmental impact.

For clients, this means working with a firm that takes its responsibilities seriously and puts them into practice. For our people, it means being part of a culture where contributing to society is encouraged, supported and valued.

How We Turn Our Commitments Into Meaningful Action:

Supporting the next generation of IP professionals

We are committed to encouraging more young people from all backgrounds to consider a career in intellectual property. Our attorneys regularly give guest lectures at schools and universities across the UK and Europe, raising awareness of the profession and helping students take their first steps towards a career in IP.

Networking and mentoring

We believe in building strong connections across our industry and supporting the people who shape it.

Some of our recent mentoring and outreach activities include:

Patent attorney and partner, Sara Holland, mentors for Women in Synthetic Biology (WiSB) and co-runs BioAMass, a quarterly networking event for the biotech community in Nottingham.

We've been involved in the Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, joining local organisations to spark curiosity and creativity in young people through science-themed events and workshops.

Every year, we run the Potter Clarkson's Residential IP Summer School, a two-day event that brings together professionals from different sectors and career stages to explore how IP drives commercial success. We also run one-day IP Academies in Denmark and Sweden as part of the same programme.

We regularly run student events such as our Student IP Insights Day, which introduces university students to intellectual property and a career in IP.

Championing enterprise and innovation

We've built strong links with key business groups across the UK, Sweden and Denmark, including the Chamber of Commerce, Institute of Directors, Cambridge Capital Group, London Tech Advocates, Medicon Valley Alliance, Danish Food Cluster, and Medicon Village Science Park.

We play an active role in our industry bodies, with members of our team contributing to the work of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA) and the profession's mutual insurance company, PAMIA.

Our attorneys also regularly get involved in innovation days and initiatives such as Biotechnology YES, Medilink, Pitchfest, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), and the Karolinska Institutet Bioentrepreneurship programme.

Giving back to our communities

Our firm has a long tradition of supporting local charities through fundraising activities, donations, and volunteering. Recent charities we've supported include Save the Children, Framework, Macmillan Cancer Support, Alzheimer's Research UK and Jonathan's Voice.

We complement this with a dedicated charity fund that supports employees who take part in charitable activities, from marathons and charity runs to bake-offs and other challenges.

We also recognise that time is invaluable. Everyone at Potter Clarkson has one day each year to volunteer in a way that is meaningful to them. Together, this adds up to more than 200 days of support for local initiatives annually. In recent years, people have used their volunteering day for activities ranging from helping community organisations to supporting animal welfare charities and environmental projects.

When specialist advice is what's needed, we undertake pro bono work, offering our expertise wherever it can make the most difference. If you have a pro bono project in mind, we would love to hear from you.

Promoting environmental sustainability

Environmental responsibility is central to how we operate. We are accredited with ISO 14001 for environmental management and proactively look for new ways to reduce our carbon footprint through initiatives including:

An electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme, giving people across the firm a cost-effective way to lease fully electric cars and make the switch to low-emission travel.
Supporting our people in choosing more sustainable practices, such as cycling to work
Firmwide recycling and energy-saving initiatives.

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Creating a safe and inclusive workplace

At Potter Clarkson we are dedicated to supporting a workplace that is safe, respectful, and inclusive for everyone, including employees, contractors, clients, and visitors. We believe that every employee deserves to work in an environment free from harassment and discrimination.

We have a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment in any form. This includes any unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature whether verbal, physical, or visual that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive atmosphere.

We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses inappropriate behaviour to speak with us. We take all reports seriously and handle them with confidentiality, care, and urgency. Any violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or termination of business relationships.

Together, we are committed to upholding a culture of integrity, dignity, and mutual respect across all interactions.