Corporate responsibility
Legal advice for businesses affected by the London riots
Over 10% of UK businesses have been directly or indirectly affected as a consequence of the recent riots. A group of 13 London partners from different practice groups and a number of legal directors have all stepped forward to offer free legal and commercial advice to small businesses in the form of surgeries in affected boroughs. So we have sent volunteers to Ealing and West Ealing with Tottenham, Croydon, Haringey, Peckham and Newham forming part of a longer term plan.
Our response is being co-ordinated by the Business Emergency Response Group ('BERG') and Business in the Community. BERG was convened by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales in 2009 as a consequence of the floods in Cumbria and the need for business preparedness. BERG is chaired by John Varley, former CEO of Barclays Bank and members include Barclays Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS Insurance, Freshfields, BT, Marsh Insurance, EDF Energy, Marks and Spencer, Community Resilience UK, and DLA Piper.
Elaine Radford, International Head of CR comments that: "We have been able to pull together a fairly comprehensive response to the riots at both a local and national level. Although of course, it is recognised that London suffered the worst damage compared to Birmingham, Liverpool and our other cities. DLA Piper's role on the BERG steering committee is also supplemented by our engagement at a wider level through the established by The Law Society and LawWorks. We are also looking at ways in which we can help with mitigation through capacity building amongst our Community partners, such as The Renaissance Foundation and the provision of adult volunteers in partnership with The Prince's Trust, with whom we have worked for over a decade."
Riot helpline
DLA Piper has also made a financial contribution to the Riot Helpline set up by the Law Society and Lawworks. The helpline will broker free legal advice for individuals, community groups and small businesses that are victims of the riots. The nature of the advice is likely to cover:
- Insurance - claims advice/ loss adjusters/ legal advice on insurance policies
- Financial advice - cash flow management/ invoice factoring/ emergency loans
- Property - legal advice regarding leases
- General business advice for retailers
Full details are on the
Law Society website.