Code of Business

Burness Paull is a leading independent law firm based in Scotland, supporting clients across the United Kingdom and internationally. Our focus is on delivering success for our clients while acting responsibly towards our people, communities, business partners and the environment. We are committed to the highest standards of professional conduct, ethics, integrity and good governance. We comply with applicable laws, regulations and professional obligations. 

Responsible business lies at the heart of our decision-making.  We support the United Nations Global Compact and use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to guide our responsible business strategy, actions and continuous improvement. 

We will:

Embed responsible business in our decisions

• We will consider relevant environmental, social, ethical and reputational factors in our strategic and operational decision-making. 
• We will seek to understand the impacts of our activities and relationships, identify opportunities for improvement and take proportionate action. 
• We will set appropriate objectives, monitor progress and report transparently on our responsible business activities. 
• We will collaborate with our clients, colleagues, suppliers and other stakeholders to encourage positive and sustainable change. 

Protect confidentiality, information and personal data

• Preserving confidentiality in our clients’ affairs and protecting information entrusted to us are cornerstones of our business.
• We will comply with applicable data privacy and data protection laws and uphold our professional duties of confidentiality. 
• We will maintain proportionate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and other confidential information against unauthorised access, use, disclosure, alteration, loss or destruction. 
• We will apply data minimisation, privacy and security by design when developing and operating our services and systems. 
• We will maintain appropriate arrangements to identify, manage, investigate and respond to information security and personal data breaches. 
• Our approach is supported by our information security management framework and  ISO 27001 certification. 

Identify and Manage conflicts of interest 

• We will identify and assess actual, potential and perceived conflicts of interest in accordance with our legal and professional obligations. 
• We will not act where a legal conflict prevents us from doing so or where appropriate safeguards cannot lawfully and properly address the relevant risk.  
• We will manage personal conflicts between our clients and Burness Paull or any individual partner or employee.
• We will not allow gifts, hospitality, personal relationships, confidential information or other influence to compromise our professional judgement or integrity.

Fulfil our obligations under anti-money laundering and terrorist financing legislation and ensure that we do not facilitate financial crime or other criminal conduct

• We will carry out appropriate client and matter due diligence and ongoing monitoring and will decline or cease to act where required by law, regulation, professional obligation or our risk appetite. 
• We will comply with applicable requirements relating to money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions, tax evasion, fraud and other economic crime. 
• We will not knowingly facilitate criminal conduct or sanctions evasion.
• All our partners and staff are fully aware of their share dealing restrictions and obligations.
• We will provide relevant training and encourage prompt reporting or actual r suspected misconduct. 

Comply with anti bribery and corruption legislation

• We will not offer, promise, give, request or accept any financial or other advantage to or from any person, including a public official, (whether on our behalf or on behalf of any other person, including any client) for any improper purpose or to improperly influence actions or to obtain any improper advantage.

Be a fair, reasonable and supportive employer

• We will provide fair terms, fair reward and a safe working environment.
• We will support the physical and mental wellbeing of our colleagues. 
• We will identify, assess and manage risks to physical and psychological health, including risks arising from work-related stress, and will take proportionate action to reduce those risks. 
• We will engage with colleagues in assessing workplace health, safety and wellbeing risks and will review relevant controls in response to material changes, incidents, concerns or evidence they may not be effective. 
• We will strive to create opportunities for everyone to build a career and do what they do best, each and every day.
• We will provide opportunities for colleagues to learn, develop, contribute and progress. 
• We will ask for feedback, listen and take action to make Burness Paull an even better place to work.
• We will comply with applicable employment, equality and health and safety laws and seek to follow recognised good practice, in particular, working to eliminate our gender pay gap.
• We will respect internationally recognised human rights and will not tolerate forced labour, human trafficking, child labour or any other forms of modern slavery in our business or supply chain. 

Maintain a respectful, inclusive and diverse culture

• We will treat colleagues, clients, suppliers and others with dignity and respect. 
• We will promote equality of opportunity, inclusive working practices and fair access to development and progression. 
• We value difference and want colleagues to feel able to be themselves and contribute fully at work. 
• We will provide reasonable adjustments and seek to identify and remove unnecessary barriers to participation and progression. 
• We will not tolerate behaviour that undermines our values or working environment.
• We will take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the course of employment and will take appropriate preventative action in relation to harassment, bullying victimisation and unlawful discrimination.
• We will assess relevant workplace and third-party risks, maintain appropriate policies, guidance, training and reporting arrangements, and periodically review the effectiveness of our preventative measures. 
• We expect clients, suppliers, contractors and other third parties who interact with our colleagues to treat them with dignity and respect, and we will take appropriate action where unacceptable conduct occurs.   
• We will provide accessible routes for people to raise concerns and will support those who speak up in good faith. 
• Concerns will be considered fairly and addressed through appropriate investigation, remediation and accountability. 

Make a positive contribution to our communities

• We will use our expertise, resources, partnerships and networks to contribute positively to the communities in which we work. 
• We will support charitable and community activity through the Burness Paull Foundation, and support and encourage colleagues to participate in fundraising for the causes closest to their hearts.
• We will provide pro bono legal support in accordance with our policies and professional obligations.
• We will seek partnerships that create meaningful and sustainable social impact. 

Reduce our environmental impact and support a sustainable future

• We will comply with applicable environmental laws and continually seek to improve our environmental performance.
• We will measure and report our greenhouse-gas emissions and pursue credible reductions across our operations and value chain.
• We will work towards our published emissions-reduction and net-zero commitments.
• We will improve energy and resource efficiency, increase the use of renewable energy where practicable and reduce the environmental impact of business travel.
• We will prevent pollution, minimise waste and prioritise reduction, reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling.
• We will ensure that our environmental statements are clear, accurate and supported by appropriate evidence.

Procure goods and services responsibly

• We will integrate relevant environmental, social, ethical, information-security, privacy, resilience and governance considerations into our procurement and supplier-management processes.
• We will assess supplier risks and commitments proportionately during selection, onboarding, contracting, monitoring and renewal.
• We will encourage suppliers to provide sustainable and energy-efficient goods and services where relevant.
• We will request appropriate sustainability information from relevant suppliers, including information that assists us in understanding and reducing our value-chain emissions.
• We will treat suppliers fairly and consider quality, value, resilience, responsible business performance and whole-life impact in relevant purchasing decisions.
• We will work constructively with suppliers to support compliance and continuous improvement, while reserving the right to take proportionate action where serious or repeated concerns are not addressed.
• We will continue to assess our supplier engagement approach, exploring opportunities to support and educate suppliers to help enhance sustainability outcomes across our supply chain.

Use technology and artificial intelligence responsibly

• We will use technology and artificial intelligence lawfully, securely, responsibly and in a manner consistent with our professional obligations.
• We will apply appropriate human judgement and oversight and will not treat technology as a substitute for professional accountability.
• We will assess and manage relevant risks, including confidentiality, privacy, information security, intellectual property, bias, discrimination, accuracy, safety and resilience.
• We will be appropriately transparent with clients about material uses of artificial intelligence in the delivery of our services.
• We will not use client or third-party confidential information to train or improve artificial intelligence systems unless there is an appropriate lawful basis, authority and contractual protection.
• We will provide relevant guidance and training to colleagues and periodically review our controls as technology, regulation and professional expectations develop.

Maintain resilient and responsible operations

• We will maintain proportionate business-continuity, disaster-recovery, cyber-response and crisis-management arrangements.
• We will identify critical services, systems, suppliers and other dependencies and periodically test relevant recovery and response arrangements.
• We will seek to minimise disruption to clients and other stakeholders and communicate appropriately when significant incidents occur.
• We will learn from incidents, exercises and changes in risk and use those lessons to strengthen our arrangements.

Promote good governance, accountability and continuous improvement

• We will maintain appropriate governance, policies, controls, training and records to support this Code.
• We will assign clear responsibility for our material legal, regulatory and responsible business commitments.
• We will provide colleagues and relevant third parties with appropriate routes to raise concerns in good faith, including confidential or anonymous routes where appropriate.
• We will not tolerate retaliation against anyone raising a genuine concern.
• We will assess concerns fairly, investigate where appropriate, take corrective action and seek to prevent recurrence.
• We will monitor relevant performance, review material risks and use recognised assessments, benchmarking and external assurance where these support our objectives.
• We will communicate progress transparently and will be candid about areas in which further improvement is required.

These commitments are supported by our governance arrangements, internal policies and procedures, risk assessments, controls, training, monitoring and reporting. We communicate relevant requirements to our partners, employees, consultants and others working on our behalf.

We expect our suppliers and other business partners to share our commitment to responsible, ethical and sustainable business. Our detailed expectations are set out in our Supplier Code of Business and, where appropriate, in our contractual arrangements.

We recognise that responsible business requires continuing attention and improvement. We will periodically review this Code against developments in law, regulation, professional standards, recognised sustainability frameworks, stakeholder expectations and our own activities and impacts.