Communities

The Foundation's key objective is to promote the charitable work of the firm on a collective basis as well as the supporting the individual efforts of colleagues - making financial awards to help them as they fundraise for worthwhile causes of their choice.  There are 14 trustees, elected from across our business who run the Foundation, supported by Foundation Manager Jackie Robertson.

In the last 12 months the Foundation has supported colleagues taking part in initiatives from growing Movember moustaches, to taking part in swimathons, bike rides and hikes and organising special events. Colleagues have stepped up and taken on challenges to support a staggering 302 charities and counting since the Foundation was established.

As well as supporting individuals raising funds for causes close to their heart, our team spirit means there are always firmwide fundraising activities on the go too.

The Foundation regularly runs charity appeals which have tremendous support from colleagues. These have included summer holiday “back to school” drives to provide school uniforms and stationery to children in Scotland’s major cities; collaborating with foodbanks to provide financial donations towards supporting those who need help with fuel payments as well as food supplies; taking part in Wear Red to Work Day to support the British Heart Foundation;  and many more unusual challenges such as our Easter art competition, invent your cartoon character challenge or live cook-a longs, all with donations made to worthwhile causes. There’s plenty to get involved in!

Burness Paull has a longstanding partnership with Street Soccer Scotland, a truly inspirational organisation providing training and personal development opportunities for socially disadvantaged groups across Scotland using the positive power of football. This is supported by the Burness Paull Foundation, and goes back over 10 years. As well as financial support, we have teamed up to host joint football tournaments, hosted the Street Soccer Business Club in each of our offices and heard from the team at a number of our client events. Street Soccer are very much part of our community and it is great to be able to introduce their fantastic work to others in our network.

The Burness Paull Foundation are sponsors of the Women Inspired lunch which takes place every March and a sponsor of the Gala Dinner held in October, both flagship fundraisers that also raise awareness of the great work Street Soccer Scotland does.

We are also proud to sponsor the men’s and women’s teams from Street Soccer who represent Scotland in a range of international tournaments. This year the Street Soccer Scotland men’s team took part in the Homeless World Cup held in Sacramento USA and the women’s team took part in the Nations Cup in Largs, Scotland.

Our partnership with Street Soccer Scotland is one the whole firm is behind, and this is demonstrated through the number of colleagues who give up their time to volunteer. Colleagues go along to help out at training sessions throughout the year, and join Street Soccer’s team when they need some extra pairs of hands at fundraising events. So far this year we have given our support at TRNSMT, the Nations Cup, Connect and other concerts and football matches, including Scotland games at Hampden.

We have recently announced our latest project with Street Soccer, joining up with the Traverse Theatre to bring the experiences of some of Street Soccer’s women’s team to life in a groundbreaking new play “Same Team – The Street Soccer Story”. The project is a unique collaboration between the three organisations, bringing together sport, the arts and business for social change. We can’t wait to see where our partnership will go next!

See some highlights from our recent Aberdeen tournament below!

With “Connected” as one of our Human & High Performing pillars, it feels natural that we should form partnerships with like-minded organisations, those who are as passionate about creativity and giving individuals the space to perform just as we are.

We proudly support Scottish Ballet as their innovation partner. As one of the most innovative national dance companies in the world they push creativity and explore new styles. This reflects our commitment to nurture creativity and tackle problems from a fresh perspective.

TEDx is recognised internationally as a grassroots initiative, bringing TED’s original mission to spread “ideas worth sharing” to local communities around the globe. Being part of the innovative, exciting and inspirational TEDx events sparks a raft of new perspectives and ways of thinking. We have partnered with TEDx Glasgow for a number of years and in 2021, were amongst the first partners of the inaugural TEDx Aberdeen.

We are committed to providing pro-bono support to a number of initiatives where we can make a difference.

The Lifescape Project is a groundbreaking charity with a mission to “catalyse the creation, restoration and protection of wild landscapes”. Bringing together science, technology, law, economics and communications, the Landscape Project team have set ambitious targets to drive change, build support for rewilding and species reintroduction, and utilise “natural assets” to achieve ESG and financial return benefits. We are proud to be their Scottish Law Firm Pro-bono partner, advising on the varied and innovative projects they undertake to make a tangible difference to the environment and those who rely on it.