• Collective Social Responsibility 9

    Collective Social Responsibility

Collective Social Responsibility

A commitment to community is integral to our culture and operations. Some call it Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). At McInnes Cooper, we call it Collective Social Responsibility because, for us, it’s about embracing our shared ability respond to social and environmental issues. It’s about uniting with passion to make our world kinder, stronger, healthier, and more vibrant.

Built on five pillars – community impact, environmental stewardship, pro bono legal services, wellness promotion, and diversity & inclusion – our CSR program engages our members in shared effort to empower communities and conserve the environment. Annually, through our CSR program, McInnes Cooper supports hundreds of projects, facilitates thousands of volunteer hours, and serves dozens of pro bono clients.

CSR at McInnes Cooper includes:

Collective Social Responsibility 11

Youth Empowerment

Our youth hold so much creative ability, capacity for compassion, and leadership potential. They inspire us to partner with organizations that help young people discover their passions, find their voices, and feel empowered to take actions that affect change. Some of our youth-focused partnerships include:

Collective Social Responsibility 12

Mental Health

By the time people reach the age of 40, half of them will have – or have had – a mental illness. Directly or indirectly, we are all affected. With such prevalence, we know we must do all that we can to mitigate psychological risks, challenge stigma, and support mental health & addiction services in our workplace and in our communities. Through partnership with expert organizations, we foster positive discourse and actively work toward collective wellbeing.

Collective Social Responsibility 14

Poverty Reduction

We believe that a community is only as strong as its most vulnerable weakness, and for many communities, that weakness is poverty. At McInnes Cooper, we engage with local organizations that impactfully address food insecurity, homelessness, literacy rates, and equitable access to education. To support these efforts, we empower our members to take part in donation drives, fundraising campaigns, and volunteer service. Some of our community partners in the area of poverty relief include:

Collective Social Responsibility 19

Access to Justice

As legal professionals, we have the distinct privilege of providing legal services. With that privilege comes a responsibility to improve access to justice and to advocate for social justice. Accepting that, we collaborate with organizations that facilitate access to justice and protect the rights of vulnerable communities:

Click here to read about McInnes Cooper’s Pro Bono Program, through which we’ve delivered more than $4 million in free legal services since 2012.

Collective Social Responsibility 13

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

McInnes Cooper acknowledges inequity exists in many forms both within our profession and in society. We work hard to reflect critically, educate broadly and adopt measures that mitigate bias and foster a culture of belonging for our members. Read more about our DEI Program here.

Through community engagement, we also support organizations the serve underrepresented communities, such as:

  • “Working with marginalized youth requires, among other things, integrity, respect, and commitment to transparent, open lines of communication. It is in these areas that McInnes Cooper has delivered. We can not thank them enough for their continued engagement and support to meet needs identified by the youth LOVE works with.”
    Dennis Adams, RSW, Chief Harmony Officer/Executive Director, LOVE Nova Scotia
  • “With the support we received from McInnes Cooper we were able to surpass our 2023 annual signature fundraising event goals. Allowing us to have more unrestricted funds to develop and continue offering services by and for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
    Charlie Murphy, Executive Director of Quadrangle NL
  • “We at Bridge to Hope are truly grateful for McInnes Cooper's focus on Collective Social Responsibility. Their approach perfectly aligns with our mission and enhances it, promoting a collaborative mindset to address social issues, among them, being food security. Their commitment to making the world a healthier, stronger, and more empathetic place makes them an incredibly valuable partner for our community.”
    Jody Williams, Executive Director, Bridges to Hope Food Aid Centre
  • “Between 2020 and 2022, CNIB had the pleasure of working with McInnes Cooper on projects designed to educate people who are blind and partially sighted about their human rights. As our valued partners on these projects, McInnes Cooper provided CNIB with legal research, writing, workshop delivery, and support with a professional development program. The entire team was lovely to work with and consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to better understanding the lived experiences of people with sight loss. Had it not been for McInnes Cooper’s generous support, CNIB would not have had the resources to deliver these important projects to the many people living with blindness who need them. Thank you, McInnes Cooper. We truly appreciate all that you do.”
    Shannon Kinch, B.A., LL.B., Senior Project Manager, Know Your Rights