• 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:

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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:

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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.

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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:

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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.

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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
  • “McInnes Cooper has been an invaluable partner to Laubach Literacy NB and together we are making a difference to the literacy landscape for adults throughout our province. When we improve literacy among adults, we can improve a variety of outcomes including health and employment. A strong donor/sponsor relationship isn’t just about financial support. It’s about involvement and the team at McInnes Cooper is unfailing in their commitment as volunteers in our communities. Whether it is volunteering at our events, providing expert advice or sitting on a board, McInnes Cooper has been an exceptional partner.”
    Carol Cottrill, Executive Director, Laubach Literacy NB
  • “Every patient and family of the IWK Health Centre has unique needs and challenges that impact their overall wellbeing. When a family is dealing with a legal issue, it can affect the patient’s and family’s ability to engage in treatment, impede recovery and disrupt overall health. Having access to skilled and committed lawyers who are on their side makes a measurable difference. Knowing how legal issues intersect with the social determinants of health, we were pleased when McInnes Cooper reached out to us in 2014 to express interest in collaborating with the IWK to create a medical-legal partnership. Since launching the program in partnership with the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia, we’ve been encouraged and grateful for the dedicated effort of MC lawyers to help families in need.”
    Jen Feron, General Counsel, IWK Health Centre