Global law firm Clyde & Co has signed the C-19 Business Pledge which seeks to bring together businesses and universities in a global effort to tackle COVID-19 and support employees, customers and communities through the crisis in the short, medium and longer term.

Founded by former UK Cabinet Minister Rt Hon. Justine Greening and entrepreneur David Harrison, the pledge has been signed by over 300 organisations globally, collectively covering over 3 million people.

As a signatory of the pledge, Clyde & Co is committed to backing its main objectives - to support employees and customers through the crisis and help communities come together with practical support.

Peter Hirst, Clyde & Co's Senior Partner, says: "COVID-19 has changed people's lives profoundly and altered how businesses operate, almost overnight. The response to the crisis across the public and private spheres have been impressive, but we must remember that this crisis isn't going away soon. The recovery from COVID-19 will be long and complex which is why we must continue to place our people, clients and communities at the heart of our response and work collectively to address the challenges we all face as individuals, businesses and societies."

As part of its efforts to support employees, the firm has launched a global hardship fund providing financial relief for employees affected by COVID-19. Other initiatives include a 'Stay connected community' on the firm's intranet, which hosts over 150 online resources to support employees with remote working; weekly executive-level communications with staff; webinar and video resources on managerial topics around remote working; and strengthened learning and development.

To support clients, the firm has set up a specialist multi-disciplinary COVID-19 desk bringing together partners from across disciplines and sectors from around the world to support over 20,000 clients. It has also created a Coronavirus Information Hub on its website to ensure clients are equipped with the latest legal updates with regard to COVID-19, and hosted 75 direct client webinars on COVID-19-related subjects.

The firm's efforts to support communities include participating in legal clinics through which some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of society have access to free, impartial legal advice. The firm has also made a number of donations to charity and community organisations, especially those focused on mental health issues. As well as supporting Place2Be, a UK charity that works in schools with young people to address mental health issues, this week the firm also announced a new partnership with Perspective Project, a charity tackling mental health stigma through art and creativity, for its annual Art Award programme in London.

Find out more about the C-19 Business Pledge here.

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