Modern Slavery Statement
Modern Slavery Statement
Introduction
This statement is made on behalf of Bedell Cristin pursuant to section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 August 2021.
At Bedell Cristin, we are committed to the highest ethical and professional standards and value transparency and accountability in all our dealings. We support the objective of eradicating modern slavery and human trafficking in all its forms, and are committed to ensure that human rights abuses, however they may arise, are recognised and eradicated in our business and supply chains.
Our structure
Bedell Cristin is an organisation of separate legal practices and entities comprising partnership and corporate form, each established to provide legal services under the Bedell Cristin name from the various locations in which it is based. We currently operate from offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, London and Singapore.
None of these jurisdictions has a poor record on modern slavery and human trafficking. As part of our HR policies and procedures, we only use reputable recruitment firms and comply with all relevant local laws and regulations. We regularly review our global recruitment procedures and providers, as well as our arrangements for employee welfare and care. All employees are paid at least the minimum wage.
Our supply chain
As a provider of legal services, we do not have intricate supply chains and we operate in an environment where the risk of encountering modern slavery is low. Our business is a sophisticated legal practice that does not involve and is not built upon the type of low skilled labour often associated with such practices. Nevertheless, we do expect our suppliers and outsourced contractor organisations, together with their supply chains, to take all reasonable and practical steps to comply with the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Our suppliers include, for example, office management services, delivery services, catering, maintenance, repair and cleaning services. They include various retailers and wholesalers. The goods purchased or leased from these suppliers include, for example, books, publications, research databases, computer hardware and software, copiers, telephones, other office equipment, office furniture and fixtures, office supplies and related goods.
Our office services suppliers are engaged in a range of activities, from higher skilled to lower skilled activities, but almost all are engaged in services conducted in close proximity to or in close co-operation with Bedell Cristin personnel. Consequently, these services are conducted in a professional environment where exploitative practices would be difficult if not impossible to hide. Our suppliers of office goods are reputable retailers and wholesalers. We do not contract with source suppliers in industries or regions of the world where the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking are relatively high.
Our policies
Our lawyers are qualified professionals who are subject to a comprehensive and enforceable set of ethical rules. As a professional services business, we comply with all relevant laws and regulations in the respective jurisdictions we operate in. Accordingly, we have policies to prevent money laundering, bribery and corruption and to counter the financing of terrorism. Furthermore, we conduct due diligence checks prior to taking on a new client to assess the extent to which the potential client exposes Bedell Cristin to a range of risks. In this regard, we provide all of our staff with relevant training on our policies and procedures.
We have developed a Business Code of Conduct which applies to our providers of goods and services and sets out the standards we expect them to observe, including in respect of modern slavery risks. We request that all our significant suppliers implement the Code and impose the principles on their respective suppliers. The Code can be found here.
We continue to review and develop our supply chain due diligence and risk assessment across our offices to ensure a robust and consistent approach to supply chain risks. We continue to make all efforts to identify any significant risks in our business and supply chain and implement any actions appropriate or necessary directly with suppliers.
Approval
On behalf of Bedell Cristin, the undersigned has approved and reissued the foregoing statement and has instructed that it be posted on the Bedell Cristin website.
Tim Pearce
Global Managing Partner
4 December 2020
