Community support

Bell Gully is committed to making meaningful contributions to initiatives that support the wellbeing of our communities, and the positive growth and development of people within them.

Our people decide where we should focus our community efforts, and our pro bono and community programmes then guide our commitment to pro bono work and community support. These programmes form a fundamental part of Bell Gully's culture of manaaki (to support / care for). Click here to read more about our pro bono programme.

Our community support comes in the form of donations, fundraising efforts and volunteering our time and skills to provide practical and appropriate help.

We have established relationships with local and national charities (including Auckland and Wellington City Missions, KidsCan, Shine and the Breast Cancer Foundation), and we actively encourage and support our people to get involved in them, for a good cause. It is a spirit that is expressed at every level of the firm – from our interns, lawyers and business support staff through to partnership.

Pro bono

Bell Gully is a strong community supporter - sharing time, skills and financial support for the benefit of those in need. One way we do this is through our pro bono programme.

Over many years we have made major pro bono contributions to a wide range of organisations. In 2009, we formalised our pro bono programme, which is overseen by a committee of four partners and three senior associates. Our objective in formalising the programme was to lead by example, and to encourage other firms to make comparable contributions.

As part of our programme, we have established specific criteria to ensure our pro bono work reaches those who need it most, with our focus on reaching as far and wide into our communities as we can, and promoting the public interest. Our policy provides structure and processes around how we source, manage and promote pro bono work.

Our pro bono work falls into three categories:

Free, for clients who would otherwise be denied access to justice because they have no means to pay for it.
Free or heavily discounted, for non-government and charitable organisations with funding and other support from third parties.
Free or heavily discounted for limited art, culture, heritage, sports and recreation groups who merit pro bono support.

If you are seeking pro bono assistance for a matter that meets these criteria, please email our pro bono programme manager Rachel Gowing to make an application.

Our pro bono programme in action

We're nurturing established relationships, confident in the knowledge that when we do pro bono work, it's supporting deserving recipients.

Community law centres

We have built close relationships with the Auckland Community Law Centre, the Waitematā Community Law Centre and Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley (the CLCs). The CLCs provide essential services to those in the community without the means to pay for legal advice, assisting with a wide range of issues. As a substantial component of our pro bono programme, we provide secondee lawyers to each of the Auckland-based CLCs for one day each week, and to the Wellington CLC on a regular basis.

Health

We support charitable organisations working in the health sector, including Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand and NZ Aids Foundation.

Local and global aid organisations

Among others, we support Tearfund NZ and ChildFund NZ with pro bono legal advice.

Youth

We assist various charitable organisations with a focus on youth support and development. These include KidsCan, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Plunket.

Local community

In addition to our relationships with the CLCs referred to above, we also support local community-focused charitable organisations, including Kāhui Tū Kaha, Surf Life Saving Northern Region and Shine.

Culture

We also advise charitable organisations with a cultural focus, including Asia New Zealand Foundation.