Law firms should get their own house in order if they want to offer clients advice on corporate social responsibility (CSR), a senior in-house lawyer has warned.

Speaking at the joint International Bar Association/International Association of Young Lawyers conference on CSR and the lawyer in Amsterdam last week, Nico Sieben, group compliance officer at global pharmaceutical giant Novartis, said firms 'should try and look into themselves and find out what their real reputation is'.


He recommended that firms draft their own code of conduct, dealing with issues such as their environmental impact, in addition to their professional obligations. Such a code would also address the number of women in the organisation, ensure a fair living wage for administrative staff and offer occupational health programmes.


Mr Sieben said Novartis looks at suppliers to see if they reach the same standards and norms as it does.


'It is part of the selection process of the future and law firms are going to be part of it. Should law firms publish the results of their in-house [CSR] activities and programmes? You will be asked for them in the future,' he added.


Christian Bachmann, a partner in Denmark's largest law firm, Bech-Brunn Dragsted, told delegates at the conference that law firms had a number of internal CSR issues to address, including gender and race discrimination, as well as the hours employees were required to work.


He said: 'It should be possible to get a much better work-life balance and firms could follow the lead of the top accountancy firms.'


Commenting on the difficulties of getting law firm partners to buy into CSR, Mr Bachmann pointed to his own firm's success at a recent beauty parade hosted by one of Denmark's largest private business groups, which it won in part because of its CSR commitment. This was an example of where an enlightened approach can impact positively on a firm's bottom line, he said.