Today’s inspiration steps it up with a strong commitment to pro bono work

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Welcome back to our Step it Up Campaign, where our aim is to inspire others to become more active in charity work by sharing stories of social responsibility.

Meet Peter King

Peter is a lawyer, working at Weil. His role involves advising large companies on buying and selling parts of their business and working more generally with boards of directors on legal issues.  The company does this in eight countries around the world through over 20 offices.

What you do for charity?
“I am the co-chair of our Pro Bono Committee.  We are convinced that lawyers, the law and access to justice play an important role in society beyond what we do for money.  So we set all our lawyers a target of doing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal work every year.  Beyond that, we also encourage them to be involved in volunteering and philanthropy.

Personally I advise a number of charities on a pro bono basis.  I am also a trustee of the Salvation Army International, the Tutu Foundation UK and a number of other smaller charities.”

 How did this happen?
“I’ve built up this portfolio over a number of years through personal contacts and by applying for roles as trustee.”

Why is this a good fit for you and what have you gotten out of it?
“There are obvious benefits for my day job: I meet a lot of senior people and interact with them, through my charitable work, and I learn from the inside how boards behave when under stress rather than just advising from the outside.”

 What’s your advice to anyone thinking of doing this?
“My advice to anyone thinking of doing this is that you should!  It’s certainly worth doing some due diligence on the charities with which you are involved first, however, not all charities may meet your objectives.”

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Please check back often for more Step it Up interviews,
and get in touch if you would like to share your own story!

Lisa

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