Slaughter and May - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Slaughter and May is Lower Risk.

Slaughter and May is Lower Risk. The company does not yield to political activism in shaping corporate governance, preventing initiatives that potentially alienate consumers, divide employees, and harm shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Overall, Slaughter and May does not embrace corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach protects free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Slaughter and May has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Slaughter and May does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Slaughter and May appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its mentorship program. From its DEI page: “Our aim is to ensure that our talent remains diverse throughout the pipeline to partnership. In addition to numerous training programmes for the professional and personal development of our people, we provide targeted opportunities for females, LGBTQ+ employees, employees from ethnic minority backgrounds and employees from lower socio-economic background” (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its business structure through the establishment of gender and racial targets for its promotions. The company is seeking “40% of the firm’s equity partner promotions globally will be women” by 2027, and “15% of equity partner promotions in London and Brussels will be from ethnic minority backgrounds” by 2025 (2). The company does not publish a nondiscrimination policy (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Slaughter and May supports DEI within its business practices. In its 2023 Mobility Report: “Actions to improve the diversity of our workforce across protected characteristics are part of our business strategy” (1). The company is a member of the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, which aims to influence regulatory bodies and legal associations with net-zero emission and subsequent decarbonization goals (2)(3). The company was one of the founding members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance (4). The company “was also the first law firm to join RE100, a collaborative, global initiative led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP, and has committed to sourcing 100% of its future global electricity requirements from renewables” (5).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Slaughter and May has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (1).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Slaughter and May does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).