Corporate responsibility

All of our activities are founded on responsibility. The Finnish Bar Association is a public corporation regulated by the Advocates Act, which promotes the availability of independent, professional and ethically impeccable legal services for every Finnish citizen – regardless of income or place of residence.

To us, responsibility means not only improving the judicial conditions in Finland, but also setting an example for responsibility.

Clobal Compact Network

In April 2021, we joined the UN’s international Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative. It is a programme that promotes and develops the ecological, social and economic responsibility of companies and communities, making use of the ten principles of the Global Compact and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

We are committed to embracing, supporting and implementing these core values of human rights, labour principles, the environment and anti-corruption.

Social responsibility

Our best experts at the disposal of society

It is important for us to work for a just and equal Finland. The Finnish Bar Association contributes to the improvement of judicial conditions in Finland by issuing statements on the legislative and other projects of the Ministry of Justice, the European Union, Parliament and various authorities. As a rule, the Finnish Bar Association’s judicial policy statements are drawn up as volunteer work by the Association’s teams of experts. We have roughly 125 top experts working in our twenty or so expert teams offering their expertise to improve society.

Attorneys’ on-call service – free legal advice for private persons

Free legal advice organised by the Finnish Bar Association’s chapters is available in several localities around Finland. The attorneys on call can tell you whether you should seek legal assistance in your case and can refer you to the correct authority or an attorney-at-law versed in the appropriate field.

Promoting equality

The promotion of equality is important to us: social justice is impossible if every individual is not treated equally in our society. Indeed, the promotion of equality is constantly on our to-do list. In June 2018, we published a manual for the prevention of and intervening in sexual harassment for all law offices. We have also been a partner of the Helsinki Pride Community since 2021.

Legal education for schoolchildren

Attorneys-at-law give volunteer legal education lectures in secondary schools and upper secondary schools everywhere in Finland. The lectures on the rights and obligations of young people are free of charge for the schools.

Economic social responsibility

Social responsibility in the economic sense means that operations are on a business-sustainable basis, taxes are paid properly and the grey economy is combated.

Preventing and exposing money laundering and terrorist financing is part of our economic social responsibility. Our mission is to inform and supervise all attorneys in relation to money laundering and the prevention of terrorist financing. This important work is carried out in the union by an inspection lawyer specialising in this matter, who carries out regular office inspections at all law firms around Finland.

In practice, the Finnish Bar Association’s own operations are financed entirely by membership fees paid by lawyers. More information on membership fees.

Environmental responsibility

For the planet to remain habitable for future generations, every organisation, company and citizen must do their part to halt climate change. We are also working on this in the Bar Association.

We have our own WWF Green Office environmental management system.