Harbottle & Lewis and Key4Life: A Partnership of Meaningful Change

Over the past two years, we have proudly partnered with Key4Life, a crime prevention charity which rehabilitates young men in prison or at risk of going to prison.

As our nominated ‘Charity Partner of the Year’, we have supported Key4Life through giving our people the opportunity to offer their time to foster meaningful change, particularly through initiatives such as volunteering, events and work placements. These initiatives have been coordinated by our dedicated Key4Life committee which helped to facilitate these opportunities and connect the charity with people from across the firm.

Some of the standout initiatives from the two-year programme include a three-day work placement for the young men, in-prison volunteering at HMP Thameside and HMP Fosse Way, and several events hosted in our office. Among these events was a Dragons’ Den, where the young men pitched their business ideas to a panel of ‘dragons’ after a session on key business and legal advice from experts. Additionally, we hosted our Unlocking Futures panel event, centred on the question ‘How can we create a culture of employment opportunity for prison leavers?’ which sparked powerful discussions and practical ideas for addressing barriers to employment for prison-leavers.

For the participants, the support they’ve received has been instrumental in helping them build the experience and confidence needed to take the next steps in their professional or academic journeys. Indeed, the benefits are reciprocal as those who have volunteered have found the experience to be equally rewarding and have seen their own skills honed as a result. Several of the events we hosted were attended by various clients of ours; this not only enabled the participants to gain insights from those who work in a range of industries outside of law, but it also meant that we were able to share the enriching experience of being a volunteer with the participants who attended on behalf of our clients.

Volunteers from one of our long-standing clients, De Beers, were invited by us to attend several of our hosted events and subsequently participated in many of Key4Life’s initiatives. This has led the relationship to grow, with De Beers and Anglo American colleagues supporting Key4Life through its Ambassador for Good 2025 programme, which empowers employees to support causes they care about, and make meaningful change to communities.

Kirsten Mansfield, legal counsel at De Beers and an active participant in Key4Life initiatives, said:

“After my first Key4Life event through Harbottle & Lewis, I was keen to find new ways to support the charity and involve more colleagues. The Ambassador for Good 2025 programme provided a great platform for wider participation within the company, and left a lasting impression on our team. Key4Life’s initiatives are brilliant, and we look forward to continuing our support and involvement.”

Sacha Wilson, partner at Harbottle & Lewis and client relationship partner with De Beers, said:

“We are pleased to see that De Beers is continuing to support Key4Life through its Ambassador for Good programme alongside Anglo American – it is extremely rewarding to know that the charity will continue to benefit from the support of other responsible organisations following completion of our two-year programme. We look forward to seeing the partnership develop and make a lasting difference.”

About Key4Life

Key4Life is an innovative crime prevention charity which rehabilitates young men in prison or at risk of going to prison, providing real solutions to help reduce youth offending.

The charity’s rehabilitation programmes help the young men to build resilience and release negative behaviours through a powerful blend of music, football, equine therapy, NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and emotional release sessions.

To learn more about the work that Key4Life does, head to its website here: Key4Life – Reducing youth re-offending

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