1: Opening statement from senior management
JMW is committed to preventing acts of modern slavery and human trafficking from occurring within its business and supply chain, and imposes the same high standards on its suppliers.
2: Structure of the organisation
JMW is a full-service law firm, headquartered in Manchester with offices in Liverpool and London. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.jmw.co.uk
In the financial year ending 30.04.24, JMW had an annual turnover of approximately £82m.
In order to achieve the efficient delivery of legal services, across multiple sites, we work with a range of suppliers. The supply chain due diligence measures we have in place are discussed below.
3: Policies
As part of our commitment to combating modern slavery, we operate an anti-slavery policy as well as a whistleblowing policy that encourages staff to raise any concerns.
These policies have been developed following a risk assessment of the firm’s business operations and supply chain.
4: Due diligence
As part of our efforts to monitor and reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring within our supply chain, we undertake risk-based due diligence in order to:
- establish and assess areas of potential risk in our business and supply chains
- monitor potential risk areas in our business and supply chains
- reduce the risk of slavery and human trafficking occurring in our business and supply chains
- provide adequate protection for whistleblowers
When engaging with suppliers, we make sure they are aware of our policies and undertake risk-based checks to ensure that the suppliers adhere to the same high standards as JMW.
We ensure all our suppliers adhere to our anti-slavery policy. We enforce a strict code of compliance and do not tolerate slavery and human trafficking within our supply chains. For example, if we find evidence of a failure to comply with our policies we will immediately seek to terminate our relationship with the relevant supplier.
5: Risk and compliance
JMW’s risk & compliance team is responsible for monitoring the implementation and enforcement of our anti-slavery policy. Our team reports to the management board periodically, to ensure that decisions required are taken at the highest tier within the business.
6: Training
We are exploring ways to raise awareness on modern slavery. An updated policy will be published on the staff intranet later in 2024 and we are in the process of sourcing a suitable e-learning course.
7: Further actions and sign-off
Following our review of our actions this financial year to prevent slavery or human trafficking from occurring in our business or supply chains, we intend to refresh our risk assessment and identify areas where we may be able to undertake further due diligence on our supply chain. In addition, we will, where practicable, ensure that suppliers are aware of our modern slavery policy. Further awareness-raising is also planned, as explained above.
This statement is made in accordance with section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes JMW’s slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 30.04.2024.This statement was approved by JMW’s management board prior to publication.
Chris Sutton
Partner & CEO
JMW Solicitors LLP
Date: 11 October 2024