Giving Back – Global Outreach for a Global Firm

Making a positive impact and going the extra mile are aspirations that run through all aspects of Morgan Lewis's culture. Brussels partner Izzet Sinan, Frankfurt legal secretary Sabine Blesius, and London administrative manager Laura Smith share their stories about how they go above and beyond to support others, not just in their local communities, but all over the world.

Sabine Blesius

How did you begin supporting charities?

I have been active in my local church, St. Hedwig's in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt, since I was a teenager and I love cooking, so when I was asked whether I wanted to join the church cooking group, I was very enthusiastic to participate. Every three months, we get together and cook a lunch in our church community room to raise money for various charities around the world. The lunches are attended by members of the church and sometimes friends come along as well. It's a great way to meet people, enjoy the food and help others in need.

Which charities do the lunches support?

Between us we agree on a new charity for each lunch—and we try to do three international projects a year and one German one. We have supported big charities like Care and World Vision and Diospi Suyana, which was then a small charity, but mostly we try to support small organizations that get less attention from other donors. We try to make it as varied and interesting as possible, and hopefully learn about different parts of the world. We ask the organization to the gathering and invite them to give a presentation, which usually lasts between 15–30 minutes.

Why do you organize these lunches?

It is very rewarding, challenging, and a lot of fun to organize and then cook—we try to cook with a lot of vegetables and meet on Sunday morning to cut, slice, and dice and get everything ready. The parishioners join after mass. A friend of mine and I are the ones doing the actual cooking, making sure it tastes good, so we add a lot of spices and herbs to make it so, and we try to cook food from the country we are donating money to. That makes it especially fun and interesting!

When is your next lunch?

The next lunch is scheduled February 25, and we will be donating to the project Africa Action. We picked this charity because one of our goals is to be broad in who we support—the last time was Asia. As you can see from the pictures, the kitchen where we cook for 40–60 people is very small.

Laura Smith

Which project are you supporting?

In September 2023, our London office partnered with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV), a charity that brings people together to improve and care for green spaces with the goal of healthier, happier communities. We spent the day working at Lavender Pond Nature Reserve, a green space created in 1981 in the Rotherhithe area of south London, with the aim of providing a haven for wildlife, an amenity for local residents, and an educational resource. Volunteers included myself, technology support analyst Piero Grandinetti, office services coordinator Brandon Ilsley, regional director of administration Jacqueline Sillis, and billing manager Lorraine Valentine.

Was this project a one-off event?

Our day at the nature park was part of World Cleanup Day, a program aimed at clearing litter, reducing waste, and improving our shared living environment. On its last annual day in September 2023, nearly 20 million participants in 198 countries got together to clean up their local streets, parks, and community spaces. This was actually the second volunteering event with this organization—the first one was back in April to recognize Earth Day. The relationship with TCV stemmed from being asked by the Community Engagement Team to organize an event for Earth Day, so I did some searching around and came across TCV by chance.

What work did you do at the reserve?

Our team spent a day clearing intrusive reeds, and then using them to build habitats for insects and wildlife. Our work not only made the space more attractive for the local residents, but also management of the environment supports biodiversity and will have a positive impact on the development of the space for years to come.

Do you hope to do this again?

Yes, we are very much hoping that for the next Earth Day in April or World Ceanup Day, in September, we can inspire even more of our London colleagues to join us for another project somewhere in London. Not only was it very satisfying that we made a difference at Lavender Pond Nature Reserve, but we also had a great day and it was very satisfying being out in the fresh air for the day meeting lots of people and bonding together as Morgan Lewis colleagues.

Izzet Sinan

Tell us about the project you support.

Three years ago, I was approached by an organization for which Morgan Lewis undertakes pro bono work, which informed me that the European Union was funding school science equipment in Cyprus. To my astonishment, it turned out that in the 1970s my mother had been the first headmistress at one of these schools, called Şehit Yalçın Primary School, in a village near Nicosia called Göçmenköy. It triggered my interest in helping in any way I could.

How are you supporting the school?

When I heard that the school did not even have a laboratory building, I agreed to fund the construction of a new science lab. When we went out to tender, by another coincidence, one of the contractors sought me out and told me that my mother had been his teacher and had helped his family when they had hit hard times. He said he wanted to pay it back in some way and offered to build the laboratory at cost, with no profit. So there began a fantastic collaboration by the community in Göçmenköy to fund and build this wonderful new school facility.

How did the project go?

We used the COVID-19 period to build the lab, and then last summer, when we visited some family friends back in Northern Cyprus, one of them told me that her daughter-in-law is now a teacher at Şehit Yalçın school and probably the biggest user of the lab with her classes. Moreover, they have been winning various prizes and awards. They are naming the lab in honor of my mother.

Have you been involved in other Cypriot charities?

I collaborated with the same organization to help them with general COVID-19 relief and helping with matters relating to schoolbooks/uniforms for the poor, and most recently to raise money and materials for the recent Turkish earthquake disaster (where two North Cyprus high school volleyball teams from Famagusta perished when their hotel collapsed). Separately, I assisted on the funding of material for a disabled basketball team and a braille library and braille book printing facility for the blind.

Left to right: Izzet Sinan; teacher Arzu Konuksal; school head Tuncay Özcenay; contractor Sabit Parsel.