Our community: Access to finance

Why is community affairs important for Clifford Chance? We want every Clifford Chance office to engage with its local community, using its talents and resources to help others. This is crucial to our recruitment, retention and reputation. In line with our Principles and the skills we have to offer, we continue to focus on three themes across the firm: access to justice, finance and education.

Access to finance was a major preoccupation in 2008/09, for business, government and society at large. We advised on deals and published regulatory insights that helped improve market liquidity in the wake of the credit crunch, in turn kick-starting commercial lending activities fundamental to economic growth. Further down the line, we’ve been leveraging our banking experience on behalf of individuals and charities engaged in alleviating poverty and helping the most vulnerable members of our community.

We provide pro bono legal advice to charities and NGOs in the growth field of microfinance (see our CR report 2008 for more details), a bridge between banks and the individuals traditionally beyond their reach, particularly in poorer parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Our lawyers are also providing free social welfare advice to individuals at the margins of mainstream financial services. We’re helping them address their money concerns through drop-in clinics and legal aid programmes in London and New York.

Pioneering lending in rural communities

Root Capital is one of a variety of development finance organisations that we support both from a leadership and a pro bono perspective. It has provided more than US$120 million in credit to 235 grassroots enterprises representing 360,000 farm households throughout Latin America and Africa.

By providing capital, financial education and market connections to small and growing businesses that are caught in the ‘missing middle’ between microfinance and traditional banking, Root Capital is building sustainable livelihoods and transforming rural communities in poor, environmentally vulnerable places.

Washington, DC partner Juan Morillo joined the Root Capital board in July 2008 and our lawyers in New York, Washington, DC and London have helped restructure the non-profit organisation’s Trade Credit loan templates and People Tree Loan, bringing greater uniformity to its lending activities.

"I offer strategic counselling on overall direction," says Juan, "and act as the focal point for the pro bono advice we provide to Root Capital."

"Clifford Chance helps Root Capital to provide financing to hundreds of thousands of farmers in the developing world," says Root Capital Founder and CEO William Foote, "by helping us to use industry leading loan documentation."