Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance steps in to save London community advice centre from sudden funding cuts

Leading global law firm Clifford Chance has provided The Newham Asian Women's Project (NAWP) with bridge funding to prevent it from shutting its General Advice Line. NAWP provides support in various forms to South Asian women and their children who are victims of domestic violence.

With only two weeks notice, NAWP was informed that the advice line's government financial backing would be withdrawn, leaving the organisation without funding from the beginning of April 2011. Clifford Chance has worked with NAWP on its legal advice surgery for over seven years and through this close alliance learnt of the serious and fast-approaching funding issues.

Clifford Chance secured a donation of £20,000 from the firm's charitable giving arm, the Clifford Chance Foundation. This funding will allow NAWP's advice line to remain open until new funding becomes available.

Baljit Banga, Director of NAWP said: "NAWP and the women and children it supports, are extremely grateful to Clifford Chance for this very generous support. The firm reacted very quickly which was impressive and important given how quickly the cuts were to be enforced. This is a fine example of businesses working with their local communities and supporting worthy projects when funding from elsewhere is not available."

Habib Motani, Partner at Clifford Chance and NAWP's main contact at the firm commented, "We take our corporate responsibility efforts very seriously at Clifford Chance and have done for many years. We are extremely proud that we have been able to support a very worthy organisation which was under threat. The pro bono work we do for NAWP meant that when the budget cuts came to light, we were familiar with the rest of the organisation and the excellent service it offers to the local community and were delighted to help."