Corporate Social Responsibility

Charity of the year

This year, we are pleased to announce that St. Oswalds Hospice has been chosen by employees to be Hay & Kilner's Charity of the Year. After a firm-wide vote, Hay & Kilner have selected St Oswald’s Hospice as their nominated charity for 2025. St Oswald’s, based in Gosforth, offers specialist patient-centric care for adults, young people, babies and children with life limiting conditions. They have supported local people and their families for over 35 years.

Bethany Herbertson, Associate in the Dispute Resolution team and Chair of Hay & Kilner’s CSR committee, said, ‘’Each year the staff at Hay & Kilner nominate charities to be our charity of the year, and the nominations are put to a firm wide vote. St Oswald’s Hospice was nominated by many staff and subsequently won the firm-wide vote, making it a very popular, and staff led, choice. We’re looking forward to what promises to be a rewarding year of fundraising and awareness raising for such an important charitable organisation for the region and it’s a privilege to support them.’’

If you would like to make a donation, head to our dedicated JustGiving page.

Committed to giving back

In 2024, Hay & Kilner raised £10,000 to support Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). Members of the practice voted to support GNAAS as their dedicated charity for 2024, and carried out a range of individual and team-based activities to raise money for, and awareness of, the charity.

Over the course of 2024, colleagues from the firm undertook a wide range of wonderful and wacky activities, which included a Bake Off, the Great North Run, wine tasting, knit sales, raffles and monthly dress down days. The fundraising highlight was a 20-mile walk in the dark from the firm’s offices at The Lumen in Newcastle city centre to Wylam in Northumberland and back!

GNAAS brings pioneering pre-hospital care to the scene, rescuing hundreds of severely injured or ill patients every year. They are not NHS-funded, and their daily operating cost is over £25,000. GNAAS provides a full helicopter emergency medical support service, covering around 8,000 square miles across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria. It recently issued an urgent plea for more funding from the region after revealing that rising costs had put it at risk of running at a deficit, which could potentially mean it might not be able to afford to answer emergency calls. The organisation relies entirely on donations, fundraising and grants to cover its £8.5m annual running costs.

Hay & Kilner is one of the region’s leading full-service law firms and provides comprehensive legal advice to businesses and individuals from both within and outside the region.

Bethany, Associate in the Dispute Resolution team and Chair of Hay & Kilner’s CSR committee, said:

“We’ve had a packed calendar of fundraising events this year and with so many people from across the practice getting involved, it’s been another great team effort. The continued involvement and generosity of everyone in the firm, allows us to support great causes year after year, and contribute positively to our local community. It is fantastic to finish the year by donating £10,000 to GNAAS, and we are thrilled to contribute to their work and the people they support with this vital service.’’

If you have any questions regarding our CSR activity, please contact Bethany Herbertson, Solicitor and Chair of the CSR Committee.