Vardags’ legal work is focused on life-changing outcomes for our clients, but we believe that we should do our very best to improve the world beyond our cases. Our values reflect this belief.
Our values: fairness and families
Vardags believes in fairness and families. Both inside and outside the courtroom, Vardags fights for reforms to the law which celebrate personal autonomy and allow people to enter into marriage on terms which suit them and modern society – strengthening the millennia old institution.
Vardags broke new ground in Radmacher, overturning centuries of legal paternalism to allow parties to enter into enforceable prenuptial agreements. Since then, the firm has used its prominence to support further reforms to marriage and divorce law.
Members of Vardags regularly appear in the press, arguing in favour of ‘no fault’ divorce to take needless acrimony out of an already painful experience. Vardags have also continued to highlight the scourge of deceit and non-disclosure in financial proceedings, supporting greater sanctions for parties who lie to their spouses and to the court.
Vardags also believe in responsible and involved parenting. As a firm, we support and facilitate all types of families. We believe that all parents have a right to spend time with their children and a duty to be involved in their upbringing. When a relationship between parents ends, it is vital that they find ways to co-parent, step-parent and support the development of their children. Vardags push for changes to the law which facilitate this.
Our children team also work closely with Kids Come First, who provide bespoke workshops for separated or divorcing parents. Their unique support & child-focused training program is recommended for all parents wanting to help their children through separation, and delivers specialist guidance on how to create a collaborative co-parenting partnership beyond separation.
Vardags also believe that people should be educated about the law and what it might mean for their family. Just as we believe in autonomy, we believe that people should be fully informed about their legal rights. As a firm, we work to discuss family law in the press, highlighting the need for reform and the current status of the law to ensure that the general public can make mature and informed decisions about their family and their lives.
Our values: equality and excellence
We believe in equality and excellence. Vardags believe that when the very best people are given the very best opportunities they will excel, regardless of their gender or background. Vardags works to foster to such an environment for high achievement and to encourage others to do so too.
Vardags have introduced pioneering approaches to maternity, paternity, and childcare to ensure that new parents are never side-lined or side-tracked. We do not force our employees to choose between careers and children, but instead relish the perspective and compassionate leadership that mothers and fathers can bring. We regularly encourage others to follow our lead and work to make the legal profession far friendlier for parents.
Outside of the office, we continue to support an even playing field. Vardags have promoted and sponsored mixed and women’s polo teams, with Ayesha Vardag speaking to the media about encouraging women in a traditionally male dominated game.
Vardags also believes that financial background should not hold people back from excelling in the law. Through the introduction of a bespoke graduate training programme, those starting their careers can benefit from earning a real salary throughout their training period. This means that, wherever they have started, the most able can reach the very top.
Vardags also believes that quality jobs and elite representation should not be focused exclusively in London. By expanding nationwide, Vardags sought to bring their expertise to regions of the country often ignored by other firms. This has brought high quality representation to these areas as well as the opportunity for great lawyers to work on top cases without the need to relocate.
Our values: giving back
Vardags believes in giving back. We cultivate an ethos of social responsibility amongst its entire staff. From bike rides to Bake-Offs, the firm’s staff regularly raises funds for a range of charities, supported and facilitated by the firm.
In March 2021, Members of the Vardags team cycled a combined total of 2,400 miles as part of the Cycle for Smart Works initiative and raised over £11,000 for the charity. Smart Works is a charity dedicated to tackling long-term unemployment among women. It provides high quality interview clothes and training to unemployed women in need. Remarkably, 65% of those they work with go on to get the job they applied for. Our team was proud to have supported such an important initiative and to have raised approximately one-eighth of the entire fund-raising target for London.
Vardags was pleased to sponsor Helena Vardag-Walters who has just completed a 100 mile ride on her horses along the South Downs Way. This was to raise money for the Honeypot Foundation on behalf of the London Season. Since 1996, Honeypot has been working to enhance the lives of young carers aged 5-12 years in the UK, providing respite breaks and on-going outreach support. Nationwide, they give young carers a break from the demanding and stressful responsibilities they face at home, providing a safe, nurturing environment where these children can develop their full potential.This was a fantastic endeavour for a very worth cause.
Vardags is a significant benefactor of the charity Children with Cancer via its participation in the annual Opera at Syon project which Children with Cancer organises. Our President, Ayesha Vardag, is a member of the Opera at Syon Committee and the firm assists the event by way of organisational time contribution on the Committee and also by way of purchasing numerous tickets for the event and providing auction prizes.
Vardags also sponsored and participated heavily in the organisation of the Hampshire Festival of Music of the Golden Age. The firm has a strong tradition of music and musicians within its ranks. It teamed up with Spin-out strategy and Forte Financial for a charitable concert that promoted early music, bringing renaissance and baroque music into one of the great private homes of Hampshire. The ticketed event raised significant funds both for St John Ambulance and for the repairs to one of the local churches.
The Vardags team turned up to the event in force to serve guests drinks and canapés and to entertain them during an evening that was an overall social salon experience than a mere concert. The firm, working with our CEO Stephen Bence, himself a musician, took pains to ensure that the musicians involved were not only world class but also young and inspiring.
The event was a huge success and it is the firm’s intention to assist with the organisation of more of these. The firm designed a website for the event as well as co-sponsoring payment for musicians and for light supper refreshments for the ticketed guests.
For more on the Vardags’ team’s individual contributions to charitable causes, please visit our team pages.
