To observe ourselves with a wide-angle lens, capture an image of a broader perspective of our perimeters, feel ourselves an active part of a necessary and complex change process: these are the principles – the hopes – that have guided us as we have begun to reflect on a way to recount our presence in the
world.
Carrying on an organised economic activity – and in a certain sense “doing business” – has not only to do with profit-making in the strictest sense; financial indicators cannot and must not be the only reasons that guide our decisionmaking.
We consider that personal wellbeing is an integral part of the vitality of SZA and that “doing business” does not concern ourselves only and that we have a responsibility that embraces society. We believe that it has to do with creating the common good as well as that of each individual.
We have decided to start telling our story by using an ever more recognised and shared tool, drafting our Integrated Report for 2018.
Through this medium we report our paths to value creation in the broadest sense: from the economic, to the social, to the reputational – all aspects to which we are deeply committed, both as professionals and as people.
We wish to illustrate not only what we do, but how we do it, with our characteristic traits and uniqueness, to share our successes and strengthen our capacity to build solid, long-lasting relationships.
We are lawyers: the social relevance of our profession, the impact our work generates in the community, our day-to-day interaction with numerous categories of stakeholders – clients, colleagues, counterparties, judges and judicial institutions – are all issues that the legal profession’s Code of Ethics describes, considers and regulates.
And all SZA professionals hold the firm conviction that respecting the
principles set out in the Code of Ethics is a cornerstone of our way of working.In a cultural and socio-economic context that requires all players not only to adopt ethical behaviour but also transparency as their litmus test, reporting is the next step forward against which we must measure ourselves.
We are aware that we are proposing something new; we know that publishing a report integrating economic aspects and sustainability aspects is not commonplace in the legal world, either among domestic law firms or international firms operating in our country.We have decided to take on this challenge.
As professionals and as a firm we feel that we are part of a whole, of a value creation journey shared with our stakeholders that we contribute to on a daily basis with our skills and our capabilities to take care of our clients, and more in general, of society.
This is what we are, and what we want to be, and what we are beginning to recount also through this first Integrated Report.
Marisa Meroni e Luca Guffanti
Managing Partners SZA Studio Legale