gunnercooke has won ‘Leading with Purpose for Business Culture’ at the 2025 Business Culture Awards 

November 27, 2025

The firm has been recognised for putting people and purpose at its core. From the impactful work of the gunnercooke foundation and House of Books & Friends, to the way the model empowers its people to set up and scale up the practice they’ve always wanted.   

This recognition adds to an already impressive recent track record for gunnercooke, which was a finalist at the British Legal Awards and Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards, has been shortlisted for four categories at the Legal Benchmarking Social Impact EMEA Awards. The firm now has over 100 award recognitions, and is continuing to grow at pace, with 16 global offices, more than 600 advisors, and over 45,000 clients worldwide.  

The firm’s support goes past our own employees, as we work alongside the gunnercooke Foundation, which, through our inspire programme, we support over 150 charities. We also have our flagship initiative, gcScholars, which tackles inequality in professional careers by offering structured work experience to young people lacking connections in the legal world. 

In 2025 gunnercooke hired Claire Smith as Head of People and Culture to focus on developing new strategies for both gcTrust and our Partners. Additionally, Ashley and Hayden Cooke, sons of Founder Darryl Cooke, joined the firm as Chiefs of Staff to protect the culture cultivated since 2010. 

Claire commented: “At gunnercooke, we know that culture is the most important part of a business, and we strive towards the idea that our employees ‘tap dance to work’ through supporting their wellbeing, growth and giving them the flexibility to design their own personal and professional lives. It’s great to see that us caring about our people and wider communities has been recognised by the Business Culture Awards.”  

Feedback from the British Culture Awards include: “gunnercooke reimagines what a professional services firm can be when compassion is not just a value but an operating principle.” 

Well done to everyone involved in making gunnercooke an inclusive and great place to work. 

For more information about the awards and the full list of winners, visit the British Culture Awards. 

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