Lewis Silkin are a top 100 UK commercial law firm with offices in London, Oxford, Cardiff and Hong Kong. Lewis Silkin was born in 1889 into a family of Jewish Lithuanian refugees. He had a poor upbringing but was determined to win a scholarship to Oxford University. However, his headmaster wrote in his report to the university, ‘this boy will not benefit from a university education'. Instead, he spotted a notice in a window of a firm of solicitors seeking a 'bright lad'. He was appointed as a clerk and qualified as a solicitor in 1920. He immediately set up on his own. The firm that bears his name now has Ian Jeffery as Chief Executive Officer and Michael Burd as Chairman. There are 340 staff, including more than 170 legal professionals. Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of the firm's business strategy, and activities include charitable work, environmental responsibility, community involvement and pro-bono legal work.