A group of activists is targeting Allen & Overy (A&O) as part of a protest march this afternoon (5 April) after accusing the magic circle firm of "representing vulture funds".

The march will target the firm's Canary Wharf office, which formerly housed a 200-strong banking team but which was vacated last year when A&O reunited the team with the rest of the firm in its Spitalfields HQ.

The UK Uncut group is targeting A&O as well as the Canary Wharf offices of Barclays, HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citigroup. The group's website says it chose A&O because its clients include arms manufacturer BAE Systems and "vulture funds" – a term which refers to funds that invest in debt issued by struggling entities.

The group's website states: "International finance treats Tower Hamlets like a tourist destination, with no regard for the people who live here."

A&O responded to the accusations by stating that it only represents funds with legitimate activities. It also highlighted local community projects that it is involved in, including co-operating with Bethnal Green Technology College, sponsoring Spitalfields City Farm and providing local pro bono legal advice workshops.

The firm said in a statement: "A&O has been an active member of the local community for many years providing financial and pro bono support to local schools and charities. Many of our people live in the local community and we provide governors for local schools, fund artists to work with students as part of the Artbeat programme, and people give their own time to help children develop their literacy and numeracy skills."

"This is part of a global programme aimed at helping the communities where we work that last year saw A&O's people spend 57,300 hours doing pro bono and community work around the world – this is equivalent to £18.39m of billable time."

A&O still uses the top floor of the 64,500 sq ft space at 40 Bank Street for meetings but is looking to rent out the additional space.

The Tower Hamlets Uncut protest group was formed by public sector workers in the borough and has previously held protests about Barclays' pay and bonuses and local council cuts to the public sector budget.

The news comes after A&O today became the first law firm to sign up for the coalition Government's new social mobility initiative, which will see businesses provide internships for young people from deprived backgrounds.