Karen Collins

Bates Wells wins Litigation Team of the Year and Pro Bono Initiative of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2021

We are absolutely delighted to have won two awards at the hugely competitive Lawyer Awards 2021. Our first award was for Litigation Team of the Year and is testament to the work the team has done to secure various groundbreaking judgements over the last year. The Lawyer commented on one such groundbreaking judgement – the …
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The Charities Act 2022, explained: amending the governing document of a charitable trust or unincorporated association

The latest in our blog series, untangling the Charities Act 2022 to pull out the key points your charity will need to know, action now and plan for. The Charities Act 2022 will be implemented in stages between now and sometime in March 2024. Once the relevant provisions in the Act come into force, it …
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Latest update on International Data Transfers – what do we do now?

June has been a significant month for international data transfers in both the EU and UK, following a flurry of activity from various levels of the EU. This post considers the key developments in this fundamental area of data protection law, including what organisations should start to consider going forward. Jump to: 4 June: EU …
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Chetal Patel reviews the new UK elite visa in Personnel Today

The elite visa will help to “attract and retain the most highly skilled, globally mobile talent” in science and technology. Chetal Patel, immigration specialist and partner, told Personnel Today: “This will be welcome news to tech businesses many of which were concerned about bringing talent from overseas following Brexit and coronavirus”. Although “the focus on …
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Bates Wells and the Law Society release new report and toolkit on women in law

The report shows there is still much further to go to achieve gender equality for women lawyers globally.   A new report, co-authored by Bates Wells and released to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021, sets out to provide practical tools to support women lawyers from around the world in setting up or …
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Diversity in action: A guide for charities – governance

The Charity Governance Code is recognised by the Charity Commission as the standard for effective charity governance and boards of larger charities are expected to review their own performance annually with an external evaluation every three years. The Charity Governance Code has seven core principles, including ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’ (EDI). EDI was introduced in …
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Important update for incoming travellers: negative COVID-19 testing prior to departure

The UK government has announced it will next week impose a requirement on incoming travellers to present a negative test for COVID-19 if arriving by boat, plane or train.  This is a marked change from previous requirements and will present an additional challenge for incoming travellers in addition to the self-isolation requirements on arrival. The key points …
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The Charities Act 2022, explained: changes and clarifications to the law around legacies

In our latest blog to untangle the Charities Act 2022, we take a deep dive into the law around legacies – including ex gratia payments, mergers and charity land. What do you need to know? The Charities Act 2022 contains some real nuggets for charities which receive legacies which should help remove some red tape …
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Bates Wells publishes Gender Pay Report 2020

We are pleased to share our Gender Pay Report 2020, which provides an analysis of our gender pay data and sets out our key projects to further reduce the gender pay gap. Our values are pivotal to us, they shape our decisions and the way we live and work. We focus on making a positive …
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Changes to the Immigration Rules as of 6 April 2021

A number of amendments have come into effect, including to the skilled worker, global talent and innovator visas, the EU Settlement and Youth Mobility schemes, and the Hong Kong BN(O). As set out in the Statement of Changes published on 4 March 2021, a number of amendments to the Immigration Rules came into effect on …
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Bates Wells Joins The Good Business Charter

We’re delighted to announce that, after working with philanthropist and businessman Julian Richer to set up the Good Business Charter (GBC), we have now achieved accreditation ourselves. The Good Business Charter (GBC) is an accreditation that seeks to raise the bar on business practices for employees, tax, the environment, customers and suppliers. Bates Wells has …
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New graduate visa route launches on 1 July 2021

The much-anticipated Graduate visa route launched at 9am on 1 July 2021. This new route will allow international students to remain in the UK for up to 2 or 3 years after they complete a course of study, to work, or look for work, at any skill level.   Who is eligible? Applicants must hold …
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