News

Bates Wells recognises challenges faced by transgender employees when seeking to evidence a right to work

Our immigration team are working to persuade UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to close a gap in their guidance for employers who wish to employ someone that recently changed gender. Introduction Transgender people often face challenges when documenting their gender identity. A specific barrier has been identified by our Immigration Team in that current UKVI …
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UK Electoral Commission head to join law firm Bates Wells as consultant

Bob Posner, until recently the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, is joining law firm Bates Wells’ top-ranked Politics, Elections and Campaigning team as a consultant. Bob has decades of experience in the political arena, working across the administration of elections and referendums, through to the regulation of political and campaigning finance rules. He is …
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Bates Wells acts in landmark High Court ruling allowing trustees to prioritise climate change mitigation over financial returns in investments

A landmark High Court ruling today has confirmed that trustees of charitable trusts are allowed to prioritise the climate change outcomes of their investments even if it risks reducing financial returns. With charities in England and Wales holding over £150bn in long term investments, the decision could have a significant impact. Mr Justice Michael Green …
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Bates Wells attends Better Business Day in Westminster

The 20th April marked a year since the launch of the Better Business campaign, which calls for the introduction of the Better Business Act, a change in legislation that would transform the way Britain does business so every company would not be run solely to generate shareholder profit. Together with over 1,000 other businesses, Bates …
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Bates Wells appoints new partner, Nirav Patel, to join corporate practice

We’re delighted to welcome Nirav Patel as a partner in our Corporate practice, where he will strengthen the firm’s M&A advisory offering and bring a wealth of experience in advising ESG-focused companies. Nirav has 10 years’ experience advising financial institutions such as private equity funds, UK and foreign government-backed funds and development finance organisations. Nirav …
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Bates Wells’ 2022 partner promotions; 42% of partnership now women; 39% of partnership works part time

Bates Wells has promoted three women to its partnership, bringing the total partner headcount to 33, 14 of whom are women. Erica Crump, the firm’s head of Culture and Creative, has also been promoted to senior partnership. Sung-Hyui Park is at the forefront of the firm’s Purpose and Impact practice, where she supports businesses, charities …
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Bates Wells wins Case of the Year at the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2022

Our employment team celebrated at the awards ceremony last night, where we won Case of the Year for our ground-breaking work on Uber BV and others v Aslam and others [2021]. Following a five year legal battle, Bates Wells’ Paul Jennings and Rachel Mathieson successfully represented the lead claimants, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, in …
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Bates Wells publishes Gender Pay Report 2021

We are pleased to share our 2021 Gender Pay Report, our annual analysis of our gender pay data and our plans to continue to reduce the gender pay gap. We are focused on making a positive impact on our people and society. At Bates Wells we believe in creating a workplace that is fair, inclusive …
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Podcast | Why B Corps matter: Transforming Your Business for Positive Change

Karli Hiscock, Partner in the Real Estate team at Bates Wells recently spoke with fellow B Corp Green Element about how being a values-driven B Corp creates synergy between our clients, our people and our culture. In the podcast, Karli explains how we use the law to change things for the better, and how we now support fellow …
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Bates Wells Ethnicity Pay Report 2020

We have completed our Ethnicity Pay Report for 2020 (reporting data as at 5 April 2020). Firstly, we acknowledge that the data does not make for good reading and as a firm we are not where we want to be. However, through producing this report we have been able to identify the gaps and we are already …
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Bates Wells recognised for its early career opportunities and graduate recruitment practices at The AllAboutLaw Awards 2022

The AllAboutLaw Awards showcases the best law firms in the UK. Awards recognise the quality of opportunities for aspiring solicitors, such as vacation schemes and training contracts, as well as the achievements of early talent teams for their marketing and recruitment efforts. The awards are based on the opinions of current aspiring solicitors in the …
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Bates Wells joins the legal profession’s efforts to help Ukrainian citizens fleeing the warzone

Lawyers both in the UK and internationally are working together to facilitate ease of movement for Ukrainians escaping abroad through lawful channels. Quick-thinking lawyers have set up the Ukraine Advice Project UK, to provide free UK immigration advice to fleeing Ukrainians. Bates Wells is part of a core group working within the Immigration Law Practitioners’ …
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