I have a deep interest in charities and charity law, having worked with the charity sector and charity clients for over 25 years.
I started my career as a private client lawyer and have particular experience of advising on charity trust issues, including complicated constitutional structures and endowment funds, and philanthropy, as well as legacy giving. I’ve assisted with several tricky constitutional reviews involving charities governed by Royal Charter and Acts of Parliament.
Alongside my client work, I wrote and co-edited a new edition of the Charities Acts Handbook (published in September 2024), which takes account of the new Charities Act 2022.
I have experience of analysing the latest legal developments in the sector – contributing to our weekly Briefing for clients and social enterprises over many years. My focus is on using the law to provide pragmatic and accessible solutions.
I am inspired by the extraordinary variety in the sector and have a particular interest in community action. I was part of the volunteer advice team at my local Citizens Advice between 2019 and 2023 and continue to volunteer on various projects in my local rural community in North Yorkshire.
- Supporting clients with a wide range of technical queries ranging from Charity Commission permissions and trustee disputes to charity establishment and restructuring, constitutional reviews and use of endowment funds.
- Preparing a detailed analysis of the endowment funds of one of the country’s largest charities, working closely with the client and their accountants.
- Assisting with revisions to the charter and bye laws of several Royal Charter clients.
- Writing and editing Bates Wells charity and social enterprise newsletters and contributing to briefings on recent legal developments.
- Working on model constitutional documents.
- Contributing to a number of books including: Charitable Status, published by Director of Social Change: Charities, Trading and the Law (co-written with Stephen Lloyd); three editions of the Charities Acts Handbook.