Experience

I am an Associate in the Charity and Social Enterprise team at Bates Wells. I advise charities, social enterprises and educational institutions on a variety of commercial, charity law, governance, education law and safeguarding issues.

I deliver training on charity and safeguarding law, and am a member of the firm’s cross-departmental education sector group.

I have particular expertise of advising on large-scale charity mergers and incorporations, including those involving hundreds of local charity branches.

My legal experience includes:

  • Establishing new charities, social enterprises and educational institutions.
  • Advising on charity restructuring, mergers and joint ventures/collaborations.
  • Advising trustees on regulatory and governance matters, including Charity Commission investigations and serious incident reporting.
  • Advising on various aspects of education law, including advising on numerous academy conversions and transfers. I have particular expertise in school and college mergers and acquisitions, including independent school mergers.
  • Advising on safeguarding issues for charities, including DBS checks, drafting and reviewing safeguarding policies, delivering safeguarding training, and advising on safeguarding investigations.
Highlights
  • Advised the Samaritans on a large project involving restructuring its 200+ local charity branches across the UK and Ireland. I am advising two other large charities on similar projects. Two of these projects have involved registering local charity branches as CIOs and preparing a suite of model documents such as a CIO constitution and a charity registration application.
  • Advised a multi-academy trust on setting up a community outreach charity.
  • Advising a multi-academy trust on the establishment of an independent special school, in order to meet the growing demand for specialist educational provision.
  • Advised two multi-academy trusts on acquiring new academies, including academy conversions. I advise on all commercial aspects, including process and governance, legal structuring, legal due diligence and negotiating the transfer agreement.
  • Advised various national and international charities on improving their safeguarding governance in line with Charity Commission guidance on safeguarding and serious incident reporting.
  • Advised HMC - The Heads’ Conference on a governance and constitutional review.
  • Advised overseas educational and research institutions on setting up in the UK as charities.
  • Advised on registering a higher education provider with the Office for Students.
  • Advised the charity body of an international youth organisation on constitutional and governance issues, including preparing updated model governing documents.
  • Advised a Hindu charity on restructuring the organisation.