Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
what interests you?

Data: a new direction?

Boris Johnson’s letter to the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (“TIGRR”) thanked them for “re-imagining” the UK’s approach to regulation and “making best use of our recently rediscovered freedoms”. That work would require clearing “a path through the thicket of burdensome and restrictive regulation that has grown up around our industries over the …
Read more

Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) – delivering cash benefits to local not-for-profit sport

By Thea Longley and Richard Baldwin This year marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the CASC scheme, which provides a number of tax benefits to amateur sports clubs.  Clubs registered with HM Revenue & Customs as CASCs have received an estimated £350 million in cash benefits since 1st April 2002. The scheme’s annual …
Read more

Faith-Based Organisations: 2022 Update

Welcome to our annual faith-based update. It’s been another hugely challenging year for church and faith communities. While lockdown restrictions may have eased, the repercussions of the pandemic are ongoing. Some faith communities are struggling to remain engaged with their members, and stretched as they are on the frontline of responding to various crises including …
Read more

The Be a Better Business Handbook

It can be hard to know where to start when thinking about embedding purpose into your organisation. However – we’ve done it ourselves – and as the first UK law firm to be a B Corp, we are proof that finding the right mix of purpose and profitability is achievable. Our team of expert lawyers …
Read more

Is the government’s legislative agenda creating risks for the UK economy?

The free flow of personal data across borders is essential to the modern economy. But reforms to our data protection and human rights frameworks, as well as sweeping changes to laws we retained from when we were members of the EU, could put EU-UK data flows at risk at a time when the UK economy …
Read more

Quick reference guide to government relations: regulation of lobbying, political finance, ethics and anti-corruption

Bates Wells has partnered with Lexology to author its UK guide to government relations. Part of Lexology’s ‘Getting the Deal Through’ series, the government relations guide is a quick reference tool for global legal counsel to drill down and review law and regulation on the UK form of government, the regulation of lobbying, political finance, …
Read more

People and culture discussion: Celebrating women every day, and social causes at the heart of business

We recently hosted a discussion with a range of HR professionals from fellow B Corps. At our Spring meeting, the topics were: Celebrating women every day – How can men help, and what can organisations do to generally support women?Social causes at the heart of business – what do we consider a social cause to …
Read more

Talking governance: emotional intelligence

In difficult times, third-sector organisations can take a lead in tackling complex issues, through prioritising relationships and understanding the emotional drivers behind behaviours. Tesse Akpeki explores the new direction in governance and explains how boards can make the change. The UK is facing democratic, digital, economic and environmental turmoil. So says the final report of …
Read more

Talking governance: holding difficult conversations

Good and professional behaviour is critical to board effectiveness. Governance expert Tesse Akpeki gives guidance on how to hold difficult conversations. The ICSA guidance, Improving charity boardroom behaviours, stresses the importance of encouraging positive behaviours in and outside the boardroom. The guidelines remind us that policies, procedures and protocols only go so far in promoting good …
Read more

Talking governance: values-driven leadership

Values-driven leadership can maximise the potential of an entire organisation. Governance expert Tesse Akpeki elaborates on the advantages of a values-driven approach and explains how it can be achieved. Values-driven leadership occurs when leaders are driven by values that shape their mindset and inform their decisions and actions. Values articulate what the organisation cares about, …
Read more

How B Corp status might revolutionise football

Following the government’s welcome announcement on 25 April that it would seek to implement the recommendations of the Crouch Review – a “Fan-led Review of Football Governance” – there is now finally momentum in the need of reform for the country’s most loved sport. The issue with the various reviews into football, including the Crouch …
Read more

Covid-19 Inquiry update: Terms of Reference

As you will have seen in the national press, last Thursday the Chair of the Inquiry wrote to the Prime Minister setting out her recommended changes to the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference. The Chair has recommended that the Terms of Reference should be reframed to put possible inequalities at their forefront, so that an investigation …
Read more