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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Webinar: Employment Update | July 15 2021

Keeping up with employment law developments which directly impact on your organisation is essential but not easy. To help you with this, Bates Wells’ bi-monthly Employment Update webinar: provides practical commentary on case law and legislation developments, plus consultations and guidance publications;is specifically focused on those developments which are of most practical application;will leave you …
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Government introduces legislation to Parliament seeking to curb the use of Judicial Review

The Bill is the first legislative step in the Government’s plan to introduce restrictions on the use of Judicial Review On 21 July 2021, the Government introduced the Judicial Review and Courts Bill (“the Bill”) to Parliament. The Bill is intended to bring into law some, but not all, of the measures consulted on by …
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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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New Elections Bill – impact on charities and issue-based campaigners

The Bill aims to amend and supplement existing law applying to organisations that engage in issue-based campaigning and advocacy work Shortly before summer recess, the new Elections Bill 2021 was introduced by the Government.  Whilst much of the focus on the Bill has been on controversial new voter identification requirements, the Bill also aims to …
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Coronavirus and UK Immigration: FAQs

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause disruption for UK visa holders and their employers, we are ready to help you understand the ever-changing immigration system. From visa applications and tribunals, through to Skilled Worker sponsorship concerns and rights to work, our expert team of immigration lawyers are on hand to help you. See below …
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