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Bates Wells signs partnership with Aspiring Solicitors and becomes a founding member of the Social Mobility SMART Legal Commitment initiative

Bates Wells has joined a core founding cohort of law firms to launch the Social Mobility and Real Talent Commitment (SMART Commitment) delivered by Aspiring Solicitors. The SMART Legal Commitment aims to help vacation scheme students and future trainees who face financial challenges in advancing their legal careers. As part of the commitment, Bates Wells …
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Age verification measures to regulate pornography – the latest from Ofcom and the Online Safety Act 2023

Pornography legislation has long been an emotive and contentious topic, with no consensus as to the correct approach to regulation. Measures must strike a delicate balance, upholding rights such as free speech, privacy and adult autonomy against the responsibility to protect vulnerable individuals from associated harms. What happened to regulation under the Digital Economy Act …
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USAID and UK NGOs: Trump’s Executive Order Freezing Foreign Assistance

Many INGOs and English charities working in the humanitarian and international development sectors will be impacted by President Trump’s recent executive order, Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid. The order mandates a 90-day pause in U.S. foreign aid assistance, with a view to aligning US aid to President Trump’s foreign policy agenda: it was …
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The Southport murders – will a non-statutory inquiry be enough?

The government has announced a public inquiry into the murders of Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King and Alice DaSilva Aguiar in Southport in July 2024. The inquiry will look at the murders in the context of rising youth violence, online radicalisation, and extremism. As with all inquiries, the aim will be to work out what …
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What’s in a name: Reconsidering the public interest in naming individuals in the press in the era of social media

In this thought piece, Natasha Davies and Emily Wilson consider the constitutional and human rights issues raised by the anonymisation of the family court judges who made decisions about the Sharif children prior to Sara Sharif’s murder. Currently, the leading case regarding the anonymity of judges upholds the principle that “where open justice prevails so …
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“Yes we CAN”: The new Climate and Nature Bill

The Climate and Nature Bill has its second reading in Parliament on 24 January and we’re one of hundreds of organisations supporting the proposed change in legislation. Its aim is to require the UK government to put stronger policy and action in place with important principles that go much further than the existing Environment Act. …
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Strategic litigation: Driving change and positive impact. January 2025

Over the past six months there continues to be an appetite to use the tools of strategic litigation to create accountability and address harms. We’re using this roundup to share information about key updates and insights in the area through litigation and policy action. Strategic litigation has had a significant impact on decision-making, policy setting, …
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CS3D – Who’s in Scope?

Since our last article, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CS3D”)[1] was published in the EU’s Official Journal on 5 July 2024, and it officially entered into force on 25 July 2024. EU Member States are required to transpose the Directive into their national laws by 26 July 2026. By way of reminder, CS3D creates: …
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Positives and pitfalls: Ofqual consults on introducing a Principles Condition to the General Conditions of Recognition

Awarding Organisations (AOs) and others involved in the awarding and qualifications industry have a few weeks left to respond to Ofqual’s consultation on the introduction of a ‘Principles Condition’ to its General Conditions of Recognition (‘GCOR’), the rules Ofqual imposes upon AOs it regulates. In this blog we consider the implications and what some positives …
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The new subscription regime: are you ready to renew?

The new Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act came into force on 1 January 2025, bringing in a raft of changes to competition law for organisations in the UK. In this series we’ll be looking at key sections of the Act, and what this means in practice for businesses and charities.   It might not …
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Bates Wells helped Sea Ranger Service agree a new partnership with The Crown Estate

During autumn 2024 Bates Wells helped the Sea Ranger Service agree a new partnership with The Crown Estate, and the first project is now underway. The Crown Estate has deployed Sea Ranger, which are young maritime trainees, to carry out wildlife monitoring in the Celtic Sea as part of a multi-year surveying programme in support …
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Bates Wells contributes to pioneering Charity Investment Governance Principles

Bates Wells has joined with CFG and other sector bodies to launch the Charity Investment Governance Principles (CIGP). Following on from the landmark charity investment case of Butler-Sloss in 2022 which set the precedent for charities to consider non-financial factors when making investment decisions, these new principles are aimed at providing greater clarity for trustees …
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