Angela acts for a large number of leading national charities in connection with contested legacy cases, including Cancer Research UK, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Parkinson’s UK, RSPB, RSPCA and The Donkey Sanctuary.
Shoosmiths has worked with charities and other not-for-profit organisations at both national and local level since the firm was first established more than 165 years ago. Our understanding of, and commitment to, the voluntary sector underpins the whole ethos of the firm.
Even before COVID-19 we were living in uncertain times: leaving the European Union, facing a climate emergency, and increasing disparities of wealth, health and life prospects coming to the fore. The pandemic has increased demand for charities’ services – but has left them with significantly fewer resources to meet that need. Challenging times require trustees to lead with quality decision-making and effective oversight of their organisations. How can they achieve more impact while operating on a tighter budget?
We are here to support charities with their governance at this time, to include:
- Advising trustees on their and their charity’s legal obligations and powers.
- Establishing and incorporating charities and updating their constitutional arrangements.
- Advising on charities’ relationships with other charities, which may include collaboration and mergers;
- Advising on charities’ dealings with non-charities, in particular with trading subsidiary companies, corporate partners and sponsors, and with commissioning and grant—making bodies;
- Liaising with the Charity Commission on behalf of charities to secure relevant authorisations to enable our clients to operate more effectively.
Bearing in mind that in future only well-run charities are likely to be well-supported, here we outline some possible strategies for charities to operate effectively and in a compliant way.
If you email us at [email protected] with:
- your charity registration number
- confirmation of your position within your charity (eg trustee or executive team)
- a copy of your governing document (unless you are a charitable company)
- a paragraph explaining the main challenges you currently face and your plans for your charity in the coming 6-12 months
then we would be happy to arrange to talk with you for up to 20 minutes without obligation about how we might be able to help you to implement any potential strategies and improvements we identify for you.
Aside from charity law and governance our specialist charities team provides targeted, speedy and cost effective legal support to charities, with specialist expertise in the following main areas:
- Legacy administration
- Contested legacies
- Property
- Intellectual property
- Employment & pensions
- Training
To discuss how we can assist your charity or organisation in respect of its legal requirements, please contact either Angela Bowman, national head of our charities practice, on 03700 868 244 or by email at [email protected]; or Robert Nieri, Principal Associate and charity governance specialist, on 03700 865 549 or by email at [email protected]
