Charities

Expert legal advice for charitable organisations

Clarke Willmott has significant experience in advising charitable organisations with a broad range of aims. Our Charities team is made up of specialists from across Clarke Willmott and we provide a cost-effective, full-service and tailored offering to our clients.

Whilst charities must operate under specific rules to maintain their charitable status, they face many of the same challenges as profit-making businesses in addition to reputational pressures. We have the commercial expertise to help your charity run as efficiently as possible, helping you to maximise the funds you have available for charitable work. In addition, our lawyers have the knowledge and understanding of the complex regulatory environment charities operate in to ensure you meet all your reporting obligations and promote public trust in your work.

We also work with charity trustees, beneficiaries and executors and our specialist charitable giving solicitors can advise on all aspects of tax effective giving and realising a legacy entitlement.

Our expertise in working with charitable organisations

Corporate structure and governance

Whether you are setting up a new charity or making major strategic changes to an existing charity, our corporate lawyers can help you to achieve the best result. We can advise on the most appropriate legal structure; assist with registering with the Charity Commission and HMRC; mergers and restructures; governance reviews; and provide ongoing regulatory and governance advice, including advice on how to make difficult decisions responsibly; in relation to conflicts of interest for example.

Legacy management and protection for charity beneficiaries and executors

Our advice in this area is comprehensive and includes: saving failed charitable legacies; legacy disputes; delays in legacy payments; responding to estate maladministration; representing charities in Will disputes and bringing/defending claims for the construction and/or rectification of a Will. We can also help you bring a professional negligence claim against professional advisors for any loss suffered to a charity beneficiary as a result of negligent Will drafting.

Protecting commercial interests

Our lawyers have expertise in intellectual property, data protection, commercial contracts and dispute resolution. We can help you put effective agreements and processes in place to mitigate risk to your charity and ensure its long-term health. Should you find yourself defending or making a claim, we can guide you in resolving the dispute as swiftly as possible.

Employment and HR

Charities must manage and look after the interests of paid employees and volunteers. Made up of lawyers and HR consultants, our Employment and HR team can advise on the full range of employment law and HR matters. We can offer retainer and offer fixed fee support packages where you have access to ongoing support. Our advice includes preparing and advising on HR policies and procedure, and employment contracts as well as defending claims by employees and former employees. We can also support you with bigger projects such as director departures, staff redundancies and business transfers.

Property, land and the environment

We have one of the largest property teams in the UK and we can advise on all your property requirements as well as any additional charity law compliance associated with property transactions. We have specialists in every area of the property management life-cycle, including: buying, selling or leasing property or land; real estate development, including planning and construction; protecting the environment; land management; and property disputes.

Debt recovery

For many charities, balancing potentially inconsistent income with the need for funds to carry out their work can be an ongoing challenge. Our Debt Recovery team works with charities to help them claim monies that are outstanding, and we have particular expertise in the Education sector. Where possible we settle collections without legal proceedings, only issuing court proceedings where necessary.

Examples of our recent work

• We recently advised a charity on how to manage a conflict of interest at a time of expansion for the charity. Our work enabled the expansion to continue, securing a more sustainable future for the charity and enabling it to fulfil its objectives more effectively.
• Our Property team have been advising Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity, on a wide range of issues including the grant of a new lease over premises at the Tower of London.
• Our Corporate team worked with a large hospice charity on the creation of its funerals business. We advised the charity’s board in relation to the various considerations around the decision to set up the business, as well as on the commercial contracts with third party suppliers and intellectual property rights in the brand.
• We advised on the conversion from an unincorporated charity to a CIO (charitable incorporated organisation). This involved advising on the choice of CIO structures, incorporating the CIO and the transfer of assets from the old to the new organisation.

Why choose Clarke Willmott?

• Flexible fee structures – We can provide flexible charging structures, ensuring that our fees help you focus your spending on your charitable work.
• One-stop shop for expert advice – Our broad range of expertise means we can provide the full spectrum of legal advice for charities and individuals. With our teams working together, we can manage your matters as efficiently as possible and answer all your queries, however niche. Our lawyers are specialists in their area of law and their advice will always be tailored.
• Large and diverse private capital practice – Our Private Capital team is the biggest and most diverse in the UK. We have a strong contentious trust and probate offering, as well as specialist charitable giving solicitors.
• Beyond legal advice – We have close on-going relationships with several charities, including Headway and the Encephalitis Society. We have been instructed by a number of these charities, but our work with them goes beyond legal advice and we regularly support them with events, communications and fundraising.

Contact a charities solicitor

If you would like to speak with one of our solicitors about how we can work with your charitable organisation, please get in touch online or call us on 0800 652 8025.

Clarke Willmott has offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton.