Charities

Our Charities group carries out a full range of business services on behalf of charities.  These services include:

  • Constitutional issues including the merger of two or more charities or the 'takeover' or rescue of a struggling charity by another; streamlining subsidiary trusts and updating articles of association.
  • Employment law, in particular advice in relation to redundancies and unfair dismissals.
  • Real property, managing charities “land banks” and advising charities in relation to joint ventures and development opportunities.
  • Corporate tax issues, for example advice on the structuring of trading activities.
  • Advice on protecting and exploiting intellectual property, in particular copyright and trademarks.  Increasingly charities also require expert advice on data protection.
  • Negotiating and drafting grant funding terms, collaboration agreements, and research and development agreements.
  • Commercial dispute resolution and litigation, for example contractual disputes.
  • Advice to directors/trustees on avoiding conflicts of interest and the risk of personal liability.  We also provide training and induction sessions for trustees and management teams. 
  • Governance issues, including drafting and reviewing distribution policies, investment policies, risk management guidance, grievance procedures, and conflict of interest policies.
  • Our team also has particular pensions expertise in the charity sector, through its work with individual charities and its membership of the Charity Finance Directors' Group.

We work for a range of organisations that operate in almost every area of fundraising and grant-making including household name charities, family charitable trusts and foundations, schools, housing associations and NHS Trusts.

Experience

Mergers
We advised Hult International Business School, on its recent merger with the UK registered charity, Huron University USA in London Limited.  The merger was the first of its kind in the UK - particularly complex issues arose in relation to the corporate structure of the transaction and the ongoing funding of the merged charity.

Pensions
Advising a major national charity on the complex pensions issues arising from the decentralisation of its organisation into a separate branch structure.

Advising the pension scheme trustees of one of the largest single-run art centres in the world on funding their final salary scheme and obtaining security for the scheme in relation to an ongoing funding shortfall.

Litigation
We defended proceedings brought against a charity and other defendants for alleged physical, sexual and mental abuse, and breach of fiduciary duty, arising out of the management of a residential school. 

Corporate foundations
We have acted for a number of public companies on the creation, management and administration of charitable foundations, the aim being not only to create a successful charity but also to motivate employees and encourage teamwork amongst the workforce.

Technology
Advising Street Kids International on the legal issues relating to its online activities, including data protection and e-commerce regulations. Advice included developing a new privacy policy and charity corporate restructuring issues for the trustees.

Reputational issues
Advising a national charity on suitable contractual obligations for the protection of its image and reputation entering into a Will writing scheme.  We have also advised a major conservation charity in relation to defamation claims.

Trading activities
Creating trading subsidiaries and giving advice on the “small scale exemption”, primary purposes or ancillary trading and the conduct of lotteries.

Restructuring
Assisting charitable companies on streamlining subsidiary trusts and restricted funds.

Legacies
Advising an international charity where the executor had failed to notify it of its entitlement and misused estate funds.  Our involvement included bringing the executor before the court to account for his administration of the estate, his subsequent removal and the pursuit and recovery of estate funds.

Acting for nine national charities where the professional executor was failing to distribute estate funds in a timely fashion.  Having obtained an interim distribution of several hundred thousand pounds within days of being instructed, we went on to take over the running of the administration.