There are 2 types of legal aid, for criminal and civil cases. Free and confidential legal advice in England and Wales if you qualify for legal aid. Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP works for a number of leading universities, medical and research organisations, as well as other large registered charities in the UK and commercial companies looking to set up businesses. Led by Glynne Stanfield and Paul Pugh, the team continues to work in a number of other key areas, ranging from advising banks lending to charities to advising on business collaborations with the not-for-profit sector. Stephen O`Reilly was recently promoted to partnership. “The firm specializes in supporting charities and is uniquely suited to supporting community housing organizations like us. They have a wide range of knowledge that includes charities, corporate governance and property law. Bates Wells is praised for his “focus on the charitable sector with excellent knowledge of all topics relevant to organisations working in the field – combined with his strong business practice, this is a winning combination”. Thea Longley heads the department, which is known for its high-profile work on various cases. The large team has developed niche expertise in many areas, including faith-based expertise, where Stephanie Biden leads constitutional and governance issues related to churches.
Augustus Della-Porta leads the work with Muslim charities and Erica Crump leads a thriving practice focused on cultural charity. Philip Kirkpatrick is the Associate Managing Partner and Lawrence Simanowitz`s areas of expertise include charitable start-up advice, governance, grants and contracts, and advising various international clients. Simon Steeden advises on numerous complex mergers and other matters, including restructurings. It`s an “extremely responsive” team. Rosamund McCarthy Etherington is now with Stone King LLP. The BDB Pitmans team is praised for its “excellent and highly personalized service” and offers “advice of the highest quality”. Penny Chapman leads the “very strong and specialized” practice, which has extensive experience in all areas of charity regulation (including security, serious incident reporting, political campaigning, and all governance matters). He is also recommended for his ability to resolve fiduciary disputes, as well as advise on charity investigations and help charities comply with the Charities Commission.
She acts for a number of large operational charities, funders, funders and start-ups across all sectors, including health, education, faith, and the arts. Jonathan Brinsden receives a lot of praise for his work in this area, and Nicola Evans is another name worth mentioning. DAC Beachcroft LLP has a new department head in Emma-Jane Dalley of VWV in Bristol. The Group is particularly known for its work with health and welfare and education charities, as well as charities performing public functions, and has strength in all aspects of governance. Gill Weatherill and Alistair Robertson are also recommended. The Legal Ombudsman is a free, independent and impartial service for legal complaints. The “competent and experienced” team of Farrer & Co`s Legal Services Board is “renowned for providing the highest quality legal advice to charities and the not-for-profit sector.” Anne-Marie Piper (who can “simplify extremely complex technical issues”) co-heads the department with Elizabeth Jones. Jones advises charities that operate internationally and continues to do a lot of work in building corporate foundations. His client base includes some of the largest and best-known UK and international charities and is recommended for transaction and structuring advice to charities with extensive group, commercial and constitutional structures. The team also provided advice on the creation and operation of a number of leading corporate foundations. Another central area is advice on charity funding.
The diverse team is also knowledgeable in handling complex disputes and reputation management, and is also recognized for its expertise in all areas of fundraising law and practice. Other important names in the area include James Carleton, Sam Macdonald, Julian Smith and James Maloney.