The Legal 500

Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP’s 25-fee-earner practice is the largest in the market, and spans property, dispute resolution, employment and IP. Team head Stephen Lloyd is a well-respected name, leading a ‘ capable’ team featuring Rosamund McCarthy, Julian Blake, Lawrence Simanowitz(whose areas of focus include IP and privacy law relating to charities), Lord Philips of Sudbury, and new partners Thea Longley(experienced in advising charities in the sports sector) and Abbie Rumbold. Philip Kirkpatrick is singled out as demonstrating the ability to ‘ offer advice very quickly’. Highlights for 2007 included advising on the three-way merger of Action on Addiction, Chemical Dependency Centre and Clouds, and advising the Charities Aid Foundation on establishing foundations for a number of wealthy overseas individuals. New clients include Diabetes UK, The Samaritans, and The Independent Schools Council.

Farrer & Co has tremendous strength and expertise in the sector, with lead partner Anne-Marie Piper(currently Chairman of the Charity Law Association) singled out as ‘ one of the top charity lawyers’. The group numbers five partners, including the recently promoted Joanne Coleman, and has an enviable client base including a large number of museums, hospitals, and educational institutions; it is a ‘ clear-communicating, positive and encouraging team’. Julian Smith and Sam Macdonald are recommended.

Team head Penny Chapman at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP has ‘ unrivalled knowledge and top class client skills’, with Simon Weil, Paul Voller, and Ian Adamson also noted for their ‘ good relationship with the Charities Commission’, and ‘ personal service’. The group recently advised on two high-profile concerts, including the Ahmet Ertgun Tribute Concert in December 2007. New clients include the Royal Naval Association, the Joint Committee of St John and British Red Cross Society, and Cripplegate Schools Foundation.

At Stone King LLP, Jonathan Burchfield has an ‘ exceptionally high understanding of business requirements and industry knowledge’. Michael King leads the team, and Robert Meakin is highly recommended. The group continues to advise the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, in 2007 advising on redrafting the terms and conditions of grants, while another highlight was advising on the merger of The Royal Society of Health with the Royal Institute of Public Health, through Robert Meakin. The firm has offices in Bath and Cambridge as well as London.

Withers LLP has a dedicated, eight-partner charities practice led by Alison Paines, dividing into three business sections: operational, philanthropy and contentious. It has attracted a number of international clients thanks to its global network of offices, and it handles a large amount of NHS charity work. Richard Cassell is an expert in US/UK dual-qualified charities. Recent client wins include Help the Aged/Age Concern, and the International Baccalaureate Organisation.

Allen & Overy LLP’s team, noted for its ‘ first-class international capacity’, includes key contact Jennifer Chambers, who advises on constitutional, governance and tax issues, and the ‘ excellent’ Ceris Gardner, who handles contentious as well as non-contentious work. The team specialises in high-value financial work for charities, as well as advising financial institutions on providing finance and financial products tailored specifically to the charity sector, and on corporate social responsibility. Clients include the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Charles Russell LLP’s charities and not-for-profit practice benefits from the firm’s strong private client team, and advises some prestigious names including Christian Alliance, The Consumers’ Association, and City and Guilds of London Institute, recently adding The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity to the list. Practice head Michael Scott is well known in the market, and Stephen Pallister is also known for his work in the sector. The firm acted for Alpha International on the acquisition of its new offices in London.

Hempsons has expertise in advising charities and also social enterprises, with medical organisations making up a large portion of the client base. Ian Hempseed offers ‘ great understanding of the sector’ as well as ‘ value for money’. The group acted for Deafness Research UK in taking over medical research charity Action for Tinnitus Research. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, British Heart Foundation, Institute of Cancer Research, and British Heart Foundation are all clients.

At Russell-Cooke LLP, practice head James Sinclair Taylor advises on governance, and mergers and acqusitions, while Jane Klauber is strong on the contentious side, and David Mears handles IP and regulatory work. The team handled work for Barnados, UNICEF, and Action for Blind People in 2007, as well as winning new clients Roehampton University, and Birmingham Institute for the Deaf. It is ‘ knowledgeable, quick, trustworthy, and nice to deal with’.

Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP’s ‘ knowledgeable and approachable’ advises a long list of clients in the sector including educational institutes and religious charities, and in 2007 it advised on the restructuring of the Mental Health Foundation, the Macfarlane Trust, and Church of God UK. However it lost practice head Moira Protani to Wilsons in mid-2008.

Bristows’ practice head John Lace has particular expertise in advising charities in the science and technology sectors, while Mark Hawes has advised numerous clients in the university sector, including acting for the commercial arm of UCL on technology and investment transactions. Miranda Cass is active on the tax side.

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP acts for clients across the energy, environmental, sports, and healthcare sectors, with recent highlights including advising Sport England on the restructuring of Country Sport Partnerships across England, and acting for National Grid Gas on the establishment of a trust to promote environmental enhancement with the Brecon Beacon National Park. Graeme Nuttall is the key contact.

Harbottle & Lewis LLP advises some big names in the entertainment industry on charities issues, with practice head Robert Porter in 2007 advising Comic Relief on a possible merger with a smaller charity. He also continues to advise the Royal Household, recently advising on a number of charitable projects involving the Royal Family including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Howard Kennedy is new to the table this year. Practice head Alan Banes specialises in governance issues, and is highly rated by peers. Clients include Alexandra Palace and Park Charitable Trust, Criterion Theatre Trust, and The Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland.

The ‘ personable and approachable’ Joanna Bussell leads LG’s charities practice, and ‘ uniquely combines experience in local government, charities and corporate’. The firm advised social enterprise Fusion Lifestyle on its new partnership with the London Borough of Croydon, and it also acts for leisure, arts and housing clients such as Maidstone Trust, and museums such as the Imperial War Museum.

Macfarlanes LLP has an integrated private client practice, and rises a tier for its charities work this year, partly on the strength of glowing client feedback. Clients include The Royal Academy of Arts, and National Missing Persons Helpline, as well as a range of religious and educational charities. Jonathan Conder heads a team offering ‘ strength in depth without being so big as to become impersonal’.

Speechly Bircham LLP‘ punches above its weight’ in the area, delivering ‘ upper-City quality for less than City rates’. John Ward’s team includes William Hancock(noted for his ‘ insightful knowledge’) and some ‘ technically skilled’ associates. The team is experienced in charity mergers and has strong links with The Charities Commission, and has been joined by Alexander Carter-Silk, boosting the data protection and IP side of the practice. Clients come from a variety of sectors including music (Royal College of Music), media (Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation), and schools (St. Olave’s & St. Saviours Schools Foundation).

Trowers & Hamlins is noted for its ‘ excellent governance, Schedule 1, and treasury advice’. Ian Davis is practice head, and has particular experience in setting up charities. The team acts for clients across the leisure, care, healthcare, education, disability and arts sectors, among them Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, and RNIB.

Winckworth Sherwood has market-leading expertise in acting for ecclesiastical clients such as St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy and St Andrew Holborn Church Foundation, and is also very active for education clients. Owen Carew-Jones heads the practice.

Westminster firm Lee Bolton Monier-Williams is also notable as having an outstanding ecclesiastical practice, with Peter Beesley particularly recommended.

Wilsons has a strong charities practice based in Salisbury, and is set to be joined by Moira Protani from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, who will be based in the firm’s new London office and is noted for her ‘ excellent work in the care home sector’.