Stephanie Biden > Bates Wells > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Bates Wells Offices

Bates Wells
10 QUEEN STREET PLACE
LONDON
EC4R 1BE
England
Visit website 020 7551 7777 020 7551 7800

Stephanie Biden

Stephanie Biden photo
020 7551 7750 [email protected]

Work Department

Charity and social enterprise.

Position

Partner. Advises on establishing new charities and social enterprises, and assists charities with mergers, reorganisations and constitutional reviews. Regularly advises on governance, grant-making, fundraising, equality and discrimination issues, corporate philanthropy and regulatory action by the Charity Commission, with a particular interest in advising faith-based charities and international non-profit organisations. Recent work includes advising on two mergers each involving two charities in the health and medical research sector; advising CAFOD the official international development agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales on its incorporation; advising the McCall MacBain Foundation, a grant-making organisation, on a £75m donation to the Rhodes Trust; advising on the registration of the Marriage Foundation as a charity and the conversion of StreetBank CIC to a charity (both of which had previously were initially refused charitable status); and acting as specialist advisor to the pre-legislative scrutiny committee (a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament) on what became the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016.

Career

  • Legal Fellow, International Justice Mission, 2003
  • Trainee Bates Wells, qualified 2005
  • Partner, 2013
  • Contributor to Jordan’s ‘Charities – The New Law 2006 – A Practical Guide to the Charities Acts’
  • Acted as a specialist advisor to the pre-legislative scrutiny committee (a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament) on what became the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016

Memberships

  • Charity Law Association (including its working group on the Equality Act)
  • Chair of Bates Wells Foundation
  • Trustee of Tearfund
  • Former trustee of several other charities including Breaking Barriers and Stewardship
  • Former secretary and founding committee member of the Solicitors’ International Human Rights Group (2005-2007), co-ordinating its work on human trafficking, including evidence to Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry

Education

  • Pembroke College, Oxford University, BA (Hons) English Language and Literature, 2000
  • Oxford Brookes University, Post-graduate Diploma in Law, 2001
  • Oxford Institute of Legal Practice, Legal Practice Course, 2002

Leisure

Travel, theatre, film, hosting an occasional supperclub raising funds for small charities, skiing.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Private client > Charities and not-for-profit

(Leading partners)

Stephanie Biden – Bates Wells

The large and specialist team at Bates Wells has a ‘wonderful combination of expertise in the law, deep experience in the sector, and an inherently practical outlook’. Thea Longley heads the practice, which is adept at handling day-to-day issues for its non-profit clients, through to the most complex charity law matters. Philip Kirkpatrick advises many major charities, as well as foundations. Lawrence Simanowitz’s areas of specialisation span charity formations and governance, through to spinouts and campaigning. Stephanie Biden leads the work for faith-based charities, while Laura Soley has a broad charity practice, and covers niche areas such as royal charter bodies and statutory charities. Erica Crump acts for a range of large charities and spearheads the culture and creative cross-departmental offering. Oliver Hunt frequently advises on the structuring and promotion of crowdfunded projects, particularly for renewable energy projects. In April 2024, Jean Tsang and Lucy Rhodes were promoted to the partnership. Suhan Rajkumar is another name to note.

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