Laura Soley > 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

Laura Soley

Laura Soley photo
020 7551 7768 l.soley@bwbllp.com

Work Department

Charity and social enterprise.

Position

Partner in the charity and social enterprise team and head of the firm’s expert charitable trusts special interest group and joint head of the firm’s Legacies cross-departmental team. Advises charities on charity law, governance and structuring issues, with particular specialism in advising on technical charity law issues and complex structures including charitable trusts, endowments, Royal Charter bodies, statutory charities and property holding structures. Laura was closely involved in the Law Commission’s consultation and subsequent stages which led to the Charities Act 2022 both as a member of the Charity Law Association working party and for Bates Wells, including making a submission to and appearing before the House of Lords committee considering the draft Bill. Recent work includes assisting a Royal Charter body with significant changes to its charter and byelaws, working on a governance review and restructuring of a charity network, assisting a University with several major gifts and endowments and supporting a local community group with challenging a scheme made by the Charity Commission relating to charity land in the Tribunal.

Career

  • Trained Allen & Overy, qualified March 1999
  • Allen & Overy’s private client team, 1999 to 2001
  • Solicitor, RadcliffesLeBrasseur, 2002
  • Joined Bates Wells, 2002 to 2004
  • Worked at the National Pro Bono Resource Centre in Sydney, Australia, 2004
  • Re-joined Bates Wells in 2005
  • Partner, Charity and Social Enterprise team, 2012
  • Contributor to new edition of “The Charities Acts Handbook: A Practical Guide” (Jordans)

Memberships

  • Charity Law Association
  • External member of the Art Fund’s risk and reputation group.
  • Former trustee of LawWorks

Education

  • Nonsuch High School for Girls
  • Exeter University, LLB Hons (1st) 1995
  • Guildford College of Law (Distinction), 1996

Leisure

Visiting art galleries, yoga, hiking and cycling

Lawyer Rankings

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

(Leading individuals)

Laura Soley – Bates Wells

Bates Wells ‘has unrivalled knowledge of the charity sector and is the go-to firm in the space of social investment and blended finance’. It is ably led by the vastly experienced Thea Longley, and clients appreciate that the practice is’ big enough to have individuals who specialise in particular sub-sets of charity practice, while also having a broad knowledge of key legal and governance issues for charities‘. Philip Kirkpatrick advises a whole host of major charities and foundations, and Lawrence Simanowitz’s specialisms include advising on charity formations and governance, as well as UK and international structuring and fundraising issues. Stephanie Biden leads on the firm’s work for faith-based charities, while Laura Soley advises on a myriad of complex technical issues relating to statutory charities, royal charter bodies and trusts. Erica Crump acts for a variety of cultural institutions and large international charities. Other recent highlights include the recent promotion of Oliver Hunt and Hannah Lyons to the partnership. Augustus Della-Porta works with many Muslim organisations and other well-known charities, and Luke Fletcher acts for various prestigious and household name charities. At associate level, Lucy Rhodes plays a pivotal role in the department.

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