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England - London • Private client
3

Charities and not-for-profit

Mishcon de Reya LLP logo

Mishcon de Reya LLP

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Chris Willis Pickup, who has a’ huge amount of knowledge about charity law, and the role of regulators‘, heads up the department at Mishcon de Reya LLP. The ’absolutely brilliant‘ team has considerable expertise in charity regulation, and is particularly well-known for its work with leading charities in the technology, innovation, life sciences and research sectors. The practice also regularly advises large charities on all aspects of charity law, governance and regulatory issues. Aarti Thakor, who joined the team from the Charity Commission in June 2024, often leads on matters for major international NGOs, international institutions, charities and philanthropic foundations.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Kieran John is very knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with. What makes him different is ability and enthusiasm to work on complex cases and to provide solutions/clear guidance. Kieran can also explain in simple terms some of more complex legal terminology/legal requirements.’

  • ‘I have absolute faith that when I instruct MdR's Charities and Not-For-Profit team that I will get a platinum-tier service of the same quality that I would expect if I was instructing the commercial team. They are ruthlessly efficient, extremely knowledgeable and experienced and draw and retain serious talent.’

  • ‘Aarti Thakor is particularly impressive - what she does not know about the third sector is not worth knowing. Responsive, bright, charming and insightful, Aarti is able to pragmatically resolve problems quickly and intuitively, applying her extensive practical nous.’

  • ‘The Mishcon team seamlessly and consistently deliver clear, practical and timely advice. Within the team, there is a great balance between technical knowledge of the charities sector and experience with the regulator. They are very reliable and a pleasure to work with.’

  • ‘Chris Willis Pickup is technically great and pragmatic. His experience from working with the regulator is invaluable.'

  • ‘Chris Willis Pickup has been an invaluable source of support and a steadying influence in very challenging times in our organisation. His legal knowledge is phenomenal, and his strategic 'bigger picture' vision is also superb. He is working with a highly capable team.'

Key clients

  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
  • Queen Mary University of London
  • CHERI Alliance C.I.C.
  • Cambridge Pledge / Greater Cambridge Impact
  • Kindling Ventures
  • Alzheimer's Society
  • The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA)

Work highlights

Advising the charity Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) and its trading subsidiary, RBG Kew Enterprises Limited, on the legal implementation of their first research spin-out.
Advising Queen Mary University London in relation to London Social Ventures, a collaboration of London universities seeking to transform how entrepreneurship achieves social impact.
Advising on the legal, governance and contractual set up of non-profit CHERI Alliance C.I.C., a collaboration between industry, open-source communities research and governments with members such as Google, Codasip, the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ), and the University of Cambridge.

Practice head

Chris Willis Pickup

Other key lawyers

Aarti Thakor; Kieran John; Rosie Lucas; Isabelle Harris