England - London • Private client
1

Charities and not-for-profit

Bates Wells

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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.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Bates Wells has unrivalled knowledge of the charity sector and is the go to firm in the space of social investment and blended finance.'

  • 'This team is not only excellent at understanding charities and not-for-profits, they are at the forefront of the fast evolving field of social investment and purposeful business.'

  • ‘Thea Longley - as team leader. Thea is very good at maintaining an overview of key issues we face, and signposting us to individuals with particular specialisms, as well as advising us directly when appropriate. Thea's knowledge, experience and practical approach are very much appreciated'.

  • ‘Luke Fletcher is a pleasure to work with. We have always found him accessible, eager to help and very practical in his solutions. He also has the big picture in mind'.

  • ‘Augustus Della-Porta is both a lovely person and a brilliant lawyer'.

  • 'Oliver Hunt (Partner) has worked closely with us and understands our issues and concerns. He thinks "out of the box" on our behalf and takes the initiative'.

  • 'Lawrence Simanowitz - he has real technical and practical expertise in the field of charity law and much experience of dealing with the Charity Commission, as the main regulator. He is tenacious and thoughtful when confronted by difficult problems'.
  • 'Sung-Hyui Park, (Partner) is the stand out individual for all our work. She takes the time to listen, provides logical and easy to understand advice and then goes the extra mile to follow up to ensure all is clear.'

Key clients

  • The Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust
  • Early Intervention Foundation
  • Shelter
  • Samaritans
  • Ukraine Sponsorship Pathway UK
  • The British Psychological Society
  • The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales
  • Jewish Museum
  • RSPCA

Work highlights

  • Advised the Horniman Public Museum and Public Park Trust on its highly publicised decision and related process to return its 72 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria.
  • Advising two of the Sainsbury’s Family Charitable Trusts in the Butler-Sloss case, against the Charity Commission and Attorney General, which was brought to clarify the law on trustee investment duties and has established the ability of charities to align their investments with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
  • Advised the Ukraine Sponsorship Pathway UK on the expedited formation and registration as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Philip Kirkpatrick
Hall of fameBates Wells
Deputy managing partner and joint head of charity and social enterprise team, specialising in charity law and acting for a wide range of charities and other not-for-profit organisations; main areas of work are constitutional and governance, collaborative working and mergers, Charity Commission and investigations and inquiries, social finance, commercial ventures, fundraising, internal disputes.
Lawrence Simanowitz
Hall of fameBates Wells
Specialist in advising UK and international charities, and arts and media organisations, not-for-profits and social enterprises including their establishment, regulation (including regulatory investigations), campaigning, governance, mergers and incorporations, fundraising and financing and commercial agreements.  Current and past advice work includes advice RSPCA on governance and reorganisation of 160 branches,  several major UK clients on their funding agreements with public authorities and corporate partners,  statutory inquiries by the Charity Commission,   charity mergers including two residential care charities forming a single significant entity its space, establishing the Elders Foundation as a UK charity and advising on its international structure and key strategic and legal issues. UK external counsel to several of the largest US not for profit organisations. Additional areas of expertise include data protection and information law, intellectual property and IT – advising clients on rebranding, licensing and assigning copyright and trade mark rights (including a recent rebrand of major international aid and development charity and advising leading national disability charity on dispute over ownership of its database).
Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Lucy Rhodes
Bates Wells
Lucy is a Senior Associate and charity law specialist with a broad practice covering general charity services including charity registrations, mergers and other restructures, governance and constitutional advice and specialist expertise in inquiry and regulatory compliance cases and complex charity law issues and structures. Advises a range of charities and social enterprises including armed forces charities, and individuals and companies engaging in philanthropy.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Stephanie Biden
Bates Wells
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.
Laura Soley
Bates Wells
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.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Oliver Hunt
Bates Wells
Oliver is a Partner and advises charities, social enterprises and impact driven businesses on a wide range of legal issues, including establishment, governance and financing. Oliver particularly enjoys helping clients to structure new projects and bringing together commercial and non-profit enterprises, whether that be corporation foundations, new trading ventures, impact investment, or community finance projects.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Thea Longley

Other key lawyers

Philip Kirkpatrick, Lawrence Simanowitz, Stephanie Biden, Laura Soley, Erica Crump, Oliver Hunt, Lucy Rhodes, Hannah Lyons, Luke Fletcher, Augustus Della-Porta, Louise Harman, Simon Steeden, Sung-Hyui Park

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