Charities are besieged by demands: pressures of regulation, fast changing legislation, the day-to-day challenge of providing public services, and the need to act commercially. Spending donations on legal fees can easily be misinterpreted as wasteful and lead to bad publicity.
Our Charities Group understands these pressures and expectations. We use our cross-departmental expertise to advise on all aspects of the law enabling charities and not for profit organisations to operate more effectively and commercially in pursuit of their objectives.
Disputes, meanwhile, can cripple often cash-strapped charities. This is where our innovative approach to litigation insurance and funding comes in. MISHCON PROTECT® is a unique package of funding and insurance products expertly designed to maximise the protection afforded to our clients, whilst minimising the cost involved in bringing or defending a claim. Specifically, it can eliminate the need for a Beddoe Order application, and protect charity and trustee in the event of a loss. It means charities can make decisions about legal action based on the merits of the case, not the financial cost or the risk of bad publicity.
Services
- Beddoes applications authorising trustees to become involved in litigation
- Charity proceedings and applications to be joined as a party to proceedings
- Contentious and non-contentious wills, trusts, probate advice
- Dispute resolution both on behalf of and against charities including Charity Commission inquiries and appeals against their decisions
- Executors’ powers and duties
- Fundraising agreements, sponsorship, events and commercial participator contracts
- Intellectual property matters, including counterfeiting, passing off and trademarks
- Legacy fundraising and contested probate, including rectification proceedings and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, challenges to validity and interpretation of wills and caveats
- Mergers and re-structuring
- Property, employment, defamation and fraud issues
- Setting up, regulation and governance
- Tax advice
Experience
- Advising the Trustees of Hastings Pier and White Rock Trust Limited and Hastings Pier Charity on various important aspects of its rebuilding project, including the compulsory purchase order and subsequent transfer agreement that resulted in the 140 year old, Grade II listed pier being handed over to local ownership.
- Advising a multi-billion dollar organisation on the creation of the charitable arm of its institution.
- We have registered several charities at the Charity Commission across various different charity sectors, including the Humanitarian Dialogue Foundation, the End Fund, Innocence in Danger and Jewish Legacy Giving.