Bates Wells

Charity and social enterprise.

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).

Parliamentary researcher, 1986-1988 Television researcher, 1988-1991 Producer and Director television documentaries (BBC and C4), 1991-1996 Trained as a solicitor Lewis Silkin, qualified 2000 Solicitor, Bates Wells, 2000-2006 Partner, Bates Wells, 2006-Present Contributor to:  'Jordan's Charities Administration Service'; 'Cultural Giving'; 'Charities, Trading and the Law'; 'Business Law: a guide for entrepreneurs'; 'The Charities Act Handbook: A Practical Guide'; and 'Data Protection for voluntary organisations'.

French.

The Law Society Charity Law Association Board member, World Land Trust Chair, 38 degrees Trust

Sylvan High School John Ruskin High School St Peter's College, Oxford (1986, Politics, Philosophy and Economics) College of Law (1997 CPE; 1998 LPC)