Withers LLP

Alison Paines

Alison is a partner in the charities team. She has over 25 years of experience in advising charities and other non-profit bodies, and those who contract with or donate to them. Her clients include an eclectic mix of service providers, grant-makers, educational bodies, aid agencies and research institutes, as well as individual and corporate philanthropists. She advises on all aspects of charities’ activities but specialises in strategic and governance advice. She is particularly well known for her expertise on medical charities (especially those linked with the National Health Service), educational charities, charities associated with government and international charity issues. Alison is well used to negotiating for clients with the Charity Commission and other regulators. She is the past Chairman of the Charity Law Association and the current Chair of Governors at a leading school.

Chris Priestley

Head of the firm's charities & philanthropy practice.  Particular areas of expertise are: regulatory investigations; safeguarding; cross-border collaborations, structuring and fundraising; charity governance and mergers; Royal Charter work; and advice to educational and healthcare charities.  Chris also advises on the structuring of complex charitable groups (both domestic and international) arrangements and the ownership by charities of underlying business and social enterprises. Chris has a strong reputation for advising corporate and private donors on their philanthropy strategies and the structuring of family foundations. He regularly addresses conferences on charity law topics, is a member of the executive board of the Charity Law Association and authored the ICSA Charity Trustee's Guide. Clients include Macmillan Cancer Support, Arts Council, College of Optometrists, Cancer Research UK, NSPCC; Girls’ Day School Trust; British Red Cross Society; and the Tate.

Amy Carter

Amy advises charities, philanthropists and businesses on charity law and commercial matters, as well as advising a range of not-for-profit and for-profit educational institutions. Amy works with all types of charity, including charitable trusts, charitable companies, Royal Charter bodies and unincorporated associations. She advises many of the UK’s most loved charities in relation to grant-making, fundraising (including society lotteries and major gifts), disposals of land and commercial contracts, as well as governance, corporate and trust advice. She also advises charities, including in the education sector, on mergers and restructurings. Amy advises on engagement with the Charity Commission both at the regulatory engagement stage and the permissions stage. She regularly works alongside our property team to advise on the charity aspects of complex property developments involving charities and their subsidiary companies. Amy regularly advises on the establishment of new charities – both operational charities and grant-making foundations.  She is involved in the structuring of private foundations to take account of donors’ complex tax profiles and works closely with the firm’s leading private client and tax team to provide integrated advice. She advises on major gifts to UK charities, as well as commercial fundraising partnerships benefiting UK charities. Her advice regularly includes an international element, such as the recognition by HMRC of European charities for UK tax reliefs or the creation of dual qualified US-UK charities. She has recently advised on a large complex cross-border restructuring which saw a significant offshore grant making trust migrate to England and Wales. She is passionate about the charity sector and its role within society. She regularly responds to sector consultations on behalf of the firm or as part of the Charity Law Association; most recently, Amy coordinated the firm's response to the Charity Commission's consultation on changes to the Annual Return. Amy spent 5 months on secondment to the in-house legal team at one of the firm’s clients, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). She advised on a range of issues including fundraising regulation, data protection, gambling law, commercial contracts, licensing and corporate governance. She is currently a trustee of a leading disability charity which provides a range of support to disabled and disadvantaged people, their families and carers, including care services and accommodation. As well as being a trustee, she is a member of the Governance and Compliance Committee and the Culture and Remuneration Committee. She has previously been a trustee for two charities in the mental health space: one supporting children and families across Luton, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire and the other supporting student mental health.

Emma Flower

Emma's practice involves advising charities on their governance and operational issues. She is also a core member of the cross-departmental Withers education practice. Recent work includes advising charities and other not-for-profit organisations on registration, mergers and collaborations, projects and contracts, constitutional issues and fundraising law. She specialises in advising education providers including independent schools, academies, Higher Education and Further Education establishments. She also acts for philanthropists, investors and sponsors of education-related ventures.

Philip Reed

Philip advises charities, not-for-profits and philanthropists on a wide range of charity law and related issues. This includes governance and strategic matters, mergers and restructuring, establishment and registration, trading and their relationship with non-charitable subsidiaries, tax, fundraising and regulatory issues. He has a broad practice, but with a particular specialism in advising organisations in the education and arts sectors. These include schools, colleges, universities, arts bodies, artists and related entities. Through the Charity Law Association, Philip is a critical friend to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.