Electoral

Bates Wells

The elections team at Bates Wells is no stranger to helping political parties, MPs, political candidates, and third party interveners ‘navigate a complex and changing regulatory environment’, spanning electoral law, campaigning, charities, and political finance rules. Practice head Simon Steeden is ’particularly experienced and knowledgeable’ in leading matters relating to political elections and campaigning, with established credentials in advising on cross-border political activity and cross-jurisdictional impacts of lobbying. Consultant Bob Posner leverages substantial experience as former Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission in assisting with elections and referendums administration, as well as political and campaign finance rules, while Eleonor Duhs is ‘highly approachable, easy to contact, and flexible in her approach’ to public affairs-focused work. Jessica Collings is ’thoughtful and innovative’ across the breadth of lobbying, advocacy, and electoral law, and Suhan Rajkumar is ‘extremely collaborative, patient, and generous with his time’ in guiding campaigners through the impact of the Elections Act 2022.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘The team at Bates Wells has been invaluable to us. They understand our sector and how compliance applies and have proactively been helping us navigate a complex and changing regulatory environment. We ask questions that they've already written memos or blogs on and they've really worked to understand our campaigning so they can best advise us.’
‘Very knowledgeable on the charity sector and helpful in dealing with the Charity Commission.’
‘Simon Steeden and Jessica Collings are both thoughtful and innovative in dealing with the Charity Commission.’
‘There is real strength in depth in this team and its election law expertise spans political parties and third party interveners.’
‘Simon Steeden is particularly experienced and knowledgeable.’
‘I worked with Suhan Rajkumar and Simon Steeden to organise electoral law seminars for UK civil society organisations from July last year. These have been attended by hundreds of charities and civil society organisations. This demonstrates Bates Wells’ strong commitment to legal education and support.’
‘Simon Steeden and Suhan Rajkumar are extremely collaborative, patient, and generous with their time, and working with them is efficient and enjoyable.’
‘Eleonor Duhs is highly approachable, easy to contact, and flexible in her approach. Both through her written briefs and contributions at parliamentary events, she has been able to explain complex parliamentary bills and the potential issues in a way that is engaging and easily comprehended by people without a legal background.’

Key clients

Group of Liberal Democrat Peers
LexisNexis
Lexology
38 Degrees
Save the Children
SOAS, University of London
New Economy Organisers Network

Work highlights

Advised 38 Degrees on its internal infrastructure for compliance with electoral law while engaging with its millions of members and the wider public in advocacy and campaigning in Britain.
Advised Save the Children UK on its plans to work with a number of other charities and voluntary organisations to run a children’s election, parallel to the General Election held in 2024.
Advised SOAS, University of London, on its Influencing the Corridors of Powers project, intended to influence debates on statutory instruments made using powers in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

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