What’s it all about?

Being a charity lawyer is about so much more than ­practising charity law. A typical morning might involve advising one of the Prince of Wales’s charities on a high-profile commercial arrangement, or about an ­endowment from a wealthy supporter for a new ­project. The afternoon could be spent setting up a new community interest company to conduct mediations between ­violent gangs, or advising on a nationwide merger of 80 separate charities into one national ­association. And, ­before the day is out, you might be scheduled to speak to a gathering of community ­leaders about recent legal ­reforms or the legalities surrounding fundraising events.

Being a charity lawyer involves advising charities, ­social enterprises, non-charitable campaigning ­organisations, co-operatives and other not-for-profit organisations across a range of legal subject areas. ­Advice may be required in areas as diverse as corporate structures, constitutions, intellectual property, start-up financing, company/commercial, public ­procurement or financial services.

The working culture

One of the distinguishing features of being a charity lawyer is the very high level of responsibility and client contact that junior lawyers enjoy, as compared with the larger commercial firms’ lawyers.

The work tends not to be transactional. Unlike ­finance or corporate law, life is far more predictable and deadlines are more malleable. Instead of having cast-iron deadlines imposed by the client, there is often scope to discuss mutually agreeable timeframes for producing individual items of work. This means that, unlike many other lawyers, a charity lawyer can live a balanced life and will almost always be able to guarantee specific evening and weekend ­commitments – a massive plus by any reckoning.

On the downside, there are no post-deal lulls in the life of a charity lawyer and the to-do list can become ­uncomfortably long. So expect to work hard and ­consistently. And, as you might expect, charity law firms simply cannot afford to pay as much as the City giants.

Most charity lawyers have a passion for the voluntary world and are involved as trustees of charities, school governors or on committees in sports clubs or other ­societies in their spare time. Pro bono is also a significant part of the working culture and many will have one or two projects on the go at any one time. At Bates Wells & Braithwaite, we have links with the School for Social ­Entrepreneurs (providing free clinics to budding social entrepreneurs) and LawWorks (taking on referrals, ­giving talks to community leaders and training other lawyers in the City about how to advise charities).

Skills required

To be a good charity lawyer, it is essential to be able to relate well to and get along with a broad cross-­section of people. One moment, you may be working with a social entrepreneur who has committed ­everything to curing a disease that claimed the life of a close ­family member. The next moment, you could be called by the chief executive of a charity about a contract or by the chairman of one of the country’s leading co-operatives about a share issue.

The ­ability to change gears and to pitch advice at the right level is crucial. A good technical ability and a broad understanding of a number of legal areas is also very important. Knowledge of charity law is not enough.

Increasingly clients expect lawyers to be able to advise on complex and innovative commercial arrangements. With the growth of social enterprise and the advent of new legal forms such as the community interest company, ­charity lawyers are required to possess good ­commercial ­acumen and to be able to advise across the whole of what has come to be known as the ‘third sector’.

Recent developments

On 18 July 2008 the Charity Commission issued its ­inquiry report into the Smith Institute, a ‘think tank’ charity that was accused of showing political bias and of being too close to the Labour Party. Lord Philips of Sudbury, the founding partner of Bates Wells, ­represented the Smith Institute, which was ­established in honour of the Rt Hon John Smith MP, the former leader of the Labour Party, who died in 1994.

The commission found that, although the Smith Institute is charitable and is producing educational work that falls within its charitable remit, the trustees were not sufficiently engaged to ensure the political ­independence of the institute and its reputation. As a result of the inquiry, the commission has directed that the trustees now implement a governance ­review and report back to the commission on its progress in six months.

With the recent swing in the polls, people are also looking with interest at the Conservatives’ proposals for the voluntary sector in its recent green paper, ‘A Stronger Society – Voluntary Action in the 21st ­Century’. Proposals include giving a statutory basis to the ‘compact’ – the agreement that regulates the ­relationship between charities and local government – and dedicating money from the National Lottery to good causes, to protect it from government projects such as the Olympics.

Luke Fletcher, solicitor, Bates Wells & Braithwaite