Bates Wells Braithwaite has announced the “untimely” death of former senior partner Stephen Lloyd, who was killed on Wednesday (20 August) in a boating accident while on holiday in Wales.
Lloyd joined the firm in 1984 as a partner from an in-house role in the insurance industry. He began his career at legacy Freshfields.
Formerly Bates Wells’ head of charity law, Lloyd took up the role of senior partner in 2006 from John Trotter (3 April 2006). He stepped down from the position in April last year.
Lloyd chaired or sat as a trustee and director for several charities and related organisations. He is also credited with the creation of the Community Interest Company (CIC), which is a legal structure for social enterprises. More than 10,000 CICs have been registered in less than a decade.
In a statement the firm said: “It is with shock and deep sadness that we report the death of Stephen Lloyd, our colleague, friend and inspirational former senior partner, who gave so much to the charity and social enterprise sector. Stephen died on Wednesday 20 August in a boating accident on holiday in Wales. Our thoughts are with Lorna and their four sons.”
Sir Stuart Etherington, chief executive of national charities body NCVO, said: “Stephen’s unparalleled expertise combined with his innovative thinking and sheer passion for the work of charities and social enterprises made him rightly one of the most respected figures in the voluntary sector.
“Our sector is so much the stronger for his lifetime of work. I will greatly miss his friendship and his wisdom. Stephen worked closely with many of us at NCVO, and our thoughts are with his family.”
In a blog post, Rod Schwartz, founder and CEO of ClearlySo, which helps social entrepreneurs raise capital, said Lloyd was “a great human being” and “indisputably the social impact investment sector’s leading legal light”.
Schwartz wrote: “There were few organisations, structures, laws and regulations which pertained to this crazy field of ours in which he did not have some role. His energy was boundless, his dedication total and his insight – razor sharp.”
The firm said messages for Lloyd’s family could be sent to condolences@bwbllp.com.
This is immensely sad news. The quotations in the article make clear Stephen’s contribution to positive change, and my personal experience is that he was also an immensely warm bloke in person. A great loss.
Very sad news, condolences to Stephen’s family and friends. Stephen Lloyd was one of the good ones at BWB, a rarity in that firm, which made him even more special.
Any time spent with Stephen Lloyd restored one’s faith in both the legal profession and in humanity. I have yet to meet another who combined intellect, compassion and energy to such telling effect. My sorrow at his passing is tempered with deep gratitude for how he lived his life and my good fortune in witnessing a sliver of it at first hand.
I heard the news of Stephen’s death on a flight back from Copenhagen this evening – and will write a proper appreciation over the weekend. He served as our lawyer when I was at Earthlife in the 1980s, then later when I was Chairman of The Environment Foundation, which then morphed into the Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development, and more recently he was our lawyer at Volans.
But in celebration of an extraordinary man, let me share just one joint adventure along the way.
Many moons ago, The Environment Foundation applied to the Charity Commissioners for permission to change its charitable focus to ‘sustainable development’. The Commissioners decided, in their wisdom, both to deny permission and to try and shut the foundation down, possibly for impertinence.
We fought the decision, with Stephen serving as our knight in shining armour. When the battle had extended for two years, he volunteered to go pro bono for the third. And, in the end, we won, almost entirely because of Stephen’s stubbornness, acute sense of what was fair (and what not).
The fact that sustainable development is now a charitable objective in this country is a tribute to a wonderful man – who I have always held in the highest regard and with whom it was a joy to fight shoulder-to-shoulder on such a crucial issue.
Entries to this set of postings trigger a request for the person posting comments to prove that they are “human” by typing in the second fifth letters of the word ‘Software’.
I was happy to type in the answers, but reflected that anyone who knew Stephen will know only too well the intensely human emotions that follow receipt of such sad news.
Stephen will be missed in so many ways – and both I and the Volans team thank his family for sharing him with the rest of us.
Let us know how we can help honour Stephen’s remarkable life.
With deepest sympathy for his family, friends and colleagues, who are even closer to the epicentre of this seismic event,
John Elkington
So sad. Stephen was a kind and brilliant man. He treated everyone, regardless of status, with respect and warmth and at all times exuded energy, intelligence, compassion and fun. The staff and clients of BWB loved him – He will be sorely missed.
I worked for BWB between 2000 and 2001 and in that time, Stephen was a kind and considerate employer. He had a wonderful sense of humour and gave inspiration to all who worked with him,
He will be missed.
Best wishes to his family.
We had the pleasure and privilege to work with Stephen on behalf of the British Association of Urological Nurses very recently and send our deepest condolences to Stephen’s family and colleagues. He was kind, helpful, professional, but above all warm, engaging and patient to a group of nurses who knew very little about the subject under discussion. We are saddened and shocked by this great loss.
The loss of Stephen Lloyd is great – he was an extraordinarily good man and a great lawyer. He helped us set up Forum for the Future, fought the battle for sustainable development to be a legitimate charitable purpose and much more. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have known him. On behalf of everyone at Forum I send condolences to his family and his colleagues.