W. Davies has a solid tradition of providing legal advice to charitable institutions and other not-for-profit and non-governmental organisations. For example, our firm has acted as solicitors to Woking Hospice since its foundation. We also advise its sister organisation, the Sam Beare Hospice.

Charities can take various forms:

• incorporated (often, a company limited by guarantee; in the case of registered social landlords - usually an industrial and provident society);
• unincorporated (which may be referred to as an association); or
• a trust.

Life-cycle of a Charity
W. Davies can assist charities in all stages of their operation, commencing with their formation. Throughout a charity’s lifetime, our legal guidance can include incorporating an existing charity (for the benefit of limited liability status), merging with another charity and re-drafting or amending the constitutional documents following a re-organisation. If the circumstances require it, our lawyers will assist in the legal aspects of a charity’s dissolution.

A spectrum of legal issues
Inevitably, in its day-to-day operations, a charity will find itself involved in a wide range of legal issues.

To meet these situations, our charity clients can benefit from the wide range of legal expertise which W. Davies’ various departments can provide, covering areas such as:

• Charity constitutions
• Trustee advice
• Real Estate purchase, sale or rental
• Employment advice
• Dispute resolution
• Intellectual Property issues
• Questions regarding legacies and wills.

For more information about this please contact Simon Oxley on sjo@wdavies.com or Alexandra Milton on akm@wdavies.com