Dealing with Regulators

For lawyers working within the voluntary sector, the primary regulator is of course the Charity Commission. We regard it as essential to our work to establish and maintain good working relationships with the lawyers and other staff at the Commission.

Whilst there may be times when we need to put our clients’ views forward firmly to the Commission, in general we believe that our clients’ interests are best served by an approach which allows us to work with the Charity Commission in order to achieve the best result for our clients.

All of our lawyers maintain regular contact with the Charity Commission and contribute significantly to the annual hit rate on the Charity Commission’s website! One of our partners, Robert Meakin, is a former Charity Commission lawyer, giving us a unique insight into the workings of the Commission. In addition, the work of our lawyers within the working parties and the Executive Committee of the Charity Law Association enhances our relationship with the Commission.

The Head of our Charities team, Michael King, has been appointed by the Commission on three occasions to act as a Receiver and Manager of charities following Commission investigations. Whatever your involvement in the Commission, from investigations, review visits or simply trying to resolve a problem we are here to assist.

We do of course need to deal with many other regulators and are well used to dealing with bodies such as:

* Companies House
* The new Community Interest Company regulator
* HMRC on tax and VAT matters
* Commission for Social Care Inspection
Stone King Solicitors

London Charity Solicitors
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Charity Law

Arthur Cox has a long history of involvement in the community and voluntary sector in general, and with charities in particular.

Our core Charity Law Group comprises five solicitors from a variety of disciplines. They are assisted by other relevant specialists from our Property, Employment and Industrial Relations, Pensions, Technology and Intellectual Property, Tax, Litigation and Corporate and Commercial Groups.

Services and Expertise

We provide advice in relation to:

* establishment of charities;
* changes to legal structures/re-organisations;
* the role of trustees/directors and governance issues;
* applications to the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland;
* tax advice including applications for tax exemptions;
* advice on the acquisition, disposal and maintenance of property;
licence applications, and;
* other fundraising queries.

Experience

Arthur Cox has considerable experience obtained over many years. We act for a number of Irish charities and a number of our partners and assistants participate at board level with significant charitable bodies. As a result, we are aware of many of the practical issues which face charities ranging from day to day practical issues to technical issues such as trust questions, dealing with the Revenue, or considering the manner in which to become established.

Credentials

Philip Smith is the partner who coordinates the Arthur Cox Charity Law team. The team is fortunate to be able to draw on Dr Mary Redmond’s extensive background in the voluntary sector and her unique understanding of the issues affecting the sector (not least through her involvement in the White Paper Steering Group and as a founder of Rotha Teoranta [The Wheel] and the Irish Hospice Foundation). Philip was a contributor to the Irish Law Society’s report "Charity Law: A Case for Reform" (July 2002). He is also a member of the UK Charity Law Association.

Arthur Cox is a sustaining member of the Dublin chapter of the European Association of Planned Giving.

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