Department profile

Charities

UK Guide 2026 : UK-wide

Rankings

Ranked Individuals

About

Provided by Stone King LLP

Stone King’s work with charities is at the heart of our practice. We are recognised as one of the leading law firms for charities in the UK, acting for many hundreds across the sector from household names through to local community groups.

Working nationally with offices in Bath, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London and Manchester, our legal advice includes:

Campaigning and electoral.
Charity legacy.
Charity trustee training and advice.
Crisis management including Charity Commission investigations.
Complex historic trusts and charity structures.
Constitutional & governance.
Education-related charities
Employment & HR.
Fundraising.
Immigration advice and support.
Information law.
Intellectual property.
Interim managers.
Leading advisers to mature social enterprise.
Mergers.
New structures.
Supporting organisations with environmental and sustainability goals.

As trusted advisers to the charity sector we regularly advise charities in the eye of the storm, often working as the core part of a multi-disciplinary team. Crises frequently emanate from inter-related events e.g. EDI, safeguarding, data loss, financial oversight or so-called “culture wars”.

Our practice also sees us working across many faiths with unrivalled expertise in Roman Catholic religious orders and Diocesan charities as well as having deep expertise in ecclesiastical and charity law affecting the Church of England.

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Charities - UK-wide

Band 1

What the Team is Known For

Stone King has a prominent practice which acts for all types of charities, including notable work for social care and heritage charities as well as schools and all types of religious organisations. The firm advises on the full range of issues faced by charities, including creation, fundraising, governance, mergers and restructuring. The team acts for charities on contentious legacy and regulatory matters, including trustee, registration and governance disputes. The firm is further noted for its work assisting social enterprises with project structuring and financing matters.

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Work Highlights

Provided by Chambers

Stone King advised the Chartered Institute of Fundraising on an Independent Review.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

The advice was always measured, timely and thoughtfully explained. The service was really excellent in what was a very stressful situation for the Trustees.
Charities respondentUK
Stone King has significant expertise in working with charities and deep emotional intelligence which meant that they were able to provide a full service experience beyond just legal advice.
Charities respondentUK
I think the team at Stone King are warm, friendly and nice people to work with. They are technically capable when it comes to charity law with good breadth of understanding of the issues.
Charities respondentUK
A very responsive department which is able to draw on expertise elsewhere in the firm - essential for more complex charities. We have had a long standing relationship with the firm.
Charities respondentUK
They provided reassurance that we could navigate the severity of the matter. They were both compassionate and focused on getting the right outcome for us.
Charities respondentUK

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

Senior Statespeople
Senior Statespeople
Ann Phillips
A consultant in Stone King's charities team, Ann Phillips is one of the most experienced and highly regarded practitioners in the charities sector. She has advised on countless significant matters including assisting large-scale charities with their global operations and international relationships.
Ann Phillips is very well known. She was really prominent and been that known name for a long time.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 1
Band 1
Rosamund McCarthy Etherington
Rosamund McCarthy is a leading practitioner with experience in a wide range of charity law issues. She has notable expertise advising clients on regulatory matters and inquiries, as well as assisting with corporate structuring and governance issues.
Rosamund has an exceptional understanding of the charity sector and a very high level of emotional intelligence which was critical to the understanding of the project.
Charities respondentUK
Rosamund is very well-qualified and experienced.
Charities respondentUK
Rosamund is one of the grand dames of charity work in the country. Everyone who does charity work knows who she is. She knows what is going on and she is a very impressive person.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 2
Band 2
Daniel Harris
Daniel Harris has an expansive legacy dispute practice. He represents both national and international charities, often handling cross-border estate disputes.
Dan Harris has cross border knowledge. He is a go to for cross border stuff. His knowledge is second to none.
Charities respondentUK
Dan Harris is excellent at what he does. He is a very good guy.
Charities respondentUK
Dan's knowledge is incredible, and he is great for cross-border work. You need his specialty when you have complex matters.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 2
Band 2
Julian Blake
Julian Blake maintains a particularly strong reputation for his social enterprise expertise and his advice on innovative projects and partnerships in the sector. In addition to his proficiency in questions of charity finance, public service commissioning and multiparty agreements, he has significant experience in the establishment and governance of charities.
Julian knows his charity law and was able to grasp the complex and difficult position that we faced.
Charities respondentUK
He was impressive and easy to work with.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 3
Band 3
Hannah Kubie
Hannah Kubie advises charities and social enterprises on a variety of issues, including complex acquisitions and sales transactions, grant arrangements and social investments. She is head of the charity and social enterprise team at Stone King.
Hannah provided excellent support and advice to us.
Charities respondentUK
Hannah was very impressive. She got to grips with some really technical points very quickly and easily.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 3
Band 3
Stephen Ravenscroft
Stephen Ravenscroft is a respected adviser to a range of charities, with a focus on those involved in education. His experience includes charity registrations, incorporations and governance matters, as well as complex financing and restructuring transactions.
Stephen is superb in every way. Trusted by us absolutely. Wise, reassuring and emotionally astute.
Charities respondentUK
I appreciate Stephen's warmth and friendliness. I think he steps up when you are at crunch point of the deal, someone good at making himself available at the key moment.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 3
Band 3
Tim Rutherford
Tim Rutherford regularly advises religious institutions, heritage organisations and almshouses, along with other clients operating in the not-for-profit sector. His work covers a wide range of matters, such as mergers, governance advice and legacy issues.
Tim is a well recognised specialist in the law and regulation of charities.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 3
Band 3
Tom Murdoch
Tom Murdoch advises a range of social enterprise and charity clients, including learned societies, think tanks and professional membership bodies. His practice includes assisting with significant investments and intra-organisational disputes, as well as registrations and reorganisations.
Tom is very responsive and keen to provide great service.
Charities respondentUK
Tom Murdoch has extremely good judgment and is good with clients. He is a knowledgeable charity lawyer.
Charities respondentUK
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Band 4
Band 4
Reema Mathur
Reema Mathur possesses a strong reputation for her representation of a range of third-sector organisations. She centres her practice on the provision of advice to national and international charities on constitutional and operational matters, including mergers, asset transfers and trustee disputes.
Reema supported and led us through the process well.
Charities respondentUK
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