Julian Blake

Partner Julian Blake has specialised for over 35 years in public benefit legal work, in the past 15 focusing especially on: i) social enterprise, combining core charity law aspects, business law disciplines and best practice stakeholder and employee engagement; ii) socially-focused business; iii) public services commissioning, procurement and subsidy control from a public benefit perspective; and iv) public policy and charity law innovation. He is dedicated to the development of: Social Enterprise; Social Finance; Social Value; and Social Impact. He works particularly in relation to: Community Transport; Education; Health and Social Care; Rehabilitation; Renewable Energy; and Youth Services. He works closely with E3M, a group of pioneering chief executives running mature social enterprises and associated groups of progressive commissioners and social investors (see www.e3m.org.uk). He has developed innovative quasi in-house partnership arrangements, with social enterprises, including Catch22 and Energy4All. Having written and edited books on charity law, his co-authored publication “The Art of the Possible in Public Procurement” (2016) opened the way to collaborative commissioning and relational contracts in public services, which he champions, including through co-authored Local Government Association guidance on the relationships between councils (2024) and the public benefit sector and through the VCSE Crown Commissioner’s Advisory Panel to Government.

Julian joined Stone King LLP in 2018.

He was previously co-Head of Charity and Social Enterprise, leading sector group development, at Bates Wells (& Braithwaite) LLP, where he worked from 1989 to 2018.

Law Society; Charity Law Association; Procurement Law Association

The Art of the Possible in Public Procurement

Charitable Status: A practical handbook”

Editor of: The Charities Acts Handbook: A Practical Guide