Tom Murdoch

Practice Areas

Tom specialises in charity law and has a particular interest in charitable purposes. With key clients, he has developed a charitable definition of ‘public interest news’ which is accepted by the Charity Commission. As well as working with many organisations which provide public information, Tom acts for charities and social enterprises on recognition and registration, spin-offs from the state, structural re-organisations, governance, mergers and closures and charity campaigning. Sub-sectors in which he is particularly active include learned societies, professional membership bodies, arts and heritage organisations, scientific and natural history charities, royal charter bodies and international NGOs.

He is known for his expertise in charitable status, the development of novel charitable purposes and the governance and control of complex charity structure. He is increasingly requested to assist charities deal with high-profile disputes and cases with potential for significant reputational damage. Tom also has extensive experience of Interim Manager (IM) work, both being appointed by the Charity Commission as IM in several recent high-profile cases.

Professional Memberships

Tom is a member of the Charity Law Association and various charities; he is also a trustee of the Stone King Foundation and has recently served as member of the Audit Committee of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Appointments Panel of IMPRESS, the Independent Monitor of the Press.

Publications

Tom Murdoch's work in helping the Guildford Dragon gain charitable status – a first registration for a local ‘public interest news’ provider - saw him quoted by Civil Society and The Guardian, as well as Hold the Front Page, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Bath Business News, the Business Exchange and Journalism.co.uk. Tom was also featured as ‘Lawyer in the News’ in the Law Gazette.

Work Highlights

• assisting a large, household-name charity successfully conclude contested elections

• advising a large learned society on complaints about a well-known member

• developing a new charitable purpose to cover ‘public interest news’; registering the first such charity; and contributing to Parliamentary consultations on the sustainability of public interest news;

• assisting a household name thinktank develop a novel, FCA-regulated charitable investment fund to develop the ‘social economy’;

• assisting a professional membership body deal with an embarrassing incident with significant potential reputational damage

• first registrations of new charitable purposes associated with open-source content, local authority public health responsibilities and novel Covid-related purposes;

• assisting with the conversion of a national Government-sponsored social enterprise to a new royal charter body;

• establishing a new Government-sponsored charity to manage significant public amenities in London;

• assisting the Government with the establishment of a new national infrastructure charity;

• participating in diverse working parties on the development of charity law, including on the Charities Act 2022.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

England and Wales