Blandy & Blandy welcomed a full house to the firm’s Charities seminar, held at Green Park Conference Centre, on 30 March.
Under a title of ‘Influencing – The Proper Role of Charities’ Clare Pelham, chief executive of the Epilepsy Society, reflected on the significant impact the third sector has had in bringing about widespread change in society and challenged the audience to consider what might be possible in the future.
Before joining the Epilepsy Society in 2016, Clare Pelham was Chief Executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability for five years. Until 2010 she was the first Chief Executive of the Judicial Appointments Commission and held senior civil service positions at the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Department for Constitutional Affairs. Prior to that Pelham also worked in the private sector, with roles at IBM and as a member of the executive committee of Coca Cola GB and Ireland.
Matthew Lock, head of corporate partnerships at Samaritans, discussed the evolving relationships between charities and businesses and how they can better work together for the benefit of all those involved.
From Blandy & Blandy, partner Debbie Brett and solicitor Amber Knight provided an overview of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data protection issues more generally.
Crowe Clark Whitehill’s Alastair Lyon focused on governance and the importance of ensuring that a charity’s board is fit for purpose, while Julian Lomas, Founder and Director at Almond Tree Strategic Consulting, shared his thoughts on how charities can stand out from the crowd and how they might measure and understand their impact.
Attendees praised the seminar’s “excellent content and speakers” and “great Q & A session”, describing the event as “very well presented” with a “good mix of speakers” who “provoked a lot of thought.”
Nick Burrows, partner and head of Blandy & Blandy’s Charities & Education team, said: “I am delighted not only that this event proved so popular but that, as shown in their feedback and anecdotally, our attendees were able to take away some real learning points or fresh perspectives in relation to important issues. Thank you of course to our fantastic speakers for their thought provoking contributions.”
Blandy & Blandy’s expertise in advising charities is acknowledged in both The Legal 500 and Chambers UK, with the latter recognising the firm nationally for its work.
For further information or legal advice, please contact law@blandy.co.uk or call 0118 951 6800.
