Maitland is recognised as one of the leading sets for charity law. Several of our barristers, from silk downwards, have direct regulatory experience, acting or having acted as counsel to the Charity Commission and to the Attorney General as the protector of charity.
Our barristers have also offered specialist advice to the Charity Law Association and acted for charity regulators in other jurisdictions. As well as this, they regularly speak on issues of current importance at seminars and conferences.
We have been at the forefront of developing charity law, including appearing in almost all of the leading cases on the impact of the Charities Act 2006 (having indeed participated in the debate as to what form that legislation should take), obtaining registration of innovative charitable objects, resolving issues as to tax liabilities in fundraising and rating relief, and helping charities seeking schemes to enhance or modernise their workings. We have experience across the breadth of the NGO sector, including medical charities, educational establishments and religious bodies.
Though much of our charity law work has been advisory, Maitland is increasingly involved in the field of charity litigation as members regularly appear at all levels of the Courts system from the First-Tier Tribunal (Charity) and the Tax Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.