Peter is a partner and head of the Charities Team. Peter advises on a wide range of charity law issues including charity formation, registration and incorporation, joint ventures, mergers, complex structures, trading, grant and donation agreements, crisis management and advising charities with an international element, acting for overseas charities looking to establish charities and initiatives in the UK, and UK charities wishing to fund projects and establish branches in other jurisdictions.
Peter has acted for clients in relation to Charity Commission investigations, establishing Schemes, failed charity appeals and other regulatory issues relating to their activities. He has a particular specialisation in charity property, including first registration of land, historic charitable property trusts and advising on charity developments.
Peter is a member of our Education sector team and regularly works with education sector clients. His experience includes assisting a university and the executors of an estate with the establishment of a special trust pursuant to a gift bequeathed by a Will and applying for a scheme from the Charity Commission in relation to the same.
Peter’s clients include philanthropists, grant-making charities, faith-based organisations, sports organisations, livery companies, military charities, corporate foundations and other not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises throughout England & Wales.
Experience
- Advising a charity with a significant number of permanently endowed funds and buildings on a merger and how such endowment can be released or transferred across to the receiving charity.
- Guiding a charity through a Charity Commission investigation regarding the disposal of a building and issues relating to their accounting procedures. Provided an in-depth governance review to the satisfaction of the Charity Commission and its investigation was included satisfactorily for all parties.
- Advising on a complex charity registration of an umbrella organisation for a number of charities in a particular area wanting to adopt a place-based approach as a means of attracting local authority funding.
- Registering the UK branch of a well-known US charity including relevant governance and control provisions between the two organisations.
- Advising the trustees of a religious charity on the re-development of their church site to incorporate flats above and a new church on the ground floor to the satisfaction of the membership, relevant stakeholders and the church’s holding trustee body.
- Advising on the registration of a grant making charity with an innovative investment approach, establishing an investment fund to make social investments in line with the charity’s objects.
Education
- 2010-2011 BPP Law School Qualified Lawyer Transfer Test (Part-Time)
- 2009-2010 BPP Law School Bar Vocational Course
- 2008-2009 City University Graduate Diploma in Law
- 2004-2007 Leeds University English Language & Literature: 2.1
Career History
- Lee Bolton Monier-Williams – Trained Solicitor October 2012 – September 2014 – Qualified 2014
- Pothecary Witham Weld – Associate Solicitor October 2014 June 2018
- Wellers Law Group – Solicitor July 2018 – February 2020 Partner February 2020 – July 2022
- Hugh James – Partner July 2022 – present
Memberships
- Charity law association