Amy is a senior associate in the charities and philanthropy team.
Clients describe her as being "superb to work with", "very through" and "very able and helpful" (Legal 500).
She advises charities, philanthropists and businesses on charity law and commercial matters, as well as advising a range of not-for-profit and for-profit educational institutions.
Amy works with all types of charity, including charitable trusts, charitable companies, Royal Charter bodies and unincorporated associations. She advises many of the UK’s most loved charities in relation to grant-making, fundraising (including society lotteries and major gifts), disposals of land and commercial contracts, as well as governance, corporate and trust advice. She also advises charities, including in the education sector, on mergers and restructurings.
Amy regularly advises on the establishment of new charities – both operational charities and grant-making foundations. She is involved in the structuring of private foundations to take account of donors’ complex tax profiles and works closely with the firm’s leading private client and tax team to provide integrated advice. She advises on major gifts to UK charities, as well as commercial fundraising partnerships benefiting UK charities.
Her advice regularly includes an international element, such as the recognition by HMRC of European charities for UK tax reliefs or the creation of dual qualified US-UK charities. She has recently advised on a large complex cross-border restructuring which saw a significant offshore grant making trust migrate to England and Wales.
Amy is named as a Rising Star for Charities and Not-for-Profit work in Legal 500.
She is passionate about the charity sector and its role within society. She regularly responds to sector consultations on behalf of the firm or as part of the Charity Law Association; most recently, Amy coordinated the firm's response to the Charity Commission's consultation on changes to the Annual Return.
Amy spent 5 months on secondment to the in-house legal team at one of the firm’s clients, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). She advised on a range of issues including fundraising regulation, data protection, gambling law, commercial contracts, licensing and corporate governance.
She is currently a trustee of a leading disability charity which provides a range of support to disabled and disadvantaged people, their families and carers, including care services and accommodation. As well as being a trustee, she is a member of the Governance and Compliance Committee and the Culture and Remuneration Committee. She has previously been a trustee for two charities in the mental health space: one supporting children and families across Luton, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire and the other supporting student mental health.
Recent Recognition
Me in a minute
I love the variety of the work and how passionate the people I work with are about the causes they support
Having volunteered my way through University; including running and taking calls for a student helpline, and completing an internship in community fundraising with one of the UK's biggest charities - I always knew that I wanted to advise charities and those looking to establish and support them. Being part of the charities team means that I get to spend every day helping charities make a difference. I love the variety of the work and how passionate the people I work with are about the causes they support.
One of the highlights of my time in the team so far has been my secondment to the in-house legal team at the RSPB. I met some wonderful people, learnt about the challenges faced by large fundraising charities (and their small in-house legal teams) and became committed to saving nature.