Areas of practice:

Nat joined Wrigleys in 2008 and is a Partner in the Charities and Social Economy team, having previously worked in the charity sector. 

Nat has a particular interest in faith-based charities and students’ unions.  She acts for Christian denominational bodies, bible colleges, religious orders, and other faith-based charities, as well as students’ unions and a range of other charities.

Advice she has provided to Christian charities includes:

- Advising denominational bodies on a wide range of issues

- Incorporating a bible college

- Merging bible colleges

- Advice on fundraising for a church – what do you do if your project changes?

- Restructuring an international religious order – preparing for the next stage, whatever that may hold

- Advising on complying with trustee and member benefit requirements when recruiting – don’t get caught out

- Church closures – it can be sad when churches have to close, but can your legacy live on through what you do with any remaining assets?

- Serious incident reports in a church context

- Policies – do you have all the policies you have ticked yes to on the Charity Commission annual return?

- Advising in relation to subsidiaries – are the arrangements working well?

- Protecting doctrinal and ethical beliefs – giving you confidence that your church or Christian organisation is on a sound footing doctrinally and that your ethics are protected as best they can be

- Preparing governing documents for churches – churches aren’t just like any other charity, they have particular ways of working – helping to reflect that in the governing documents and to walk the line between civil law requirements and biblical requirements

- Obtaining Charity Commission schemes and orders

- Advising on the Equality Act – what can and can’t you do within the law?  What does the charity exemption cover?

- Advising on the restructuring of Church of England dioceses

- Advising cathedrals and cathedral funds

Recent advice she has provided to students’ unions includes:

- Incorporating – helping SUs to protect their trustees and make external trustee recruitment easier

- Help with removing trustees – it can be stressful when there is trustee misconduct, or when there are tensions on the board, but it is helpful to know what you can and can’t do legally

- Amending articles of association – making them work for you

- Dealing with knotty governance issues, including entrenchment provisions – are there procedural requirements which are holding your SU back?  What can you do in order to move forward?

- Serious incident reporting – something has gone wrong – do you need to tell the Charity Commission, and how is best to do that?

Testimonials:

"She is an experienced practitioner with a clear, client-orientated approach. Her work is thorough, reliable and timely" (Chambers and Partners)

"Nat leaves no stone unturned and is very thorough in her work" (Chambers and Partners)

Professional memberships:

Charity Law Association - Executive Committee Member

Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship - Operations Committee member

Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP)

Ecclesiastical Law Society

Nat is a Dementia Friend

The Law Society

Leeds Law Society