Event Information

Ian Phillips, Director of Risk and Compliance, StepChange Debt Charity

Across over 25 years in the financial services industry, Ian has worked for a range of regional, national and international firms of various sizes, including 13 years in various parts of Lloyds Banking Group, joining Stepchange, the charity which is the UK's largest free debt advice provider, as their Director of Risk & Compliance in August 2021.

As well as Head Office roles in Product & Proposition, Operations and First and Second Line Risk & Compliance, Ian’s experience also includes front line, customer facing roles at Adviser, Branch Manager and Regional Manager level, giving him a very practical insight into the real world challenges of translating strategy into reality for customers and colleagues.

For the last three years, Ian has also been lead for the UK Finance Vulnerability Academy, a programme which, to date, has seen over 100 strategic leaders, representing the financial services, utilities, communications and other industries graduate, across 5 cohorts, with a sixth currently in flight and a seventh starting early in 2022.

Over the course of each cohort, delegates are supported to better grasp what’s required to embed consumer vulnerability, and good consumer outcomes in general, throughout the culture, policies, and relevant customer journeys of their organisation, using the expectations of the FCA’s Final Guidance as a framework, as well as helping firms themselves to reduce failure demand and avoid unwanted regulatory attention.

Sally Stephens is a member of the NCVO governance consultancy team, focusing on governance reviews, board performance and trustee training. She has extensive experience implementing the Charity Governance Code with small and medium charities, and in undertaking governance reviews.

Sally is a trustee of two community-based arts charities, Leeds Vocal Movement and Northern Opera Group, and currently serves as secretary for Elliot's Footprint; a charity which support families who have experienced child bereavement. Sally is also an active volunteer, participating in a range of local arts organisations as a singer and a member of technical support crew.

Sally has a BA and MA in modern languages, and a certificate in charity law and governance from the CGI.

Malcolm Lynch is a partner in our charity and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Malcolm is a partner at Wrigleys and head of the Charity and Social Economy Team.  He is a charity commercial lawyer and was an executive committee member of the Charity Law Association until June 2013.  He qualified in 1983.

Malcolm advises a wide range of local, national and international charities on charity law and relations with the Charity Commission, charity trading, fundraising, legal structures, social investment, social enterprise, mergers and governance. He is known for his lateral thinking and innovative approach to clients' problems. 

He is recognised by the National Legal Directories, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, as an expert in Charity Law.  He is a trustee of Leeds Youth Opera. 

Clare Lawrence is a partner in the charities and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Clare has a background in trust law and advises on a wide range of charity law matters, including: the establishment of charities; trustees' duties and governance; serious incidents; charity mergers; trading; fundraising; and cause related marketing. She has particular expertise in establishing and advising corporate foundations and in advising charities on their interactions with the Charity Commission.

Clare is a member of the Charity Law Association and Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and is also a Dementia Friend.

Ben established Diddu Communications in 2017 after over ten years working for schools, trusts and universities across the country. During this time, Ben has:

• Helped schools move from having less than 100 first choice preferences to over 240
• Supported the development of free schools, ensuring there was both need and demand for them
• Worked with a MAT to help its growth from one school to over 30 academies
• Managed the internal and external communications for significant news and announcements
• Ben has managed the media for almost every eventuality, from helping schools deal with some of the harsh realities they have to face to enabling them to champion and celebrate their successes

Ben is also Vice Chair of a multi-academy trust and a governor at a local authority primary school.

Joanna Blackman is an associate in the charities and social economy team at Wrigleys

Formerly a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, Joanna started her career as a fund manager, working for a number of years for fund management firms in London and nationally before re-training as a solicitor.

Joanna advises charities, their trading subsidiaries, and social enterprises on a wide range of charity law and other legal matters, including providing governance support and trustee training, advising on registrations and constitutional amendments, and structural transactions such as incorporations, mergers, and asset transfers. She has a particular interest in the health and social care sector, and specialises in advising almshouse charities and other charitable organisations with permanent endowment and complex or special trusts.

Joanna is a member of the Charity Law Association and is recognised as a Recommended Lawyer by the Legal 500 directory. She is also a trustee of a Leeds based charity which assists young people who are experiencing financial hardship by providing grants to support education and training.

Daniel is a solicitor in our charities and social economy team.

Daniel qualified into the Charities and Social Economy team in September 2020, having trained at Wrigleys.

Daniel has experience working with a range of charitable organisations and social enterprises, including community benefit societies and community interest companies, advising on formation, structures, governance and trustee duties. Daniel is a member of the firm’s community-led housing, students’ unions and societies teams.

Daniel is a member of the Charity Law Association and co-chairs the Wrigleys fundraising committee.

Laura Moss is a partner in our charities and social economy team.

Laura advises a wide range of charities, establishing new entities, merging existing ones and advising on constitutional changes, trustee duties, vires issues and charitable investment.

As well as core charity work, Laura has a particular interest in social business, working with organisations which have social values and purposes at the heart of their corporate structure.  This includes social enterprises, co-operatives, B Corps and employee-owned organisations.  Her interest in ESG extends to academia, having completed a Masters dissertation on B Corps, evaluating their effectiveness as a means for businesses to hardwire corporate responsibility into their governance and reporting structures.

Sophie is an associate within our charities and social economy team.

Sophie joined Wrigleys as a trainee solicitor in September 2015 and qualified into the Charities and Social Economy team in June 2017. She advises charities and other social enterprises on a wide range of matters, including formation, legal structures, contracts, trustee duties and governance.

Sophie has a keen interest in ESG both professionally and personally and is a member of her local climate action group.

Nat is a partner in our charities and social economy team.

Nat has been at Wrigleys for 15 years, and specialises in charity law, including governance, Charity Commission consents, serious incident reporting, setting up charities and registering them with the Charity Commission, charity mergers and de-mergers, and trustee duties amongst other areas.  She works with all sorts of charities, and has a particular interest in faith-based charities and students’ unions.

Hayley is an associate within our charities and social economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP.

Hayley qualified into the team in September 2017, having trained at Wrigleys. Hayley has experience working with a range of organisations across the voluntary sector. In particular, she advises on legal structures for charities, social enterprises and not for profit organisations; incorporations, mergers and assets transfers; and intragroup relations between different organisations in the same structure. She also advises on general governance, including trustee and director duties, and regularly provides trustee training sessions.

Hayley is a member of the Charity Law Association and a trustee of a local dance charity.

Sylvie is over 18 years qualified and is a partner at Wrigleys in our charity and social economy team. She advises on a wide range of charity law matters, including the establishment of charities, trustee duties and governance, restructuring, trading issues and setting up and running trading subsidiaries, fundraising and commercial participation, charity law considerations for religious organisations, issues concerning heritage charities (particularly stately homes), Gift Aid and general advice on tax-efficient giving (and anti-avoidance provisions), public benefit, issues facing schools, cross-border issues, disputes involving charities and mergers between charities.

Sylvie is recognised as a first tier charity lawyer (band 1) in the national legal directory Chambers & Partners and as a ‘leading individual’ in Legal 500. She is a member of the Charity Law Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Ecclesiastical Law Society, and is trustee and/or honorary company secretary of a number of charities and sector bodies.