Bates Wells (officially Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP) is a law firm based in London, United Kingdom. The London-based firm employs around 130 people with specialists covering all areas of law.

Overview

The firm was founded by Andrew Phillips (Lord of Sudbury) in 1970. Bates Wells helped in the development of

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, the social investment bank founded by

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in 2012. The firm also had a major role in establishing

Charity Bank Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

, a financial institution that lends to charities and social enterprises, as well as in helping to develop the definition of a

Community Interest Company A community interest company (CIC, pronounced "see-eye-see", or colloquially, "kick") is a form of social enterprise in the United Kingdom intended "for people wishing to establish businesses which trade with a social purpose..., or to carry on ...

. Bates Wells is acknowledged by the United Kingdom's two independent directories, Legal 500 and Chambers UK in 21 areas. The firms is a co-founder of "trans-Europe" lawyers network, the Parlex Group and UK's Legal Action Group,

Notable clients

According to Charity Financials, Bates Wells is listed as an adviser in the accounts of 368 of the United Kingdom's 5,000 largest charities. High-profile charities that the firm represents total £7.6bn and include

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...

and

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It began as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief ...

GB. In 2013, the firm won the business of

United Learning United Learning is a group of state-funded schools and fee-paying private schools operating in England. United Learning is the trading name for United Church Schools Trust (UCST) and United Learning Trust (ULT). It is one of the largest 10 char ...

Trust and Home Farm Trust. Additional clients include

Action Aid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organi ...

, the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

, Friends of the Earth and Shelter, the firm's first charity client.

B Corporation certification

In August 2015, Bates Wells became the first UK law firm to certify as a B Corporation. "B Corp" status is awarded to "socially conscious businesses that meet externally audited rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency".

Equivalent means

Bates Wells employed the first paralegal to qualify as a solicitor through equivalent means. Equivalent means was introduced in 2014 as a reform by the

Solicitors Regulation Authority The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales. It is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of more than 125,000 solicitors and other authorised individuals at more than 11,00 ...

(SRA) as part of the Training for Tomorrow programme to recognise experience obtained in the workplace to fulfil the requirements of a formal period of recognised training or a training contract to become a solicitor.

References

{{Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms of the United Kingdom Law firms based in London Law firms established in 1970 1970 establishments in England