In these uncertain times Christian churches and charities are navigating enormous changes to the landscape that they operate in. This involves grappling with complex issues every day.
Here at Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP (ACS), we are national market leaders for our legal advice to Christian church bodies, individual Christian churches and Christian charities. We are very pleased to be working with Methodist churches as part of this important area of our work.
Our experience goes beyond technical understanding and appreciation of Methodist Churches, we understand through our individual and collective involvement in both personal and professional capacities, the pressures and opportunities that churches face.
We are currently advising a range of clients on issues including:
- Property: Supporting the acquisition and disposal of land, development projects, eases, boundary disputes, tenancies and shared-use agreements.
- Governance: Advice on interpreting and amending governing documents, including training for trustees on their role and responsibilities.
- Collaboration: From informal partnerships to joint working arrangements and the development of consortia for the delivery of public services.
- Employment: Supporting charities with their employment needs; this often involves restructuring their staffing arrangements to reduce costs, whilst maintaining the quality of the services they deliver.
- Contracts and commercial law: Providing advice on grants, funding agreements and a variety of other contracts.
We were founded in Birmingham in 1973 by Anthony Collins, whose Christian faith motivated him to set up a firm to serve individuals and the community. Since then, we have pursued our social purpose through the work we do and how we do it. We are proud of our purpose and values, and how they are reflected in the clients we work with and the sectors we serve. We are nationally recognised across our specialist sectors, and experts in working with national Christian church bodies, individual Christian churches, and Christian charities and have a strong presence nationally.
We know that an individual church wants effective commercial advice, but they also need us to understand them. In understanding the church, we appreciate it is critical to also understand the connexional nature of the Methodists and the important interrelation between churches, circuits, districts, TMCP in their role as custodian trustee, and of course the Conference itself. For transactions to be effective, we recognise that all parties need to be moving together in the right direction. We have experience of working with TMCP and Methodist churches on property matters which gives us excellent insight and it is a relationship we want to develop and build.
As well as understanding the Church, we understand how to work with individuals that have varied legal experience and provide the support that they require, tailoring our advice accordingly (to their experience, level of understanding, budget and any local sensitivities).
We have faith clients whom we have advised for over 25 years, which is a testament to the advice that we have given for many years to Christian organisations.
As a corollary, our values run through our organisation and are also evident in the support we provide to charities and social initiatives not just in a legal advisory capacity but also through fundraising and volunteering.
For more information
Please contact Dominic Curran.
A significant part of the work undertaken by Anthony Collins Solicitors on behalf of the Baptist Union of Great Britain is in relation to property. The property team advise individual Baptist churches in relation to Custodian Trustee arrangements, charitable law and any regulatory requirements, whilst protecting the interests of the various Baptist Trust Corporations. This is provided in a timely and comprehensive manner through the on-hand expertise available from the charity team and other teams across the firm as required.
Baptist Union
Anthony Collins Solicitors has a particular focus on supporting clients in the faith sector, which combined with their charity, community regeneration, social enterprise and commercial experience, makes them unique. They are an award-winning, people-based business, with a strong ‘can-do’ approach that means they work closely with clients to help them do what they want to do. They aim to equip clients to do things for themselves, rather than run up big legal bills.
Global Connections
