Specialist lawyers for faith-based organisations

Strong governance is what turns a compelling mission into lasting impact. Trustee bodies, PCCs, elders and leadership teams are often trying to balance spiritual leadership with complex legal, financial and regulatory duties.

Our governance solicitors review structures, update governing documents, provide bespoke trustee and senior leadership training, support complex decision-making and resolve internal disputes before they escalate. We equip your leadership with governance frameworks that protects mission, upholds your faith and values, and meets charity and regulatory standards so you can lead with confidence and clarity.

We help you stay ahead of changing requirements around obtaining consents from the Charity Commission serious incident reporting, employment and equality law and data protection. Our faith specialists advise on safeguarding structures and responses ensuring that policies, training and the way you operate, align with both your faith and denomination frameworks, as well as statutory requirements.

A faith building is more than just bricks and mortar; it is a place of worship, a community hub and a visible sign of your presence in your local area. Ownership of religious buildings, such as churches, and other buildings or meeting places used for religious purposes, can sit with a corporate charity, individuals, groups of trustees, holding/custodian trustees or the Official Custodian for Charities in England and Wales.

Our specialist property solicitors help you use and protect those assets wisely, whether you are selling, purchasing, leasing, sharing space or planning future redevelopment. If there is a dispute over the ownership of a religious building, our experienced team of solicitors work in partnership with you to resolve the dispute as efficiently and effectively as possible.

We advise on community asset transfers, disposals, development agreements, shared-use arrangements, property acquisitions, and the financing and refinancing of property. We advise on the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 in relation to the sale of property and entering into legal charges. As faith-based organisations, we understand that your property is at the heart of your mission and community impact.

We understand both faith landscape and charity regulation, ensuring you receive clear, practical advice on how your constitution and governance will work in practice, and not just in theory.

We help you choose the right structure – from charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) and charitable companies, to trusts and unincorporated organisations – and draft governing documents that reflect both your faith basis, including the requirements of any denomination you may be part of, and the regulatory requirements.

We prepare the legal documentation, manage Charity Commission applications and handle all correspondence through to registration. We work with several denominations to provide bespoke governing documents and registration services.

Questions around discrimination and the Equality Act often feel particularly sensitive for faith-based organisations, where deeply held beliefs sit alongside legal duties to treat all with fairness. Our legal advisers help you understand where genuine faith-based exemptions apply in relation to employment and the provision of services.

We advise faith-based charities and organisations on policies, decision-making and individual cases that may engage Equality Act protections, including membership, volunteering, employment, use of premises and service delivery. By drawing together our experience with faith-based organisations, charity regulation and employment expertise, we provide clear, practical guidance that reduces the risk of claims, investigations or reputational damage, while remaining true to your faith and values.

Our aim is always to protect your mission while managing risk. We translate complex legal concepts into straightforward action, help you document decisions clearly and support you to create frameworks that are fair and workable on a day-to-day basis.

Our specialist solicitors advise on the full range of church property and faculty matters, helping you protect, use and steward those assets wisely, whether you are selling, purchasing, leasing, sharing space or planning future development.

We advise on faculty jurisdiction, community asset transfer, disposals, development agreements, shared-use arrangements, property acquisitions, glebe and church land, and the financing and refinancing of church property. We balance heritage considerations, listed building obligations, planning law and faculty requirements with your faith, income needs and community impact.

We advise on the full breadth of ecclesiastical law, supporting churches, dioceses and related bodies with matters ranging from clergy appointments, patronage and marriage law to faculty jurisdiction, burial law, memorials and exhumations, parish reorganisation, glebe, church land and wider church property issues.

We also act on clergy discipline, consistory court matters, consecrations, cathedral appointments, diocesan synod issues and data protection, while delivering practical training for clergy and parishes. We also bring expertise in Church of England schools and other educational institutions, regularly advising senior staff, diocesan boards of education, school governing bodies, site trustees, and academy trust directors and trustees on the full range of legal issues they face including transition to academy or multi-academy status.

Alongside this specialist expertise, we provide clear, cost-effective advice on the wider legal issues affecting those within the Church of England, including charity law, governance, safeguarding and employment law, whether for day-to-day matters or large, complex projects.