British law firm compiles book of legal tips for charities
Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:54 GMT
LONDON (TrustLaw) - British law firm Slaughter and May has compiled a book of legal advice for a group of charities to provide help ranging from renting premises to drawing up tricky employment contracts.
Princess Royal Trust for Carers supports those who, without payment, help or care for a vulnerable relative, friend or neighbour. It unites 144 Carers' Centres across Britain, which provide information, advice and support for such carers and work to influence local policies.
Slaughter and May - aided by two other law firms, Stone King Sewell Solicitors and Burness - helped the trust for free.
"The challenge was to find a sensible way for the firm to provide the individual centres with support, recognising that it was not realistic for Slaughter and May to accept 144 small charities as pro bono clients," the law firm said in a briefing.
The result was a publication that would contain advice on how to tackle legal problems most often encountered by Carers' Centres, for example, when dealing with requests from funding authorities to share information on the people receiving care, sometimes in violation of data protection laws.
"What it is, is setting down some principles which probably reduce the number of times people need to go and have legal advice because they can get some of that general explanation without having to go and find a lawyer," said Jane Burt, director of operations at the trust.
The book, which will also be published online, will contain guidance on when a consultation with a lawyer becomes necessary and whether and where a Carers' Centre can get pro bono legal help, she added.
"What it's trying to do is increase understanding and the feeling of confidence in people ... I think people are often frightened by legal terminology and some of it is quite straightforward once you know what it means," Burt said.
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