Need to know

• The Charity Commission keeps makes sure organisations are genuinely charitable and actually benefit the public.

• High street firms often advise trustees at the start, helping to set the charity up correctly.

Welcome to TSL’s Weekly Edge, whether you’re aiming for a regional or high-street practice, or just want to get a feel for how law works in the real world beyond textbooks, you’re in the right place. 

No corporate jargon, no massive deals, just real useful information designed to give you that extra edge in your legal journey.

🧠Wilson’s Weekly Wisdom

Perfection is overrated. Almost no one produces something brilliant on the first try. The hardest part of any piece of legal work is simply getting words onto the page. 

A messy draft is not a problem. It is progress. You can shape and polish rough ideas. You can’t edit a blank screen. Some of my best work started out looking chaotic before it settled into something readable.

Let your first draft be imperfect. Let it make no sense for a moment. Getting something down means you have already done the hardest part. The polishing comes later. And trust me, you are much closer to good work than it feels when you are staring at that first untidy paragraph.

💡Spotlight Article

A community project with all the right intentions.

People are up for volunteering, the money’s been promised, and the plans look solid. 

Then the legal stuff turns up and starts throwing its weight around!

🔎What’s happening? 

Charity setups aren’t just box-ticking exercises.  

If it isn’t done properly, the governance is woolly, or the trustees don’t really get what they’re on the hook for, everything can grind to a halt. Funds get stuck, decisions can’t be made, and the people you’re trying to help end up waiting.

A capable law firm thus earns its keep by steering charities through the rules, spelling out who’s responsible for what, and stopping things going off the rails. Keeps the focus where it should be; doing some good, not arguing with legal gremlins over a pint.

When a group sets out to do some good, helping people, backing a cause, or fixing up the local area, the law doesn’t just sit back and cheer. In England and Wales, the Charity Commission is the watchdog keeping an eye on things.

At the heart, it boils down to two questions under the Charity Act 2011:

Is this organisation genuinely charitable? Does it benefit the public?

If not, nothing else really counts.

From day one, the Commission is involved. It decides whether you get on the official register, checks trustees understand what they’re taking on, and keeps an eye on how money is handled and what the charity is doing.

If something looks off, poor management, bad decisions, or allegations of misconduct, the Commission can step in and open a formal investigation.

That means digging into finances, governance, trustee actions, and paperwork to see where things went wrong. This usually ends with an inquiry report setting out the problems and what needs fixing. 

In serious cases, trustees can be removed, assets frozen, or the charity forced to change how it operates. Even when issues are minor, the report acts as a guide to getting back on track and protecting the charity’s reputation.

Ultimately, the Charity Commission exists to protect public trust, charitable funds, and the people charities are meant to serve.

❓ Why it matters to high street firms

Questions about governance, registration, or trustee duties crop up all the time, and high street firms are usually the first people charities turn to.

It’s the everyday stuff that lands on their desks. A youth club that needs a constitution. A food bank panicking because its account’s been frozen. A historic building trust trying to work out who’s allowed to manage the assets.

What do solicitors do with all that?

• They get the basics right: Funders, banks, and councils won’t touch a charity that isn’t properly set up. High street solicitors complete the forms, help the charity look legitimate, and make it clear who can deal with money and property. Those early decisions can make a huge difference if problems arise.

• They catch small issues before they blow up: Things that seem harmless, like fuzzy trustee powers, weak governance, or ignored conflicts, can turn into serious legal and reputational headaches fast. Local solicitors are often the first to spot the warning signs and fix them before the Charity Commission comes knocking.

• They give advice with people in mind: Every call affects real lives, volunteers, beneficiaries, and whole communities. Whether it’s safeguarding, restricted funds, or running community spaces, the stakes are high. The job is getting the law right without losing sight of the human impact.

Considering all this, charity law is where high street solicitors turn dry rules into real protection for people and causes. They keep charities on the right side of the law and communities safe.

Trustee Personal Liability

This is about whether a trustee can end up personally on the hook when something goes wrong at a charity.

Even trustees with the best intentions aren’t automatically protected.

It’s not about motive. It’s about whether they stayed within the law and followed proper governance.