Spotlight on… Rachel Gwynne

This month we speak to Partner and Head of Charities and Not-For-Profit Rachel Gwynne. Rachel joined the firm in December and is based in the Cheltenham office. With over 20 years’ experience in the legal sector, she tells us about what first attracted her to a career in law, the type of advice she provides to her clients and her most memorable legal experience.

What first attracted you to a career in law?

When choosing what I was going to study at university, I followed my dad’s sage advice – “do something you enjoy and find interesting, that way you’ll end up in the right place for you”.  Halfway through my Economics and Geography degree, I found myself drawn towards the law modules – how do you put in place a practical, workable framework for managing key economic principles that society, as a whole, buys into?

I quickly realised I’d found my ‘place’ and after my degree I undertook a law conversion course, ultimately qualifying as a solicitor in 2006.

What type of legal advice do you provide and to what type of clients?

I advise on a broad range of corporate and governance issues for a diverse range of charity and not-for-profit clients – I help them deliver their charitable purposes whilst navigating complex governance and regulatory regimes.

I advise clients on large projects including mergers, corporate restructures, intra-group reorganisations, collaborative working arrangements, charitable registrations and incorporations. I also provide advice and support on governance matters including governing document amendments and interpretation, charity law compliance and internal governance arrangements. Similarly, I help charities navigate conflicts of interest, diversification and commercialisation, permanent endowment, serious incident reporting and trustee duties and responsibilities.

What is you most memorable legal experience and why?

I’m very fortunate in that no two days are the same and I get to work with some truly brilliant organisations. My perhaps most memorable legal experience was assisting on my first Large Scale Voluntary Transfer as a newly qualified solicitor. From a legal perspective, transferring the entire housing function from a Local Authority to a newly formed charitable social housing provider is a highly complex, multi-faceted, dynamic, multi-party transaction. I obtained legal skills and sector knowledge that continue to underpin the majority of the legal advice and support I give to clients today.

However, the main reason this was my most memorable legal experience is because it was the first time I saw, and felt, how the work charities and not-for-profit organisations do, provides the foundation our society’s values and principles are built on. In this case, providing some of the most vulnerable, isolated and marginalised people in our society with a safe and secure home in which to build a life and raise a family.

What is your number one tip for clients?

Involve your legal advisors early – you’ll save time and money in the long run.