One of my main services is helping churches operate under legal structures that are easy to manage, reduce church officers’ liability and reflect the church’s values and beliefs. Long-established churches have often developed complex legal structures that are difficult to manage and expose church officers to unlimited personal liability if something goes wrong.

I help churches in these situations consolidate their structures and put in place arrangements that limit liability. Newly formed churches sometimes establish themselves quickly with off-the-shelf trusts, limited companies or CIOs that don’t actually reflect the church’s values and beliefs, e.g. the church might be congregational but it adopts a constitution that allows all decisions to be made by the church leaders without needing to consult the congregation.

Using a solicitor who is familiar with charity governance and ecclesiology helps ensure that new churches operate under structures from the outset that fit with their beliefs and values.