Jayne Adams

Jayne Adams has specialised in charity law and governance since 2003.

Jayne trained and qualified at Bircham Dyson Bell LLP, where she practised for over 10 years. Whilst continuing in private practice, she has been fortunate to combine that with in-house experience, including at a start-up charity. Her work involves advising charities of all varieties of cause and of all legal forms on anything and everything that may arise in their lifetimes, including from inception. Her extensive expertise includes charity formations, constitutional and governance advice, restructuring, collaborative working and mergers, trustee duties, contracts and agreements, management and administration, policies, serious incident management and reporting, regulatory requirements, company secretarial matters, legacies, donations and grants and funding matters. Jayne also has a particular interest in cross border concerns, including around the British Isles where different legislative regimes apply for charities operating there.

Jayne’s in-house consultancy experience exposed her to all of the above and more! It has given her a valuable insight into life at the operational coalface, including the development and implementation of new policies and procedures, staff recruitment and development and the marketing and promotion of both new and established charities.

As an experienced board member and charity chair, Jayne also understands the pressures and challenges faced by trustees and the support non-executives may need in fulfilling their roles. She often conducts bespoke trustee training, as well as lecturing at larger events for charity trustees, senior managers and professional advisers.

In Jayne’s own words:

“Small and medium-sized charities carry out vital work, delivering services and support which genuinely make this country a better place to live. They often function with limited resources and are dependent on a lot of goodwill. They are subject, however, to all the laws which apply to any type of organisation, but with an extra layer of charity law and regulation on top. Size does not denote complexity when it comes to legal matters: I want to unravel issues, solve problems, navigate the regulatory roadmap and see charities thrive.”