Charity/Higher Education and Commercial Trusts Lawyer (2–6 Years PQE)
BIRMINGHAM, GLASGOW, EDINBURGH, MANCHESTER, LEEDS, LONDON
Brief
This is an excellent opportunity for a lawyer to join our Charities & Higher Education and Commercial Trusts practices.
It is recognised that candidates may bring more experience in one of these areas and be interested in developing expertise in others. The role can to some extent be shaped around the successful candidate’s experience, interests and development goals with training and support provided from senior lawyers in the firm.
Location
The role is available in any of our UK offices. A willingness to travel periodically to Birmingham would be required to meet with the wider team who are predominately based there.
The Team
The role sits within a specialist team which forms part of the wider Higher Education team, but the work is highly collaborative and will involve working closely with colleagues across the firm. You will have the opportunity to build strong relationships across the firm and contribute to a varied, cross-practice workload.
This role would suit someone who enjoys technically interesting work and wants to develop a broad, transferable skill set within a market-leading international firm.
The key areas of work are summarised below:
The team provides strategic, specialist charity law advice, with a particular focus on higher education clients as part of the firm’s well regarded Higher Education team - helping them to reconcile the requirements of charity law with often complex and innovative projects.
We advise across the full range of charity issues, including in relation to constitutional matters, governance, gift acceptance, and the structuring of commercial activities, investments and joint ventures. These may be either standalone projects or supporting larger transactions.
In particular, the Universities and Higher Education Regulatory and Governance team (led by our Birmingham Head of Office) regularly advises universities and other higher education institutions on the charity law implications of commercial activities, including the establishment and structuring of subsidiary companies, spin-out arrangements, licensing of intellectual property, and revenue-generating partnerships. This includes advising on the scope of charitable powers, the application of the private benefit doctrine, and ensuring that commercial arrangements are structured in a manner consistent with the institution's charitable objects and regulatory obligations.
The team has extensive experience providing charity law support on university mergers and institutional restructurings, an area in which the firm has a market-leading reputation. This work involves advising on the interaction between charity law requirements and the statutory and regulatory framework governing higher education mergers, including the application of charitable assets, the transfer of restricted funds and endowments, and the constitutional steps required to give effect to a merger, such as amendments to royal charters, the making of statutory instruments and obtaining Privy Council and Charity Commission approvals.
The team also has significant experience advising universities and other higher education institutions on governance and constitutional matters, including amendments to governing documents. We regularly advise on regulatory and compliance issues arising from the higher education regulatory framework, including engagement with the Office for Students, and on broader governance reviews, board effectiveness, and the structuring of academic and corporate decision-making arrangements.
The team also works with the education finance team on issues arising from lending to charities, including the scope and application of charitable powers.
Our commercial trusts work is market leading and closely connected with the firm’s insurance, financial services and pensions practices. The work is varied and includes drafting suites of documents, advising on technical issues, and supporting clients on development of innovative products and services. Much of it involves collaboration with colleagues across the firm, particularly our Insurance & Regulatory team
It includes:
- Advising many of the UK’s leading insurers on the development and structuring of new trust propositions in connection with their protection and wealth products
- Advising healthcare trust administrators (e.g. Axa, Bupa) regarding technical issues arising from their master trusts and on proposed new offerings and services. We also advise employers who are considering establishing or joining a healthcare trust as an alternative to private medical insurance
- Specialist advice on group life arrangements (in the context of employee benefits), both to master trust providers and also guiding other clients on the most appropriate form of scheme and managing associated tax risks
- Working with the Restructuring team to advise on (express or implied) trusts in the context of restructurings and insolvency
- Working with corporate and banking teams on issues where trustees are buying, selling or charging assets.
- Working with the share incentives team in relation to issues arising in connection with employee benefit trusts.
Advising on many and varied other trust arrangements which arise in the context of the firm’s advisory and transactional work.
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The Candidate We Are Looking For
Whilst the above areas are complementary in many respects, it is recognised that candidates may not have experience in both. We are open to candidates who have experience in at least one of the areas outlined above and a genuine interest in developing their expertise further.
Experience gained in a large commercial law practice would be helpful, but we are also interested in candidates who can demonstrate strong technical ability and a clear interest in this specialist area. Some background in tax (particularly charity tax and/or IHT) would be advantageous, given that many of the matters on which we work involve tax aspects which may be intertwined with the wider advice, but this is not essential.
The successful candidate will have a strong academic background, excellent technical ability and a commercially pragmatic approach. They will also be collaborative and client-focused, with strong communication and organisational skills and the ability to explain complex concepts clearly and confidently.
We anticipate that the role will be best suited to a lawyer with approximately 2–6 years' PQE, although we are prepared to be flexible for an exceptional candidate with the right skills and experience.
We are committed to supporting flexible ways of working and welcome applications from candidates seeking alternative working arrangements. For the right candidate, the team would consider part-time working patterns, including 0.8 FTE arrangements.
What will we offer you?
- We are a market leading, dynamic and growing global team who work together to produce outstanding results for our clients.
- We invest in our people through high-quality training, career development support, regular one-to-ones, career discussions and biannual appraisals. Our training will help you develop specialist technical expertise, sector knowledge and the confidence to deliver excellent client service.
- You will have opportunities to work closely with experienced colleagues across the firm and develop relationships with clients from an early stage.
- The work is unusually varied and intellectually stimulating, spanning charity law, higher education governance, commercial trusts, insurance, financial services and beyond, offering the opportunity to develop a broad and highly transferable skill set.
- You will be joining a team with a market-leading reputation, ranked Tier 1 in Legal 500 for Education and Band 1 in Chambers and Partners for Education: Higher Education.
- The role can be shaped around your experience, interests and development goals, with training and support provided by senior lawyers in the team.
- There will be opportunities to contribute to thought leadership, client seminars and business development activities, helping you to build your professional profile and develop client relationships.
- You will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across multiple UK and international offices, benefiting from the firm's global reach and sector depth.
- Pinsent Masons is recognised as a Top 10 Employer for Working Families and is committed to supporting flexible and inclusive working arrangements.
About the Firm
Pinsent Masons is a global 100 law firm, with over 4,000 employees operating out of 31 locations across Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. We have a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality legal advice rooted in a deep understanding of the sectors and geographies in which our clients operate. Our expertise in the higher education and charities sectors is widely recognised, and our global reach ensures that we are well-placed to advise on complex, multi-jurisdictional matters across a full range of legal disciplines.
Awards
Pinsent Masons has been recognised as the ‘Most Innovative Law Firm’ in Europe by the Financial Times, having received the award three times in the last decade. The firm also holds more Tier 1 Legal 500 rankings than any other law firm, including a Tier 1 ranking in Legal 500 for Education and is also ranked in Band 1 by Chambers and Partners for Education: Higher Education, reflecting the firm's market-leading position in the sector. The firm was named International Law Firm of the Year at the Trust Law Awards 2025. It continues to be recognised for innovation and ESG commitments, including awards at the Law.com Legal Innovation & Technology Awards, ESG Firm of the Year in Asia and the Middle East 2025, and recognition as a Top 10 Employer for Working Families. Go to www. pinsentmasons.com/accolades to view all of our global awards and nominations.
Should you require further details, please contact our in-house Lateral Recruitment Advisor Steffy Lam who can discuss the role and requirements.
Contact details:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffy-lam-715241238/
[email protected]
At Pinsent Masons we value diversity and inclusion. We are committed to creating a better workplace where all our talent can succeed and feel like they belong. We want to attract, retain and develop people at all levels and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates whatever your ethnicity, religion, age, physical or mental disability/ long term condition, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other characteristics protected by local law in the jurisdictions in which we operate.
As an inclusive employer, we are willing to consider any flexible working requests.
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