A charity and not for profit solicitor with Midlands law firm Higgs & Sons has been appointed as a trustee of the Solicitors Benevolent Association.
Kirsty McEwen, a member of the private client team at the firm, underwent a vigorous selection process to become a trustee of the professional association.
The SBA’s objective is to alleviate personal financial hardship among enrolled solicitors and their dependants.
Ms McEwen, who qualified in 2002, specialises in advising charities and not for profit organisations, and is the Higgs & Sons dedicated charity formation and administration expert.
As well as the Charity Commission, she has acted for many well-known and long-established charities but also acts for smaller and newly formed charities, offering pragmatic and cost-effective support and advice.
Ms McEwen regularly writes and speaks on issues affecting the charity sector and is also a member of the Charity Law Association, the Ecclesiastical Law Association and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
“I am absolutely delighted to become a trustee of the SBA,” she said.
“And I am confident that a decade of experience at Higgs will stand me in good stead to meet the challenges that lie ahead at a time when the demands on charities of all kinds are unprecedented.”
Nick Moxon, senior partner at Higgs & Sons, said: “We are thrilled with Kirsty’s appointment to the SBA which reflects the hard work and effort that she has put into this growing area of law at Higgs.
“The SBA was seeking specific skills at policy level in business development and charity governance from its new trustee, and Kirsty was able to fulfil all of the very rigorous criteria set out.”
The Solicitors Benevolent Association was originally instituted in 1858 and in that time its purpose has remained the same: to alleviate personal financial hardship among enrolled solicitors and their dependants. Financial assistance takes the form of either a grant or a loan.
Chief executive, Tim Martin OBE, said: “Charity law is much more dynamic and evolving than many people think so it is really important for charities to keep abreast of their responsibilities to the public. The SBA Board greatly welcomes Kirsty’s arrival as a specialist trustee to assist them in such matters.”
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