Articles

How to work well with your lawyers

Our purpose at Edward Connor Solicitors is to serve Jesus through serving his people. We’re here to help churches and Christian organisations to run well and comply with the law, and we understand the particular legal issues that Christian charities and churches face.  We always do our best to serve our clients, but there are also things our clients can … Read more …

Volunteers and Voluntary Workers – what’s the difference?

People can work for charities and churches in many different ways. Some are employees, some are office holders and some volunteer their time. As you manage and care for your staff, it’s important to recognize the difference between volunteers and voluntary workers. A voluntary worker is not a volunteer in the normal or legal sense … Read more …

Edward Connor Solicitors Celebrates First Birthday

Back in summer 2019 we marked our first year as Edward Connor Solicitors with a celebration during that year’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly in London. The evening reception at the Cathedral View conference centre in Westminster was attended by around 40 people including representatives from our clients and partner organisations, from individual churches to large national … Read more …

Your church premises and the Equality Act

Your church building is a great asset and a valuable resource. It enables your church family to meet on Sundays and other groups to meet in the week. It may be a means of reaching out to your community and caring for those in need. Sometimes, a church building can be used to generate income … Read more …

Residential Conveyancing and Serving Jesus

NB: We are in the process of reviewing the contents of this article in the light of the changes recently introduced to the Charities Act. As Christians we are called to serve God in all we do. Part of this is stewarding our resources well. What do you need to think about when your church … Read more …

Selling Charity Property

NB: We are in the process of reviewing the contents of this article in the light of the changes recently introduced to the Charities Act. Please note in this article we assume that all churches or organisations are charities and therefore need to comply with charity law.   There are many different reasons why you … Read more …

Building Projects

NB: We are in the process of reviewing the contents of this article in the light of the changes recently introduced to the Charities Act. Please note in this article we assume that all churches or organisations are charities and therefore need to comply with charity law.   A building project can be an exciting … Read more …

Use of Charity Property by a Third Party

NB: We are in the process of reviewing the contents of this article in the light of the changes recently introduced to the Charities Act.   A charity’s property is a great resource and a gift from God. You may be approached by someone from your community who would like to hire your property for … Read more …

Copyright and your Church

A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice has put the issue of copyright back in the headlines. The Court held that a secondary school had infringed a photographer’s copyright after a student used one of the photographer’s pictures in a school presentation which the school subsequently published on its website even though the … Read more …

Automatic disqualification of trustees

New rules came into force on 1 August 2018, expanding the circumstances in which a person can be automatically disqualified from acting as a trustee of a charity. These include unspent convictions for bribery, terrorism, money laundering, contempt of court, misconduct in public office, and being on the sex offenders register (see s.178 and s.178A … Read more …