Kind-hearted lawyers at an independent legal firm are flying the flag for volunteering.
As part of Trustees’ Week (Nov 4-11), Lindsays has revealed that 20% of its partners – and 10% of its lawyers overall – give their time to support charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises by sitting on their governing boards.
That’s on top of other voluntary and fundraising work carried out by the team across the firm, which has office in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth and Crieff.
Combined, the trustees are involved with 28 organisations, using a blend of their professional and wider life experiences to play a part in ensuring they can operate.
And executives are urging other businesses across the capital to encourage their teams to consider using their skills to support others.
Ian Beattie, Lindsays’ Chief Operating Officer, has more than 25 years’ experience as a volunteer trustee with a range of organisations, including previously being on the board of mental health charity SAMH.
Ian said: “I am incredibly proud that our firm that encourages colleagues to back the charity sector with their expertise and time.
“I am also impressed by the breadth of good causes my colleagues champion as charity trustees – including tackling financial hardship and child poverty, providing relationship counselling, and supporting hospices, local schools, arts organisations and even retired greyhounds.
“Without the contribution of their trustees, none of the 25,000 or so charities on the Scottish Charity Register could meet their legal and regulatory requirements. Ultimately, that means they would not be able to operate.”
Lindsays operates a Charities and Third Sector team which provides specific advice to organisations around their governance, supporting them to ensure their trustees have the skills they need to do the job.
Its lawyers also advise charity and third sector clients in areas including legacies, property and employment law.
Ian added: “At a time when charities face pressures on all sides – not just legislative changes but rising costs, increased demand for their help, and a public-sector funding crisis – there are certainly challenges involved in being a trustee and I would not underplay those.
“But we should also celebrate the upsides of being a trustee – the experiences, new skills, doors opened, and immense satisfaction that can come from actively supporting a cause or place you care about.
“As a firm, we get a lot of satisfaction out of the enjoyment our team gets out of their involvement and would encourage other businesses to urge their staff to consider whether they too could become trustees.”
Commercial Property Partner Louise Norris is currently a trustee of an arts organisation and has sat on the board of Norton Park in Edinburgh.
She said: “It is incredibly rewarding to see the positive impact the decisions you help make as a trustee have on the larger community and the organisations the charity supports. You’re making a difference.”
