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Bates Wells

Bates Wells is a values-driven law firm, where having a positive social and environmental impact is as core to the business as commercial success. Clients range from global household names and public bodies to start-ups.
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Bates Wells' top tier legal advice is coupled with a real desire to drive change. It was the first UK law firm to achieve B Corp certification, a mark of recognition for meeting rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

Bates Wells specialises in advising purposeful businesses, and is also the firm of choice for thousands of charities and social enterprises.

Bates Wells acts for more of the top 3000 charities than any other firm. It’s consistently ranked in the top band by independent legal directories Chambers UK and Legal 500.

The Bates Wells team believes in making a positive impact in everything they do – from advocating for legislative and regulatory change and working on landmark cases with wide-ranging implications, to working for inspiring clients which provide (often significant) public benefit.

The firm was profiled by The Times as one of the Best Law Firms 2023, in recognition of some recent ground-breaking work including the Butler-Sloss judgment, which allows charity trustees to exclude financial investments that could harm the planet - even if it could risk a diminished financial return – and the charity team’s recent work supporting the Horniman Museum on returning their controversial collection of Benin bronzes to Nigeria.

Bates Wells provides a full service, including highly-regarded real estate, employment, dispute resolution, immigration and public & regulatory advice.
Bates Wells

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