Penningtons Manches Cooper appoints new head of charities

Posted: 30/09/2024

Leading charity lawyer Virginia Henley has joined Penningtons Manches Cooper to head its charities practice. 

Virginia, who joins the firm as a partner today, will be based in the firm’s Cambridge office, with a national remit. She was previously head of the charities team at HCR Law and has also worked at Bates Wells and Blake Morgan. She supports a wide range of not-for-profit organisations on legal, regulatory and governance issues. 

Her specialisms include fundraising, trustee training, mergers, registrations and incorporations, commercial arrangements, and serious incident reporting, and her clients range from charities of all sizes including community interest companies, schools and Cambridge and Oxford colleges.

A member of the Charity Commission’s interim manager panel and the Charity Law Association, she is described as a leader in her field by prominent directory The Legal 500, where she has achieved a ‘top tier’ ranking.

With significant experience in advising higher education institutions and schools, Virginia will also play an active role in Penningtons Manches Cooper’s education sector group. Partner Hilary Aldred, who leads the education team and is also based in Cambridge, said: 

“We’re delighted to welcome Virginia to the firm. Her specialist skills and experience will really strengthen our position in both the charities and education sectors and complement our existing capabilities. Both are strategic growth areas for the firm, especially as we continue to expand the work we do for leading universities, schools and other institutions as they face growing challenges around governance, regulation and commercialisation.”

Lawyers in Penningtons Manches Cooper’s charities team work across a number of the firm’s UK offices, so Virginia will regularly spend time in other locations – Oxford and London in particular – and will work closely with colleagues in the firm’s private client, real estate, employment and corporate practices who act on charity matters.

Partner David Kendall, head of strategy for Penningtons Manches Cooper’s business services division, said: “Virginia has a fantastic track record of leading and developing successful teams in the not-for-profit sector. She’s an extremely talented lawyer and her clients and peers speak highly of her. She is a great addition to Penningtons Manches Cooper and we are all very much looking forward to working with her to drive forward the charities team.”

Virginia Henley commented: “I’m thrilled to be joining Penningtons Manches Cooper, and to have the opportunity to lead its work in the charity sector. The firm’s full service offering – with direct access to experts in several other areas of law which charity clients often also need advice on – is a real benefit and will be a distinct advantage as we develop the practice.” 

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