What Bates Wells does

Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP (trading as Bates Wells) is a UK limited liability partnership headquartered at 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1BE, operating as a purpose-driven law firm. The firm employs 158 people across legal, paralegal, business and HR functions and is the first UK law firm to certify as a B Corp, claiming the highest B Corp score globally among 105 firms in the legal activities category. It is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (465497) and structured around 23 specialist practice areas including Charity, Commercial Contracts, Competition, Corporate, Data & Privacy, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Employment, Equality & anti-discrimination, Finance & Banking, Immigration, IT & Outsourcing, Investigations, LGBT+, Nature & Biodiversity, Philanthropy, Politics/Elections/Campaigning, Procurement & Subsidy Control, Public & Regulatory, Real Estate, Safeguarding, and Trade Marks & Branding.

The firm's revenue model is built on professional services fees — partner-led advisory engagements on retainers, plus a productised layer of at least 12 fixed-fee health-check and assessment packages (Data Protection Health Check, GDPR Health Check, Immigration Compliance MOT, Charity Governance Code, 360 Brand Review, Merger Assessment, Real Estate Stay vs Go, Charity Fundraising Review, and others per source). Bespoke virtual and in-person training on data privacy, AI, safeguarding and governance is also priced per session. Distribution is overwhelmingly direct and partner-led, supplemented by self-serve product purchases, an appointed position on the Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC) public-sector panel, seven charity-sector bank panels (Triodos, Santander, Lloyds, Charity Bank, Metro, Handelsbanken, Unity Trust) and the Parlex/GAIL cross-border referral networks. Client-facing digital tooling is limited to a Deeds on Demand client portal and a Pay Your Bill portal; no proprietary legal-AI platform is disclosed.

The customer base spans charities, INGOs, social enterprises, B Corps, faith-based organisations, public-sector bodies, banks and impact investors, founders/SMEs and multinational corporates (e.g., M.C. Dean, House of Hackney, Soros Economic Development Fund, Mirova, Arbaro Advisors, RSPCA, ONE Campaign, Triodos Bank, ICAPE Holding, ThinkSono) — a deliberately diversified roster with no disclosed single-customer dependency. The firm supports an affiliated charity, The Bates Wells Foundation (CIO 1150321, est. 2015), which has deployed over £800,000 to social and environmental causes and runs the Stephen Lloyd Awards.

Name

Bates Wells

Legal name

Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP

Website

https://bateswells.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bates Wells is a purpose-driven UK law firm (LLP) headquartered in London with 158 people, structured around 23 specialist practice areas and serving charities, social enterprises, INGOs, banks and purpose-driven businesses as the first UK B Corp-certified law firm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Notaries (54112)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Rough Gemstone Trading & Brokerage (CRAKAJAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Traceability, Provenance & Compliance Services (e.g., origin, AML/KYC, sanctions) (CRAKAJAL)

Keywords

• Charity law services
• Corporate legal advisory
• Employment law advisory
• Immigration legal services
• Data privacy compliance

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal advisory fees: Professional services revenue from solicitors and chartered trade mark attorneys, delivered as a mix of retainer advisory work and bespoke fixed-fee packages (e.g., Data Protection Health Check, Real Estate Stay vs Go, 360 Brand Review, Merger Assessment, Immigration Compliance MOT).
2. Training and bespoke workshops: Bespoke in-person and virtual training sessions delivered to client organisations on topics including data privacy, AI, safeguarding, trustee training, governance and crisis management; priced per session.
3. Chartered Trade Mark Attorney services: Trade mark searching, registration, licensing and enforcement delivered by an in-house team of Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys (PATMA practice).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bates Wells is a UK purpose-driven law firm providing specialist legal advice across charity, corporate & commercial, employment, immigration, data & privacy, dispute resolution, real estate, trade marks, IT & outsourcing, public & regulatory, and equality law practice areas. Around this sits a catalogue of fixed-fee productised packages (Data Protection Health Check, 360 Brand Review for Charities, Charity Governance Code health check, Immigration Compliance MOT, Merger Assessment Service, Real Estate Stay vs Go, Charity Fundraising Review, Mitigation not litigation, Corporate Foundation Health Check) and bespoke training programmes priced per session.

Product overview

Bates Wells is not a software vendor; it is a UK purpose-driven law firm operating as a portfolio of named legal service lines plus a discrete catalogue of fixed-fee product packages. The offering is structured around 23 specialist practice areas (Charity, Commercial Contracts, Competition, Corporate, Data & Privacy, Dispute Resolution & Litigation, Employment, Equality & anti-discrimination law, Finance & Banking, Immigration, IT & Outsourcing, Investigations/inquiries/complaints, LGBT+, Nature & Biodiversity, Philanthropy, Politics/Elections/Campaigning, Procurement & Subsidy Control, Public & Regulatory, Real Estate, Safeguarding, Trade Marks & Branding, plus the Faith-based Organisations and International NGOs sector practices) that act as the firm's core 'modules'. Layered on top are discrete named product packages sold standalone, including the Data Protection Health Check, GDPR health check, 360 Brand Review for Charities, Charity Governance Code health check, Immigration compliance MOT, Merger assessment service, Real estate: Stay vs Go fixed-fee package, Get it (copy) right copyright training, Charity fundraising: review, Mitigation not litigation dispute-resolution health check, Corporate foundation: health check, and the Strategic litigation climate/biodiversity offering. Around this sits the branded Spotlight annual charity conference, the annual employment conference, the 2026-inaugural Innovate for Impact charity IT conference, the Solicitor Apprenticeships and Vacation Scheme talent programmes, and the associated Bates Wells Foundation (CIO 1150321) running the Stephen Lloyd Awards. Client-facing digital touchpoints are limited to the Deeds on Demand client-area portal and the online Pay Your Bill portal; no public API, SDK or MCP server is offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charity law services The largest dedicated charity-law practice in the UK, covering charity legacies, regulation, collaborations and mergers, crisis management, governance, grants, investments and endowments, fundraising and lotteries, trading subsidiaries, tax, training and the Spotlight annual charity conference.
• Commercial Contracts Practical commercial-contract advice for technology, AI, IT and outsourcing, SaaS/cloud, manufacturing, membership terms, advertising, distribution, sponsorship, joint ventures, IP, licensing, franchising and eCommerce, including ESG-aligned and purpose-and-impact contract drafting.
• Competition law UK and EU competition advice including anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominance, UK merger control for JVs and acquisitions, CMA defence and training, and subsidy-control (UK state aid) compliance.
• Corporate law Mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, private equity, joint ventures and restructuring, management buy-outs, innovative legal structures, transaction project management and impact investing across emerging and frontier markets.
• Data & Privacy UK GDPR and EU data-protection compliance, Freedom of Information Act 2000 work, data breach response, AI data-risk advice, international data transfers, and the Data Protection Health Check product package.
• Dispute Resolution & Litigation Commercial litigation, arbitration, mediation, contract and grant disputes, counter-fraud, internal investigations, IP, media, member, procurement and international disputes, professional negligence, search and imaging / supervising-solicitor services and strategic/purposeful litigation.
• Employment law Employer and employee representation across day-to-day HR, tribunal claims, workplace investigations, executive matters, partnership disputes, mediation, and the annual Bates Wells employment conference.
• Equality & anti-discrimination law Equality Act 2010 advice covering EDI policies, occupational requirements, positive action, reasonable adjustments, single-sex exceptions, grants/trusts, plus defending and bringing Equality Act claims in the County Court and Employment Tribunal.
• Faith-based Organisations Charity-law-led advice for faith communities (Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and interfaith), including registration and governance, immigration, property, safeguarding, regulatory cases, tax and cross-border structures.
• Finance & Banking Panel-lawyer advice for Triodos Bank, Santander, Lloyds, Charity Bank, Metro Bank, Handelsbanken and Unity Trust Bank, covering social and impact finance, structured and general corporate banking, acquisition finance, real-estate finance, asset-based lending, syndicated/bilateral lending, and insolvency.
• Immigration Personal, business, alternative-families, high-net-worth, entertainment-industry and LGBT+ immigration, plus sponsor-licence compliance and Home Office right-to-work advice.
• International NGOs Advice to UK charities working abroad and overseas charities setting up in the UK, covering partnership arrangements, grants, safeguarding, HMRC/Charity Commission compliance, anti-bribery, and international structures (founding member of Parlex and GAIL).
• IT & Outsourcing Technology sourcing for systems development/integration, software licensing and SaaS, web platforms, managed services, outsourcing, hardware supply and data licensing, including ESG-aligned supplier agreements.
• Investigations, inquiries & complaints External investigations, Charity Commission investigations, public inquiry participation (witnesses and core participants), regulatory investigations and professional discipline.
• LGBT+ services Full-service advice for LGBT+ individuals, families and organisations, including Equality Act claims, surrogacy and inter-country adoption advice, transgender documentation issues and inclusive-policy support for charities and employers.
• Nature & Biodiversity Legal support for landscape-recovery projects, rewilding charities, sustainable forestry and climate-aware advisory work, including governance for cross-stakeholder consortia and investment structuring.
• Philanthropy Advice for individual philanthropists, corporates and corporate foundations, family foundations and donor-advised funds.
• Politics, Elections & Campaigning Electoral-law and political-regulation advice for charities, trade unions, political parties, local authorities and companies, including campaigning law, donations, lobbying and parliamentary-agent services.
• Procurement & Subsidy Control Procurement Act 2023 and UK subsidy-control advice for public authorities, charities, social enterprises, commercial bidders and auditors.
• Public & Regulatory Judicial review, inquests, public inquiries, online safety, education, local government audit, regulated qualifications and safeguarding advice, plus legislative/policy drafting and regulatory-compliance support.
• Real Estate Full-lifecycle commercial and charity property advice, including charity-property law (designated land, permanent endowment, property legacies), development and construction, sustainability, real-estate disputes, finance and occupier services.
• Safeguarding Safeguarding policy, training and crisis support for charities, INGOs, faith-based organisations, royal colleges and others working with children or vulnerable adults, including Serious Incident Reporting and DBS advice.
• Trade Marks & Branding In-house Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys handling UK and worldwide trade-mark searching and registration, licensing, IP disputes, IP audits and rebranding support, with a focus on the charity and not-for-profit marketplace.
• Data Protection Health Check Fixed-scope compliance review and policy drafting/review service to help organisations (typically charities) meet UK GDPR, Data Protection Act and PECR obligations.
• 360 Brand Review for Charities End-to-end brand-protection audit delivered by the in-house Chartered Trade Mark Attorneys for growing charities.
• GDPR health check Post-implementation review to confirm whether 2018-era GDPR preparations still meet current UK GDPR standards and ICO expectations.
• Charity Governance Code: health check External governance evaluation against the Charity Governance Code, used by larger-charity boards for their required triennial external review.
• Immigration compliance MOT Post-Brexit immigration-compliance health check covering recruitment, right-to-work, licenced sponsors and sponsor-licence applications.
• Merger assessment service Confidential fixed-scope report to help charities decide whether a merger is the right strategic route before committing to full legal advice.
• Real estate: Stay vs Go (fixed fee package) Fixed-fee advisory package for charities and businesses weighing whether to dispose of, reconfigure or relocate their office space.
• Charity fundraising: review Compliance review covering donations, corporate partnerships, lotteries, sponsorship, legacies, online shops and Gift Aid against Charity Commission, Fundraising Regulator and ICO requirements.
• Mitigation, not litigation (dispute resolution health check) Pre-dispute health check that identifies and remedies issues likely to cause future litigation, delivered by the Dispute Resolution team.
• Corporate foundation: health check Health-check review for established corporate foundations covering the latest charity/non-charity guidance and risk areas.
• Strategic litigation for climate and biodiversity Litigation and public/regulatory offering aimed at helping clients tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis through purposeful legal action.
• Bespoke in-house training (data privacy, AI, governance, safeguarding, dispute resolution, trustee) Tailored virtual or in-person training sessions covering data privacy, AI data risks, data sharing, international data transfers, DSARs, DPIAs, sexual-harassment prevention, governance (including B Corp), safeguarding, dispute resolution and trustee development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached net zero carbon on Scope 1 and 2 and measurable Scope 3 emissions in 2019; reduced total carbon emissions by over 80% over a decade.
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAppointed to the CPC legal services panel, enabling education organisations and wider public sector (maintained schools, academies, MATs) to access Bates Wells' specialist legal advice via a compliant procurement route.
• Parlex groupflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of Parlex group, an international network of like-minded law firms that Bates Wells uses to advise on cross-border matters.
• GAIL – Global Alliance for Impact LawyersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of GAIL, an alliance connecting impact-oriented lawyers globally to support clients seeking legal advice abroad.
• B Lab (B Corp)flagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHelped launch B Corp in the UK; first UK law firm to certify as a B Corp and the highest scoring B Corp globally in the legal activities category. Active in B Corp Month and the Boardroom 2030 hackathon.
• Better Business Act campaigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Better Business Act campaign by preparing a draft of the proposed legislation to align shareholder interests with those of wider society and the environment.
• Chancery Lane ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with the Chancery Lane Project to help businesses incorporate climate and net-zero aligned clauses into contractual drafting.
• LawWorkscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPro-bono referral partner: cases referred through LawWorks are more likely to be taken on; the firm also supports LawWorks initiatives across the legal sector.
• Advocates for International DevelopmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPro-bono referral partner for international development matters; cases referred through this network are more likely to be taken on.
• Ethical Property FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOffers a free property-law advice meeting for clients referred by the Ethical Property Foundation, supporting charities with property-related matters.
• Bond (DfID/Bond working group)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeam member joined the steering committee following the DfID | International Safeguarding Summits in 2018, contributing to Bond's good governance guide for safeguarding.
• 5 Pump Court ChambersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authored with 5 Pump Court Chambers Director Clare Kelly on drafting chambers constitutions; published in COUNSEL magazine.
• Stephen Lloyd AwardscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOperated by the Bates Wells Foundation; provides £2,500 to shortlisted finalists and £25,000 to the winner of the Stephen Lloyd Awards to back social innovators tackling social problems.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• LawWorks: Pro-bono referral charity for the UK legal sector, with which Bates Wells is a core partner. Adjacent enabling organisation that funnels pro-bono matters into the firm and is comparable only as part of the firm's pro-bono ecosystem.
• B Lab: The non-profit that certifies B Corps and with which Bates Wells has a flagship partnership (helped launch B Corp in the UK; first UK law firm certified). Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Mishcon de Reya: Major London-based law firm with significant private-client, corporate, employment and dispute resolution practices. Comparable in London base and employment/disputes profile, though broader and more commercially oriented than Bates Wells.
• Burges Salmon: Larger UK full-service law firm with established charity, public sector and corporate practices. Overlaps with Bates Wells on charity, banking and real estate work, but operates at greater scale and across broader sectors.
• Trowers & Hamlins: Larger UK law firm with a developed charities and social-enterprise practice and strong public-sector presence. Overlaps with Bates Wells on charity, real estate and finance mandates but as part of a broader full-service portfolio.

Direct peers

• Wrigleys Solicitors: Leeds-based UK law firm with one of the largest dedicated charity-law teams in the country, serving charities, social enterprises and education-sector clients. Comparable in sector specialism and values-driven positioning, though geographically distinct.
• Hempsons: UK law firm specialising in healthcare, charity and social-purpose clients, with sector specialism and values-driven positioning that overlaps with Bates Wells' charities, safeguarding and public/regulatory practices.
• BDB Pitmans: UK law firm with a sizeable charity and not-for-profit team, advising on charity governance, fundraising and social-investment matters. Comparable in sector focus and mid-market scale.
• Foot Anstey: UK regional law firm with a strong charity, social-enterprise and education practice and a published purpose and ESG agenda. Directly comparable in client mix and mid-market scale.
• Anthony Collins Solicitors: UK mid-market law firm with a large specialist charity and social-enterprise practice comparable to Bates Wells, including a strong values-driven and B-Corp-aligned positioning. Closest like-for-like peer on purpose and sector mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BatesWellsTweet
• Facebookfacebook.com/BatesWellsBraithwaite
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bates-wells-linkedin

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bates Wells