Your small change makes a big change as The Solicitors’ Charity aims to raise over £1million in 2023
The Solicitors’ Charity has existed since 1858 to help solicitors and their dependants get through tough times. It provides practical, emotional and financial support to make a positive impact on people’s lives.
As it looks forward to helping even more solicitors get back on track in the future, it is calling on legal firms to donate their unclaimed Residual Client Balances (RCBs) to help the charity reach its target of raising over £1 million in 2023.
Your firm’s small change can make a big change to solicitors who have fallen on hard times.
“Unclaimed client balances, small or large, make a big difference to the solicitors we help,” said The Solicitors’ Charity CEO Nick Gallagher. “Whether your firm has only a few pennies in a client account or a larger sum, we can use this to fund a healthier, happier and more supported profession.”
The work of The Solicitors’ Charity is praised across the profession, with an increasing number of firms signing up to support their work for people in the industry.
SAS Daniels LLP has been a regular donor for over 15 years. “The Solicitors’ Charity gives support to individuals who may not have access to this kind of help through their workplaces,” says Head of Finance, Ben Sanders.
“There are still lots of smaller practices out there that maybe don’t have the facilities to offer Employee Assistance Programmes, or similar, and it may often be difficult to turn to management for emotional help or support if financial troubles arise.”
Nick says: “The process for donating unclaimed balances is really simple and straightforward,” and the charity is on hand to help. “The best starting point for anybody who hasn’t done it before is to send us an email, give us a call or fill out the form on our website and we will talk them through the process.
“The first thing they need to consider is whether any single donation they’re making is over £500. If it is, then it needs approval from the SRA. We have all the forms for that and can talk you through these steps, which is another reason for you to get in touch with us right at the start.
“When you’re ready to donate, you can send a cheque with a cover letter, or make a payment through BACS. Please remember to include the firm’s name and we will send out the indemnity letter by return, either by email or post. It’s a very easy process, just contact us and we will guide you through it.”
The ease of process for donating is echoed by Ben Sanders at SAS Daniels. “The process is very straightforward. We used to make donations by cheque but now pay by faster payment which is much more convenient for us.”
Donating your firm’s RCBs to The Solicitors’ Charity is 100% risk-free. The charity offers complete indemnity in every case, irrespective of the amount, which means you can always claim the funds back should you ever need to.
Nick adds: “I think all firms will be very aware of unclaimed client balances because of the accounting rules, but they may not realise that they are able to donate them to The Solicitors’ Charity and that we give an absolute indemnity that they will get the money back if a client reappears in the future.”
Andrew Blatt, Founding Partner at Murdochs Law Limited, has a longstanding relationship with The Solicitors’ Charity. He says: “They’re brilliant to work with and very personable and they are in the process of going through changes to try and be even more relevant to solicitors.”
His firm specialises in solicitors’ professional discipline and regulation, including the niche area of helping firms to close. “When firms close, they often have residual balances that they just can’t identify,” he says. “Those residual balances can be anything from a few pounds to many hundreds of pounds; the only way firms can get rid of the balances is to return them to clients or give them to charity.”
Integrity is highly regarded by Andrew. “We need to work with a charity that is credible and, if a claimant made a claim in a later year, is able to make that payment: The Solicitors’ Charity fits those bills.”
Donations to the charity are responsibly and thoughtfully used to help both individuals in the profession, as well as the wider industry.
Nick says: “It’s important for firms to know what we do with the money – not just that it’s secure and we offer the indemnity, but also that we invest unclaimed balances and use the income and above-inflationary growth from our investments to fund our work. This means we continue to aid solicitors in need and their dependants, either through direct grants, supporting partners such as LawCare, or by purchasing services from other partners.”
Nick hopes that the charity can extend its work in supporting people in the legal profession with the help of donations from firms. He adds: “We have a big strategy review under way at the moment to help us understand the changing needs of the profession. The more support and financial resource we have, the more we can do to help people in our profession.
“In 2021, we received £912,000 in RCBs; in 2023 I’d really like us to reach over £1 million. It will help us as we launch our new strategy and enable us to support even more solicitors.”
RCB donations from firms like yours fund targeted support for solicitors in crisis, including:
With the help of firms like yours, The Solicitors’ Charity can continue funding support for solicitors.
How you could make a difference to solicitors facing hard times
*We know how much of a challenge dealing with unclaimed balances can be for firms, balancing the requirements of accounting rules and the prospect that your client may reappear in the future. This is why we give firms a guarantee that the sums they pass on to The Solicitors’ Charity will always be refunded if they are reclaimed.
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