Many of you will already be familiar with the Methodist Panel of Solicitors, a panel introduced by the Methodist Church in 2018 to act for Managing Trustees in legal matters and provide advice (the Panel). The level of support provided to Managing Trustees by the Panel is reviewed regularly, and a further tender process took place in 2023. Following the re-tender process we are pleased to confirm that there are now four firms on the Panel. The selected firms are: Anthony Collins, Blake Morgan, HCR and Sintons.
All of the firms have extensive experience in acting for charities and christian organisations across many areas of legal work and have been comprehensively trained in Methodism. The firms offer an initial 30 minutes free advice to Methodist Managing Trustees on a new instruction.
Panel contact details
For more information on the Panel and their contact details, please visit the Panel Solicitors Page and Panel Contact Sheet on the TMCP website. While geographic location is not critical – due to the ease of communication by email, telephone and Zoom etc. - please also see our new interactive map showing where the Panel offices are located across England and Wales:
Why use the Panel?
The benefit to Managing Trustees in using the firms on the Panel is that they are familiar with Methodist law and policy as well as the procedural requirements which must be complied with in transactions. TMCP have invested time in training the firms on Methodist requirements, and as a result, they understand the responsibilities placed on you and how the Church works. Due to the close working relationship between TMCP and the firms on the Panel, they are also able to take advantage of the streamlined sale process which has seen noticeable reductions in the time sales take and reduces the burden on Managing Trustees. TMCP will soon be extending the streamlined model for sales to leases (non-residential) and purchases. Streamlining or not, transactions involving the Panel should proceed in a timely and efficient manner resulting in matters completing more quickly and overall being more cost effective.
Managing Trustees’ Experiences
However, don’t take our word for it! A sample of comments from our Panel feedback forms provides a taste of your fellow Managing Trustees’ own experience of the Panel:
“I was very grateful to be given a panel of recommended solicitors who understand how to work with the Methodist Church.”
“Very easy to deal with, completely different to when we have used a local solicitor – instilled confidence right from the initial telephone contact.”
“Excellent service. Always prompt in replying to emails and keeping Trustees up to date with information.”
“This was my first experience of selling a property on behalf of the Circuit and I felt well supported and advised.”
If you are not already using a firm on the Panel, please get in touch with the firms directly or contact TMCP Legal and we can help establish a link and/or set up introductory meetings for you. There will also be upcoming events where the Panel will be on hand to speak to you. Keep referring back to the Newshub for more details.
If you have any queries in relation to the guidance in this document please contact TMCP Legal for further assistance.