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  • “The SBA confirms my professional standing as a lawyer”

  • “No one should feel their life is in such a state that they can’t ask for help”

  • “You know that there are people there to support you and that you are not alone”

  • “I was not yet suicidal but I was close to breaking point”

SBA is run by solicitors, for solicitors and their families.

Formerly known as the Solicitors Benevolent Association, SBA has been working at the heart of the legal profession for over 150 years. It is dedicated to helping solicitors past and present, and their families, in times of need.

vision & values
equality & diversity
SBA trustees
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SBA’s vision is that no solicitor is unsupported in times of need or crisis

Our values

We exist to help our beneficiaries in need or crisis
We actively demonstrate this by listening to our beneficiaries and by being both approachable and responsive

We aim to earn the trust of our beneficiaries
We do this by respecting our beneficiaries, by maintaining confidentiality, by providing honest answers to their questions and by avoiding judgemental behaviour

We seek to make a positive difference in the lives of our beneficiaries
We achieve this by using seven grant-making objectives to shape our actions:

  • Sustain beneficiaries in short-term hardship
  • Support transitions to more sustainable lifestyles
  • Reduce the impact of ill-health
  • Minimise the adverse effects of entrenched financial hardship
  • Maintain independence
  • Facilitate supported living where independence is not feasible
  • Create new opportunities by providing short-term specialist input on matters of re-employment, state benefits and debt management.

We aspire to learn and improve

We are open to constructive suggestions and will pursue beneficial changes

 

 

We reflect the respected integrity of the profession we serve
We are bound by the highest standards of professionalism in everything we do

Download our latest Annual Report below:

“I am grateful to SBA for helping at a time when difficulties with my health meant I struggled to work and my income was low. SBA stepped in and helped me overcome the obstacles in my way, leaving my dignity and self-respect. Thank you, SBA, for being there in my time of need.”

equality & diversity

SBA The Solicitors’ Charity is committed to principles of Equality and Diversity and to being a fair provider of relief and assistance to enrolled and former solicitors and their dependants who are in need.

Our commitment to being a fair provider means ensuring that all applicants and beneficiaries will be treated fairly and that no one will be subject to discrimination on the ground of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity status, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Our commitment to Equality and Diversity means recognising, respecting and valuing the differences between individuals, acting inclusively, treating everyone fairly and seeking to provide and promote a culture which delivers the best outcomes for our applicants and beneficiaries and which reflects the diverse profession and society we serve.

SBA trustees

Christl Hughes

was the sixth woman in SBA’s history to be appointed Chairman. A former high street solicitor specialising in contentious business, she is now a trustee for the Gender Identity Research & Education Society, a charity offering support to transgender individuals.

Matthew Robbins

is SBA’s Chairman, Senior Partner at Jasper Vincent solicitors in Southampton and past President of Hampshire Incorporated Law Society (HILS). He was the first solicitor to arrive at the Law Society conference by canoe, from London to Birmingham along the Grand Union canal in aid of SBA!

Anthony Cumming

was an equity partner in Lupton Fawcett of Leeds, being a personal injury specialist. He was president of Leeds Law Society in 2003/4. He became a trustee of the SBA in 1989 and was chairman in 2001.

Tim Cuthbertson

is a partner in Blackhams, a small firm in Birmingham city centre where he deals with private client and commercial property work. A member of the board since 1980, he served as chair in 2009-10.

Tanya Dunbar

joined SBA in 2014. She qualified in 2008, having had a previous career as a Business Development Manager for an Internet Service Provider. Tanya practised as a solicitor at Ashfords LLP until early 2016 when she joined the Post Office as an in-house Commercial Lawyer.

Michael Gillman

became an SBA trustee in 2009 and was chairman between 2012 and 2015. He is the senior partner and specialist matrimonial solicitor at Bishop & Sewell LLP. Michael was president of the City of Westminster & Holborn Law Society in 2008.

Karen Matthews

joined the SBA in 2014 and is now Honorary Treasurer. She is a practising solicitor and a US attorney admitted to the Florida Bar. She is also an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. Since 2001 she has been in-house counsel for an international biotech company based in north-west England.

Kirsty McEwen

is a partner at leading Black Country law firm Higgs & Sons. Kirsty specialises in advising charities and not for profit organisations, including social enterprises, on all aspects of their operations.

Matthew Rhodes OBE

trained at City law firm Ashurst and spent two years post qualification at the firm as a commercial litigator. He left in 2000 to set up rollonfriday.com which has become the world's leading online legal community and was appointed an OBE in the 2011 New Year's List for services to legal pro bono.

Hazel Ryan

is now a consultant to law firms, specialising in governance and risk. For 12 years, she was first Quality Director and then Risk Director at Eversheds LLP with wide ranging responsibilities covering knowledge management and internal audit, as well as risk, quality and compliance.

Karen South

is a solicitor in a 2-partner firm practising from Chancery Lane. Karen’s specialisms are employment law and Litigation. She also sits as Vice Chair and Child Protection Governor on a school governing body.

Haroon Qayum

is an Associate at Blackhams in Birmingham where he specialises in Private Client work. Haroon was President of the Cambridgeshire & District Law Society between March 2014 and October 2015. He was born and raised in Yorkshire.

Shams Rahman

is a solicitor and partner at leading Lincoln’s Inn law firm Edwin Coe LLP, specialising in commercial and property related litigation. He is a member of the Law Society and a regular speaker at events promoting law career development and mentoring of law students and young professionals.

Zoe Holland

Managing Director of ZebraLC™, leading technical due diligence, audit & consulting business focused on the legal sector. Zoe has built a national reputation as a technical due diligence specialist, assessing law firm WIP value, together with legal business risk profiling, & is valued for technical brilliance, confidentiality & discretion.

Adam Parker

Adam Parker joined SBA in 2017 and is the first non-solicitor to become a Trustee. Adam is the Head of Midlands Investment Management and a member of the Charity team at investment firm Tilney.

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