Crisis management for charities: webinar series roundup

In December 2023 through to February 2024, Stone King held a series of webinars on the theme of crisis management. A brief summary of each session, along with a recording of each webinar, can be found below.

Session 1: Anatomy of a crisis

Stone King panel: Rosamund McCarthy Etherington, Partner & Joint Head of Charity Sector; Tony Pidgeon, Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution Team; Clive Vergnaud, Senior Associate, Charity Team.

External panel: Zaiba Malik, Founder & Director, Coppergate Communications

Stone King experts, together with highly experienced communications advisor Zaiba Malik, considered how best to work through a crisis. They covered how to ensure the highest governance standards are always upheld, regulators are dealt with appropriately, and the charity’s internal and external communications remain aligned with a coherent crisis response plan that guides all decision-making. 

Watch the recorded webinar.

Session 2: Sexual incidents in charities – a case study

Stone King panel: Reema Mathur, Partner, Charity Team; Sarah Clune, Associate Solicitor, Charity Team; Matthew Graham, Partner & Head of Criminal Law Team; Harriet Broughton, Partner, Employment Team.

In this session, we delved into a case study involving employees and volunteers, a power imbalance between the parties involved, posting on social media, and a ‘serious incident’ which was reportable to the Charity Commission. 

Our expert panel discussed proactive steps charities can take to prevent such incidents and the appropriate responses if/when they do occur. They also explored how charity law, safeguarding, employment and criminal law came into play, while emphasising the human element.

Watch the recorded webinar.

Session 3: A Financial Controller gone rogue

Stone King panel: Clive Vergnaud, Senior Associate, Charity Team; Alexandra Weatherdon, Associate Solicitor, Charity Team; Matthew Graham, Partner & Head of Criminal Law Team; Tony Pidgeon, Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution Team.

External panel: Andrea Deegan, Fraud Risk Services Director, RSM

In the final crisis management session, Stone King experts in criminal law, civil litigation, and charity law teamed up with RSM’s Fraud Risk Services Director, Andrea Deegan, to discuss what happens when a charity’s junior payroll clerk reports to a trustee their suspicions that the Financial Controller is siphoning off the charity’s funds to pay for building works on their house.

Watch the recorded webinar.