Nicole Reed
Senior Associate Solicitor

Nicole is a Senior Associate Solicitor in our Charity & Social Enterprise team, advising charities, social enterprises and businesses. 
She frequently advises on collaborations, mergers, asset transfers, incorporations, inter-group structuring and governance issues and is particularly interested in enabling charities to work with non-charities.
Nicole is actively involved in E3M, an initiative to reform public service delivery, and is a member of Stone King’s Health and Social Care group, working together with colleagues from our Corporate and Commercial Team.

Nicole is Chair of the Stone King Foundation. She is also a lead representative for corporate social responsibility within the firm and is a trustee outside of work. 

She is a Portuguese speaker and is currently learning Spanish.

Charity and Social Enterprise

Nicole advises charities, social enterprises, businesses and individuals on a range of issues including:

  • establishment and registration with the Charity Commission;
  • selection of legal structures and conversion;
  • structuring and restructuring of group organisations (including parent companies, trading subsidiaries, national and international arrangements);
  • formation and governance of corporate foundations;
  • governance reviews, including constitutional amendments, action plans and trustee training;
  • collaborations, mergers and asset transfers;
  • liaising with the Charity Commission on constitutional and regulatory matters, such as inquiries and serious incident reports;
  • fundraising (with charities and with professional fundraisers); 
  • public service delivery contracts.

Nicole regularly provides training for trustees and executives on trustee duties, charity governance and a range of other topics.


Health and Social Care and Public Benefit

Nicole is an active participant in E3M, an organisation bringing together social enterprise leaders, public service commissioners and social funders to foster the development of social enterprise ‘eco systems’ and their role in public service delivery.

She is particularly interested in facilitating collaborative partnerships in health and social care and building relationships between the voluntary sector, social enterprise, social funders and local authorities.

Nicole read history at Downing College, University of Cambridge and completed her postgraduate degree in Law at BPP and Kaplan Law School, London. She trained at Farrer & Co and joined Stone King on qualification.

Nicole is involved in a number of organisations related to Brazilian culture and enjoys music, dance and climbing mountains, whenever possible.

  • Advising on the change of control and future collaboration of two charities supporting those with learning disabilities.

  • Co-ordinating a complex tripartite transfer of assets and liabilities between two charities and a community interest company.

  • Establishing a number of corporate foundations and advising on structure and governance inter-relationships between group entities.

  • Supporting an entrepreneur and philanthropist in the creation of a charity and the structuring of a significant gift to the charity.

  • Co-ordinating the merger of two north London charities involving a large property portfolio and varied complexities.

  • Guiding a number of asset transfers and project hive-offs involving charities and non-charities.

  • Carrying out governance reviews, supporting external investigations and providing advice and next step recommendations for a number of charities working internationally.

  • Supporting several livery companies in relation to charity governance and compliance.

What our clients say

‘Stone King has exceptional expertise in the field of social enterprises and the wider social economy. They are highly skilled and experienced and value driven which makes them stand out from lawyers in other firms. Key people working in this area that really stand out include Julian Blake, Hannah Kubie and Nicole Reed’.