Alison is a lawyer who has specialised throughout her career in advising charities and other non-profit bodies, and those who contract with or donate to them.  Her clients have included service providers, grant-makers, educational bodies, aid agencies and research institutes, as well as individual and corporate philanthropists.  She has advised on all aspects of charities’ activities but specialises in strategic and governance advice.  She is the past Chair of the Charity Law Association; has been a charity trustee of grant-making foundations and of schools within both the maintained and independent sectors; and is currently a trustee of an experimental theatre company and a school bursary fund.  She was also recently appointed by DCMS as the Protector of the Millennium Awards Trust.