Kirsteen is a Partner and specialist charities solicitor with significant experience advising charities and not-for-profit organisations of all structures and sizes on a wide range of matters including regulation, governance, risk and requirements for a charitable body. Her clients range from new organisations and small local charities/groups, through to large national and international charities. Kirsteen also has experience advising faith-based and educational charities and organisations.
Kirsteen joined Trethowans in 2022 after having spent over 10 years specialising in charity law at Blake Morgan. Before specialising into charity law, she spent 6 months at Save the Children on secondment which enabled her to experience being in-house at a charity.
Kirsteen is on the LexisNexis Q&A panel of experts for charity law, and has been recognised as a ‘Rising Star’ in the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Legal 500 editions for Charities and Not-for-Profit.
Notable work highlights
Extensive experience advising charities and other not for profit organisations.
Acting for Royal Chartered bodies on formation, incorporation, governance and other related matters.
Expediting an application for charitable registration to enable a new charity to be formed and registered with the Charity Commission within a 24-hour period where urgency was necessary.
Attending trustee meetings to assist in decision making and/or provide trustee training.
Advising charities in urgent and/or sensitive situations including assisting in managing risk and reputation.
Managed a large number of academy conversions and mergers.
Working with international lawyers to manage cross-border issues.
Accreditations & Memberships
- Charity Law Association
‘Kirsteen Hook has been fantastically helpful, clear and has detailed knowledge and experience. Other firms have generalists who dabble; Kirsteen is an acknowledged specialist and extremely good at it’. - Legal 500 2023
Areas of Expertise
What others say
‘Kirsteen Hook provides helpful and timely advice and I have recommended her to others before and would do so again. Thanks!’ – Legal 500 2023
‘Kirsteen Hook is experienced and knowledgeable and has helped us pick up errors and inconsistencies from the work done by other firms.’ – Legal 500 2023
‘Kirsteen Hook has a strong track record of work with not-for-profits’ – Legal 500 2022
‘Kirsteen Hook gives excellent support. She understood our particular structure, ethos and therefore requirements, interpreting this to provide appropriate and timely advice’ – Legal 500 2020
‘Kirsteen Hook is particularly well known for her work with academy trusts where she assists with conversions, new academies, transfers, restructuring and governance matters’ – Legal 500 2020
