Board Essentials: Your Legal Responsibilities – getting the basics right
Provided by: Association of Chairs
Event details
- External Event
- 06 Oct 2026
- £35
This session is part of our Board Essentials Programme, providing high-quality training to support people to become and serve as effective trustees.
In this 75-minute session, we’ll give you a clear overview of your trustee responsibilities and take you through your legal duties in a clear and engaging way. There will be a chance to ask questions and we’ll signpost you to further support. This session is also suitable as a refresher for existing trustees.
By the end of this introductory webinar you will understand:
- The main duties and responsibilities of a trustee
- How to carry out your trusteeship duties effectively
- How to comply with your governing document and the law
- How to act in your charity’s best interest and ensure accountability
- How to manage your charity’s resources responsibly
This session is specifically for trustees of charities registered in England and Wales, although many of the principles of effective, inclusive trusteeship are broadly the same wherever trustees are based. Trustees of charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland are welcome to attend but should check local differences and will find excellent support from OSCR, SCVO, Inspiring Scotland, Charity Commission Northern Ireland and NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action).
About the session
- The session is free for those with a Board Membership
- The session will take place on Zoom. The joining link will be sent in the confirmation email.
About the trainer
This session will be run by Claris D’cruz, a governance lawyer and trainer with 25 years’ experience of advising charities, of all sizes, nationwide on a wide range of governance and constitutional issues. She worked ‘at the coalface’ as an in-house legal adviser for registered charity, Interchange Trust and then as a Charity Commission lawyer, before going into private practice.
Claris has over 15 years’ experience on a range of charity and not-for-profit boards. She is currently a local governor for an all-through Academy with 1300+ pupils. Previous board experience includes being a governor and charity trustee of an independent school and a director on Northumberland Cricket Board.
Claris has over 28 years’ experience of providing trustee training for trustees and senior charity executives, as well as CPD training for lawyers and other professionals on charity law and governance issues. Claris’s training is designed to impart technical know-how and share practical experience so that prospective and existing trustees can carry out their role more effectively.
What to expect
The session will be held over the online platform, Zoom, enabling you to see the trainer and others joining the session face to face. There will also be an opportunity for discussion with fellow trustees using breakout rooms, therefore we encourage you to join with your video on if you can.
