Bad brief

Howard Lake | 19 April 1999 | News

Legacies are vital sources of income to charities, and are often the result of years of contact and work between donors and charities. It is all the more galling when this trust is abused by one of the key players in this web of trust, the solicitor.

Legacies are vital sources of income to charities, and are often the result of years of contact and work between donors and charities. It is all the more galling when this trust is abused by one of the key players in this web of trust, the solicitor. Yet Michael Palmer, a former senior partner at a West London firm of solicitors, was jailed yesterday for three years at the Old Bailey for “plundering legacies to orphaned children and charities.” As well as being involved in a conspiracy to steal funds from the estate destined for his godson, he also abused his position as executor to Geoffrey Roberts who made bequests to AIDS charities. The charities “had yet to receive a penny”, the court was told.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.