# Bad brief

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/04/19/bad-brief/
- Published: 1999-04-19T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

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.

 * **[ONElist launches periodic fundraising programme](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/04/19/onelist-launches-periodic-fundraising-programme/)**(
   19 April 1999)
 * **[Making money is academic](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/04/19/making-money-academic/)**(
   19 April 1999)
 * **[Top dogs](https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/04/21/top-dogs/)** (21 April 1999)

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