Taylor Root UK Trustee Network: An interview with Adam Baldwin

What does your charity do?

NET Academies Trust is a multi-academy trust, comprising 6 primary schools in Essex. It was established in 2012 and since its creation has raised the Ofsted rating of each school to ‘Good’. This has been a significant achievement for the trust, given its schools operate in areas with real social and demographic challenges. It is testament to the teachers, staff and leadership that they have managed to achieve this, especially given the recent challenges of COVID, inflation and (most recently) the RAAC concrete crisis.

What motivated you to become a Trustee of this not-for-profit organisation?

I joined as a Trustee and NED in 2020. I had been involved in supporting education for a number of years, starting back when I was an Associate at Slaughter and May supporting one of their charity partners. I was a Tutor for the Access Project, a charity providing one-to-one tuition to students in disadvantaged areas. It was a great experience and gave me a real insight to both the challenges faced in the education sector and the potential reward that lawyers (and others) could offer. When the opportunity to join NET Academies Trust arose, I jumped at the challenge. Particularly, as they were looking for a Trustee with a broad range of legal skills to complement an already stellar Board. 

How does your experience as a General Counsel contribute to your effectiveness as a Trustee?

I believe that the ‘general’ nature of a General Counsel is where my real value has been added. As with many Trustees, I did not have the specialist legal knowledge to tackle particular sector issues and/or provide the dedicated support required on a day-to-day basis. For example, at NET we use Browne Jacobson for public-sector specific legal advice. But for strategic projects and commercial decisions, a Trustee with broad legal acumen can be really effective. Therefore, a GC with exposure to end-to-end operations of several businesses and sectors can provide great insight. I regularly draw on my commercial experience, both on secondments from private practice and during my time at BNP Paribas. More recently, I have been supporting the team on topics around emerging technology that are starting to impact education. Therefore, the wide exposure I have in the bank on tech, cyber and data privacy has been put to good use.

How do you balance your duties as a Trustee with your other professional commitments?

Given the maturity of NET Academies Trust as both a charity and a business, there is considerable structure in place, which definitely helps give clarity to the role and the expectations of the Board. We meet approximately 4 times a year, with the occasional exceptional meeting, meaning that the time commitment is manageable and allows real focus for our involvement. BNP Paribas is also extremely supportive of charitable endeavours, with each employee having up to 4 days a year of volunteering allowance.    

Can you provide examples of how your involvement as a Trustee has positively impacted the organisation or its stakeholders?

We recently established a Nursery provision at one of our schools, with a view to building a standalone commercial operation. This required a great combined effort from both the Leadership and the Board in structuring this venture effectively. Given the broad experience of the Board, including accountancy, venture capital, finance, HR, education and legal, we were able to leverage this skillset and quickly produce a game plan that has been working successfully. Personally, I was able to drive negotiation strategy with the incumbent provider and secure some valuable protection and payment scheduling into the agreement. This protected the Trust and secured cash flow. 

How do you stay informed about the legal and regulatory landscape relevant to the not-for-profit sector in your capacity as a Trustee?

We are fortunate that we get access to a lot of training and resources, from the DfE, the Local Authority and our professional service providers. So, I feel comfortable that I am equipped to better understand and tackle the legal and regulatory landscape in education. In fact, this was also a major draw in becoming a Trustee; exposure to new areas of law that I am unlikely to see in my day job posed an interesting challenge. It is always great to be kept on one’s toes! 

What advice would you give to other General Counsels considering becoming a Trustee of a not-for-profit organisation?

I would thoroughly recommend GCs to explore these opportunities. It is extremely rewarding across all levels and can create a really interesting challenge to complement the day job. 

If you are interested in a Trustee role or are looking to hire a Trustee position, please get in touch with Sarah Ingwersen to find out more.

If you would like to join our Trustee network, find out more here. 

We want to reiterate that this is not a paid service and forms part of our referral programme, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.