Law firm’s £500,000 boost for cancer charity

A Dorset law firm has been honoured for helping a cancer charity raise more than £500,000 for vital research. The efforts of award-winning Blanchards Bailey LLP was recognised by Cancer Research UK. The Blandford-based firm facilitated more than half-a-million pounds of gifts from people choosing to remember the charity in their will. Expanding Blanchards Bailey has been working with Cancer Research UK for the past 20 years. As well as giving guidance and support to those wishing to write or update a will the firm also offers advice about leaving a legacy gift to the charity. Senior Associate Emma Needham was presented with a silver award certificate, which is now on display at the firm’s Stour Park main headquarters. Emma, a specialist in wills and estate planning, said: “It is so rewarding to be able to support such a worthwhile charity and help raise funds for an incredibly important cause. “However, I must specifically praise our many clients whose generosity towards the charity has seen such a huge amount of cash generated. “I would also like to make a plea that everyone should update their wills on a regular basis to take changes in circumstances and legislation into account.” Gifts in wills now fund more than one third of Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research. The charity aims to increase adult survival of cancer to three in four people by 2034. Clare Moore, Director of Legacies at Cancer Research UK said: “We’re so grateful to Blanchards Bailey for supporting Cancer Research UK in our will writing partnership. “The generosity of people using the service every year makes a huge impact to our research. “It’s quite astonishing to think that by simply combining enthusiasm with the highest professional standards Blanchards Bailey has helped secure more than £500,000 in legacy gifts. “These gifts will go a long way to helping our scientists, doctors and nurses to beat cancer sooner.” Eighty-strong Blanchards Bailey is a Legal 500 firm – making it one of the top firms in the South West – and is based in Blandford with offices in Poundbury, Shaftesbury and Weymouth. The firm received unprecedented recognition in UK's leading law sector directory, the Legal 500. The annual publication, The Legal 500 2018/19, recommends the firm in a record seven specialist categories with 11 individual lawyers mentioned including all five Partners. Blanchards Bailey also won a hat-trick of titles at the 2019 Dorset Legal Awards: Law Firm of the Year (up to 99 employees), Company Commercial Team of the Year and Private Client Team of the Year. Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Its pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives. The charity receives no funding from the UK government for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on vital donations from the public. It has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years.