Chafes Solicitors has made a £10,400 donation to The Christie charity. The cash was unclaimed money that had been lying dormant in an account since 2007.
The donation was made possible following clearance from the Solicitor Regulatory Authority (SRA) and now, the firm's practice manager is urging others to follow suit.
In 2007, Chafes merged with Hunter Rawsthorn which had received the money from a sole practitioner who had suddenly died. For almost five years, since it became clear that the money had no rightful owner, Caroline Calverley of Chafes has been investigating whether it was possible to donate the money to charity.
Caroline said "We explored every possible way of ensuring the money was given to the rightful owner, but our leads were exhausted and the money didn't belong to anyone."
She added: "After asking the SRA for advice, we were finally given the green light to hand over the money to The Christie, providing no one came forward to claim it. The Christie has touched the lives of many of our colleagues so it went without saying that we would choose it as a charity. We're really glad that the money will make such a major impact on Christie patients."
John Bremend, legacy officer of The Christie charity, said: "This donation is one of a kind and we are truly grateful that Caroline and her team pursued the option of donating the dormant funds to The Christie charity. We rely solely on the generous donations of our supporters and funds we receive directly impact our patients by developing our world-class cancer treatment, research and education. The decision by Chafes Solicitors has shown what potential there is with these sleeping funds."
Photo: Caroline Calverley and John Bremend.
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