The Ministry of Justice has announced that Alison McKenna, head of the charities team at law firm Wilsons, has been appointed by the Lord Chancellor as president of the new Charity Tribunal.

The Charity Tribunal was created out of the Charities Act 2006 to provide charities with an independent route of appeal to Charity Commission decisions. McKenna’s presidency will take effect from June 2008.

McKenna, in addition to the new role, is a member of the Charity Law Association, the Charities Property Association, the ILM, and is secretary to the Land Trusts Association. She also sits part-time as president of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.