ThoughtLeaders4 Private Client: Guernsey

Bryony is an experienced private client lawyer working with a range of clients, from individuals and families, to trustee companies and family businesses. At the core of her practice is helping clients and their families put in place the most effective strategies to manage the long term stability and integrity of their estates.

Bryony has extensive experience advising on all aspects of UK estate planning, including wills, trusts, lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and family governance issues. She regularly advises on the administration of large and complex estates and international probate, and some contentious probate and trust matters.

Joe has over 30 years’ experience in the finance industry, most of it as a professional trustee. Joe represents ARC to the broad community of lawyers and other trusted advisers, having taken a law degree himself.

Joe is proud of the diverse career backgrounds represented at ARC, ranging from investment professionals to accountants, economists, and engineers. His own experience as a professional trustee has given him unique insight into the workings of trust companies and their clients. 

Joe has demonstrated his commitment to ARC by joining not once, but twice having first worked at ARC while studying for his law degree.

Beatrice is a Partner in the Private Wealth team at Stephenson Harwood.

Beatrice's primary focus is on international tax, trusts, tax and estate planning for UK and non-UK resident and UK and non UK domiciled HNW and UHNW clients and their families.

Beatrice has a particular expertise on European issues in general and Italian issues in particular, as she has qualified in Italy and in England and Wales.  Beatrice also has significant experience in advising financial institutions and trustees on international trust and tax matters and structuring and on the ownership, structuring and acquisition of UK and non-UK real estate. Beatrice also specialises in cross-border estate planning issues with a particular focus on all issues arising from Roman Law and Common Law application to clients and their assets.

Monika Byrska is a bilingual solicitor specialising in trust, will and estate disputes. 

Monika advises in all types of private client disputes. This includes: will challenges, Inheritance Act claims, disputes relating to the administration of estates, actions against trustees and personal representatives, promissory estoppel claims, trust disputes between co-owners of a property, and application for directions in administration of trusts and estates. 

As a STEP-qualified practitioner, she is uniquely qualified to assist with both contentious and non-contentious aspects of trust and estate administration. She therefore also represents personal representatives and trustees advising on the administration of trusts and estates, which are complex or entangled in disputes. 

As Monika often meets clients when they are going through their most difficult times, she aims to put them at ease with her straightforward and compassionate approach. She has passion and years of experience in resolving what may seem to be the most impossible disputes over wealth.  

She is bilingual and able to service clients in Polish. With a background in linguistics and interpretation, Monika also has a working knowledge of a couple other European languages. 

James joined Stevens & Bolton in 2017, having trained and qualified at a Top 50 firm. He became a partner in 2019.

James acts predominately for private clients or for those who advise private clients, such as corporate trustees, private banks and other law firms.

James advises on claims by or involving estates and trusts, most commonly involving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. He acts for executors, trustees and beneficiaries, and also specialises in advising on claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

James also has a substantial practice advising on claims overlapping the trusts and family court jurisdictions, dealing with trustees and beneficiaries who have become involved in divorce proceedings and on issues arising from the enforcement and implantation of ancillary relief orders made in divorce proceedings.

Caroline is a partner in the Private Client team and specialises in resolving trust and succession disputes both onshore and offshore.

She advises on all manner of contentious issues relating to the formation and administration of trusts, contested probate, professional negligence in respect of tax and trust planning and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. She also has significant experience advising trustees and beneficiaries in relation to complex trust applications involving variations, agreed compromises or blessings of the exercise of trustee powers. Recent cases have included proceedings in England, The Bahamas, Bermuda, BVI, France and Jersey.

Caroline’s expertise also includes advising trustees and beneficiaries on issues of trust law arising in the context of divorce proceedings and proceedings in the Court of Protection in relation to the appointment of a deputy, applications for a statutory will or codicil and Deprivation of Liberty matters.

Suzanne specialises in cross border and UK tax planning, wills, trusts, contentious trusts and probates, Inheritance Act claims, estate and succession planning, international wills and trusts, non domiciliaries, mental incapacity and Court of Protection work, heritage property, art, landed estates and charitable trusts. She acts as Trustee, Executor, Deputy, Attorney, Protector and Charitable Trustee for many well-known clients and is often appointed by the Court in these roles where there are disputes and as a Litigation Friend for a minor. Suzanne is also a Notary Public practising in the City of London.

Suzanne is listed as a leading trusts and estates practitioner in the UK in Euromoney's Women in Business Law Expert Guide 2021.

Nin is a Group Partner in the Dispute Resolution team in Guernsey. She is a well established dispute resolution practitioner with a loyal client base comprising finance services businesses and those from other regulated sectors, spanning risk and regulatory, corporate disputes and contentious trust matters many of which have multi-jurisdictional/international elements.

She leads the cross-departmental risk and regulatory team to deliver a seamless offering to clients with complex and varied needs. Nin works closely with the Jersey based risk and regulatory team to ensure that clients with a presence across the Channel Islands are able to receive a blended Channel Islands service.

Nin is known for her work in regulatory compliance and enforcement, financial crime, risk and governance. Clients rely on her skills, experience, calm manner and technical expertise to provide advice and guidance on complex legal matters with high risk factors and potentially devastating outcomes. She is trusted by her clients to provide accurate, commercial and time sensitive advice.

Nin has a strong sanctions practice that extends across transactional, advisory and contentious matters and is an expert in this legally complex and important developing area of practice. Nin has an established international network where clients require cross-jurisdictional sanctions advice.

Nin leads, and regularly presents at, an industry Risk and Regulatory forum created for leading individuals from a cross section of the finance sector to share information from a commercial and legal perspective. The event was praised by one client as 'one of the most useful and progressive initiatives in the industry.' She regularly speaks at local conferences, and writes, on regulatory matters.

Neil is a partner in our Business Crime & Investigations team. He has a great deal of experience advising individual and corporate clients concerned with investigations by law enforcement and regulatory authorities, both domestic and overseas. He is a regular speaker on corruption, fraud and corporate criminal liability.

Neil advises individual and corporate clients on investigation, prosecution and enforcement action taken by the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority and HM Revenue & Customs. He has considerable experience advising key participants in high-profile and international financial crime and corruption cases, often as part of multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional teams.

His advice is frequently sought at an early stage, and he has extensive experience counselling individuals during internal investigations being carried out by their employer. He also advises individuals who are or may be the subject of INTERPOL notices or extradition proceedings, arising from investigations overseas.

He also advises professional firms about their regulatory obligations, both from a risk management perspective and in response to requests from law enforcement.

Neil is recognised by Legal 500 2022 in several categories, and is particularly noted for his SFO work, having successfully defended clients in several high-profile investigations by the agency, as well as for his expertise in business crime and investigations, criminal tax fraud and civil cases and for leading on the regulatory front for contentious financial services work.

In Chambers 2022, a client says "Neil swift is one of my go-to lawyers in the white-collar crime space. He is knowledgeable, pragmatic and very cool in his approach. He understands the law, and is clear on where we stand and good at explaining things".

In Chambers 2023, clients mentioned that "Neil Swift is instructed in high-value and complicated POCA proceedings", and that he "is an exceptional lawyer."

In Who’s Who Legal 2022, peers said they “very much rate” Neil as a go-to business crime defence lawyer.

In recognition of his client skills, Neil won the Lexology Client Choice award for Business Crime in 2022.

Neil was a contributing author to Blackstone's Guide to the Bribery Act 2010 and gave evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Bribery Act in 2018. He is a frequent speaker, writer and commentator on fraud, corporate crime, corruption and money laundering. He is regularly ranked in leading legal directories.

Waqar is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department, focusing on the resolution of complex tax matters. He acts for high net worth individuals and corporate clients across all sectors in respect of HMRC disputes and investigations across the full range of taxes. This typically includes VAT disputes, employment tax matters (including 'IR35'/off-payroll working), customs/excise duty issues, tax fraud investigations, and more recently, National Minimum Wage enquiries.

Waqar is known for his commercial approach to matters involving HMRC and has a strong track record of helping clients settle without the need for a court or tribunal hearing, particularly through the effective use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (i.e. mediation) with HMRC. He also has considerable experience in judicial reviews and group litigation orders and has led high profile matters at all levels from the Tax Tribunal through to the Supreme Court (including referrals to the Court of Justice of the European Union).

Waqar has been regularly recognised in both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as 'one to watch' and a 'rising star'. He was listed in AccountancyAge's '35 under 35' in 2019 and regularly contributes to Tax Journal, Taxation, and other similar publications. Waqar is also the annual webinar presenter of the key tax cases of the year for Lexis and an active member of the VAT Practitioners Group. Waqar is a qualified member of the Association of Tax Technicians (ATT).

Alasdair Wilson advises UK and international clients on their private wealth, which includes cross-border tax matters, structuring assets held across different jurisdictions, global succession planning and wealth protection. His clients include individuals, families and professional fiduciaries.

Alasdair regularly deals with the implementation of international trust structures for the purposes of asset protection, tax efficiency or the devolution of family wealth.

He is an associate member of the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP)

Alicia is a litigator who advises individuals, families, and trustees on the full range of domestic and international contentious trusts and probate matters. Clients value her ability to marry high-quality and pragmatic legal advice with a thoughtful and personable manner.

Alicia’s practice covers a broad range of complex trust and probate issues. She advises on many high-profile, high-value disputes that span multiple jurisdictions. Her clients include high-net worth individuals and families (based both in and out of the UK), trustees of international and domestic trusts, and beneficiaries of both complex trusts structures and high-value estates. She has advised both claimants and defendants, at all stages of the litigation process – from pre-action advice and negotiations, up to trial and subsequent appeals (including to the Supreme Court).

Dylan Samuel joined Lombard Odier in December 2016 as an Executive Vice President. Prior to joining Lombard Odier, Dylan spent 13 years at J.P.Morgan Private Bank. Dylan worked in both the Geneva and London offices for J.P.Morgan and in his last role headed a team of five relationship managers focusing on Entrepreneurs, UK financial professionals and family offices. Dylan holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering (MEng) from the University of Bath. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC). Dylan is a Chartered Fellow of the Securities and Investment Institute (CISI). Dylan is a real proponent of responsible capital and sustainable investment. Outside the office Dylan enjoys spending time with his young family and sports (rowing, cycling and triathlon).

Nick is responsible for the management of UK and international private client portfolios, on behalf of both Sarasin & Partners, as well as Sarasin Asset Management, a subsidiary of Sarasin & Partners, which solely manages portfolios for US investors.

Paul advises on matters of governance, succession planning, tax, trusts and trust litigation. He has a particular focus on matters involving complex, cross-border structures.

His clients include individuals, family offices, family-owned companies, trustees and financial institutions. He has worked with clients from Europe, North and South America, Africa, the Middle East and East Asia and has advised trustees in all the major trust law jurisdictions.

Ben is a Partner at Andersen LLP and deals solely with clients in the digital asset space. Ben is a chartered accountant, a chartered tax advisor and complete degen.

Ben's passion for the crypto space is shown through his relationships with his client base, having provided tax and financial advice to a large number of successful projects and platforms.

Ben is vocal about wanting the UK to be a place for this technology to thrive and is part of a number of UK based working groups that discuss guidance and tax policy. Ben has also published a number of articles addressing the issues surrounding taxation of cryptoassets and was awarded Spears Top 500 cryptocurrency advisor 2022.

Saima Hanif KC is an expert in sanctions law involving the banking and the FS sector. She has acted for some of the largest financial institutions and is instructed by City law firms. Her work is cross-border, and she has represented clients in the Middle East, the British Overseas Territories and Europe, in disputes relating to the Iranian, Russian and Libyan sanction regimes. She is currently instructed as a legal expert witness on UK sanctions law, in four different Russian matters. In 2022, Saima was named in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list, recognising stand-out excellence in the legal profession.

Ed joined Bank J. Safra Sarasin in March 2016 and heads the private client team in Guernsey. He has worked in the finance industry for over 18 years, both in London and Guernsey, having previously held senior positions at HSBC Private Bank and RBC. As part of the Private Client team in Guernsey, Ed is responsible for overseeing client relationship management and all business development. He is a chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and holds the Private Client Investment Advice & Management certificate (PCIAM) and an M.A. Honours degree from the University of Edinburgh in Politics and Economic and Social History.

Hermione has a multi-faceted chancery commercial practice. Her areas of practice comprise commercial litigation, trusts and estates, company, insolvency and property law. As few cases fall neatly under one category, clients find her experience across this spectrum of areas invaluable from a practical as well as strategic perspective.

Hermione’s domestic practice has been enhanced by her international experience. She has worked in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Hong Kong and Guernsey, doing cross-border litigation. In the BVI and Hong Kong, the cases she worked on typically involved shareholder disputes, claims against directors, cross-border fraud and asset-tracing claims; whereas in Guernsey the matters were trust focused.

Such experience at the “coal face” and moreover working in-house as part of a team, ensures that Hermione is a well-rounded litigator who genuinely adds value.

Hermione has an excellent eye for detail and has a strategic, meticulous and sensitive approach to the detail of a case. She is described as an articulate and effective advocate who is able to present her arguments cogently and think on her feet. As a natural problem solver, Hermione systematically identifies solutions for the benefit and for the protection of her client’s best interests in order to secure their objectives. Though able to work alone, she thoroughly enjoys working hard as part of a team to do this.

Hermione’s six years at the commercial and chancery Bar in England, combined with her time offshore, equips her to offer clients a high level of technical expertise. This experience, in conjunction with her instinctive commercial acumen, commitment and tenacity, enables Hermione to deliver legal advice that instils confidence in and loyalty from her clients.

Richard was formerly an employment law partner at London firm Speechly Bircham. He led the employment team and sat on the firm’s management committee. In 2011 he experienced serious mental illness and was hospitalised before a two year recovery process. He now splits his time between workplace consultancy Byrne Dean where he provides training and strategic support to employers around mental health, and leading the Mindful Business Charter, an employer led initiative which exists to reduce the unnecessary stress in the ways we work so as to work more healthily and more effectively. He chairs the Lord Mayor of London’s This is Me campaign which uses the power of story telling to reduce the stigma that still surrounds mental illness, he is a qualified coach and mental health first aid instructor. In 2018 he published his memoir of mental illness and recovery, This Too Will Pass – Anxiety in a professional world.

Dean Armstrong KC is a very experienced litigator who is widely recognised as one of the leading cyber and data lawyers in the country. Dean is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners for his crypto work.

Dean is currently instructed in several of the highest profile cases in the cyber/crypto world some of which have strong insolvency links. Dean is also instructed in one of the most groundbreaking actions involving the use of athletes personal data. Dean has a background in fraud matters with extensive experience in this area.

Dean is a published author on cryptocurrency, blockchain, cyber security, cyber litigation and cyber insurance. Dean was the only silk involved in drafting COMBAR response to the Law Commission consultation paper on Digital Assets and was the only UK barrister involved in drafting the Virtual Asset Service Provider Travel Rules.

Stacey is a Partner in the family team. She advises UK and international clients on matters involving all aspects of family law, in particular complex financial issues and private children cases.  Stacey is also a mediator and works with couples to help them resolve practical and legal issues arising from their separation without the need to attend court.
 

Stacey is named as an Associate to Watch in Chambers and Partners High Net Worth 2022 and a Rising Star in the Legal 500 2023.  She was shortlisted as Associate of the Year in the Family Awards 2020.  Stacey has a breadth of experience in advising clients on cross border issues, and has spoken at several conferences about the impact of Brexit on family law matters.  She was a member of the historical Brexit Working Party to the Resolution International Committee and Property, Tax and Pensions Committee, a group of lawyers formed to consider the impact Brexit will have on family legislation in England & Wales.  In 2022 she was the runner up for the International Academy of Family Lawyers’ Young Lawyer’s Award.  She works closely with Kingsley Napley’s immigration team to support clients where family and immigration issues need to be considered in tandem.

Stacey takes a holistic approach to her cases, and frequently works with other experts such as therapists, coaches and financial experts to ensure clients have the support they need.  Her goal is to achieve the best outcome for the client to ensure they can move forward with their lives in a positive manner.

As a mediator Stacey is named as a Next Generation in The Legal 500 2023.  She takes a compassionate approach to her cases, and frequently works with other experts in a collaborative manner (for example IFAs, accountants, therapists and solicitors) as part of the mediation process where this is beneficial to the clients. 

Tom Cornell is an associate (barrister) in the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group, resident in London. His practice focuses on international arbitration and complex multijurisdictional litigation. He previously clerked for the Master of the Rolls and practised from a Magic Circle firm.

Mr. Cornell represents corporate clients, sovereigns and international organisations on a range of contentious and non-contentious matters, particularly in investor-state arbitration, public international law disputes, commercial arbitrations and litigation in the English courts. He also has experience of anti-corruption, extradition and related criminal investigations, including parallel litigation in the civil courts.

As a barrister, Mr. Cornell has full rights of audience before all courts and tribunals in England & Wales. Prior to joining Debevoise, Mr. Cornell practised at one of London’s leading barristers’ chambers and was Judicial Assistant to the Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson MR at the Court of Appeal for Easter and Trinity terms 2015. He also worked as a Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Mr. Cornell graduated from Oxford University with a BA (First Class Honours) and holds an LL.M. (with Distinction) in public international law from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, where he was awarded the Blackstone Chambers Prize. In addition, Mr. Cornell previously served as a research assistant at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, where he worked on a number of national and international projects. He is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

Mr. Cornell has a particular interest in international sanctions law and since 2015 has been a guest lecturer in the subject at Lund University in Sweden. He is the author of a chapter focusing on the impact of sanctions on English-law governed contracts and English-seated arbitrations in International Arbitration in England - Perspectives in Times of Change, published by Wolters Kluwer (August, 2022) and a co-author of Sanctions Law, published by Hart Publishing (January, 2019). Other publications include “Court of Appeal Confirms Sanctions Provision Operates to Bar Recovery of Interest on Arbitral Award (Ministry of Defence & Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v International Military Services Ltd),” LexisNexis Corporate Crime News (February, 2020); “The EU Blocking Regulation: compliance programmes for US and EU companies,” WorldECR (December, 2018) and “UK High Court rules on sanctions clauses in insurance contracts and considers application of the EU Blocking Regulation,” World ECR (November, 2018).