Contentious Trusts Next Gen Summit

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. 

'VR and AR marketing expert' and 'metaverse expert' - The Drum

Tom Ffiske writes about immersive technologies at the Immersive Wire, a newsletter and website dedicated to all things VR, AR, and the metaverse. His goal is to bring a curated digest of the analysis that matters, helping professionals interested in immersive to reach new heights.

Tom has written about the industry since 2016, covering the latest trends and investments while keeping a pulse on the latest innovations. He has spoken in several events, published a bestselling book on the sector, and help connect professionals to help each other soar.

Alongside the Immersive Wire, Tom works as a full-time Account Director within the Technology team at 3 Monkeys Zeno, a leading global communications agency

Richard’s career began as a trust administrator. After obtaining his Certificate in Offshore Administration, Richard read Marketing, Business and later Law at university before venturing into legal practice in 2004.

Richard had a varied commercial, trust, corporate and litigation practice at the Jersey Bar before returning to industry in 2012. Richard has worked as a Fiduciary Specialist and Deputy Head of Fiduciary before becoming the Global Head of Legal and Structuring for ZEDRA in 2016. Since 2019, Richard has focussed on developing the commercial interests of ZEDRA and its clients as the Global Head of Structuring.

Richard enjoys identifying and implementing optimal solutions for ZEDRA’s clients and works closely with a number of intermediaries and clients in this space.

Charlotte is a solicitor in the Dispute Resolution department, with particular focus on commercial litigation, contentious trusts & probate disputes and regulatory matters.

Charlotte has experience in a broad range of contentious matters, with particular expertise in multi-jurisdictional disputes.

She is ranked by the Spear’s Tax & Trust Advisers Index 2023 as Top Recommended. She is ranked as a Rising Star in The Legal 500 UK 2024.

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.

Paul qualified as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales in 1995.  Since then he has worked in London and Guernsey specialising in contentious trust and pensions work. Prior to joining Trust Corporation International which joined the Ocorian Group in December 2021, Paul was a group partner with two leading Guernsey law firms and in house legal counsel at a Guernsey utility.

On the trust side, Paul specialises in managing complex disputes, having previously advised on a number of the most significant trust cases in Guernsey in recent years. Paul also works on contentious pension matters, having acted, before joining Trust Corporation, in a number of major pension disputes in Guernsey. Paul has over twenty years’ experience in structuring and establishing complex trusts and pension schemes, and working with their trustees and advisors. 

As well as his trust and pensions work, Paul is also a prolific writer and has published numerous articles on trust and pensions law in practitioners’ and academic journals, and has contributed chapters to a number of books.

Alice is a senior associate in our trust, estate and inheritance disputes team.

She acts for charities, private individuals and institutions in relation to all aspects of contentious trust and succession disputes, with a particular focus on Court of Protection matters.

She advises on a range of issues that come within the Court of Protection's jurisdiction, including statutory will applications, lifetime gifts and matters concerning the operation of attorneyships and deputyships.

She is an active member of the elder law team.

She also advises on all aspects of the validity of wills, including claims of undue influence to disputed capacity, and actions brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and issues of construction and rectification.

Alice is recommended by Legal 500 in the area of Private Client and Court of Protection.

Antonia is a Partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Department of N. Pirilides & Associates LLC.

She undertakes a wide range of high – value civil and commercial matters with an international dimension, with an emphasis on corporate and commercial litigation and arbitration proceedings. She has extensive expertise in high-calibre shareholder disputes, fraud, asset tracing, registration and enforcement of foreign judgments in Cyprus as well as winding-up petitions. She has gained particular know-how in interim relief applications, such as mandatory and prohibitory orders and has successfully obtained and responded to high-value worldwide freezing injunctions.

She regularly appears in Cyprus courts for interlocutory hearings, petitions and trials, with experience in both trial and appellate advocacy.

Antonia is a licensed Insolvency Practitioner and she is also a member of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, as well as of the Companies, Tax Planning and Capital Markets Committee of the Cyprus Bar Association.

Robert is an English barrister who advises and represents clients worldwide in relation to private wealth and commercial matters and disputes. Based in Geneva, he works closely with colleagues across the firm’s teams and locations, often on cases involving contentious trusts and estates issues with cross-border and foreign law elements. Robert also advises individuals and trustees in relation to trust planning and administration.

He appears as an advocate before the English courts and arbitral tribunals and provides expert advice on English law issues to the Swiss courts and those of other jurisdictions.

Prior to joining Charles Russell Speechlys, Robert was a self-employed barrister at a leading London chambers, specialising in trust, estate and business disputes.

Robert is admitted to practise as a barrister in England and Wales and is a registered foreign lawyer in the canton of Geneva. He is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, the Commercial Bar Association, the  Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and the Ordre des avocats de Genève.

Jacob specialises in domestic and international litigation, with a particular focus on trust disputes, international succession and estate disputes and fraud. 

He advises on a broad range of litigation both in England and across the world, including the BVI, Guernsey, Cayman, Cyprus and Hong Kong. He focuses particularly on:

• trust disputes, including removing or defending trustees, tracing assets, and disputes between beneficiaries;
• estate and probate disputes, including disputes over the validity of wills and claims against the solicitor who drafted the will;
• fraud claims, including tracing and recovering assets; and
• insolvency claims, including claims against former directors and recovering assets for creditors.

Jacob edits the Contentious Matters section of the Butterworths Wills, Probate and Administration Service.

Jacob is ranked as a leading individual in the 2021 UK Legal 500 guide.  He is a qualified solicitor advocate and sits as a Magistrate in London.

Abby is a Partner in the Family and Divorce team who specialises in matters involving all aspects of private family law and in particular complex financial issues and private children cases.

Abby is recognised in Chambers UK, Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Legal 500 UK and Spear’s Family Law Index. She was shortlisted as Woman of the Year - Rising Star in the Powerwomen Awards.

Abby is a member of the Founding Committee for Thought Leaders4 HNW Divorce Next Generation committee and has spoken at and chaired numerous ThoughtLeaders4 events. 

After reading English Literature at The University of Manchester, Abby went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course in Bloomsbury. Abby was a paralegal at a magic circle firm in their Mergers and Acquisitions team before commencing her training contract with a Lincoln’s Inn firm in 2008 and qualifying into their Family Team in 2010. Abby joined Kingsley Napley in 2012 and was made partner in 2020. 

"Had a fantastic grasp of both the details of the case and at the same time maintained a good overview, which enabled his advice to be particularly valuable. When conducting the trial, his grasp of the detail was a very important factor in our success"

Legal 500 UK, 2023

James is an experienced disputes lawyer and courtroom advocate. He advises, and represents in court, many of the leading trust companies and financial institutions in Jersey. A seasoned litigator in commercial and chancery matters, James has particular specialisms in contentious cross-border estates work and in cross-border insolvency/restructuring and is part of Ogier's multi-disciplinary Restructuring and Corporate Recovery team. James is one of the UK's and Channel Islands' Top 35 Under 35 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).

Charlotte is a director at FLiP. She is an experienced family solicitor, accredited mediator and collaborative practitioner.

She deals with complex financial issues arising from divorce and separation and supports parents in relation to arrangements for their children. Her work has a strong international dimension. She speaks French and has particular expertise in advising on matters with a French element. She is recommended for her family law expertise in both the Legal 500 directory and the Spear’s 500 Index.

Tom is an associate in the fraud and insolvency team at HFW, specialising in commercial and insolvency litigation.

He has a particular focus in matters involving allegations of fraud and misconduct. Tom has practised exclusively in disputes and has experience in the English, Queensland and federal Australian jurisdictions.

Emilly is a dispute resolution associate specialising in contentious trusts and probate litigation. She also has experience in complex international trust and probate administration.

Bryan specialises in family law and in particular acting for international high net worth individuals in financial and children matters, including both financial claims and Children Act proceedings.

Prior to joining Hughes Fowler Carruthers Bryan trained at a city law firm where he gained experience in commercial property, trusts, contentious probate and family law.

Upon qualification in 2010, Bryan joined Hughes Fowler Carruthers and since then has amassed a wealth of experience, which includes High Court and Court of Appeal reported cases. Bryan was appointed to the partnership in April 2018.

I am a Client Services Director in the Jersey office.  Having qualified as a non-practising Barrister and Solicitor of England and Wales I spent five years in private practice in both England and Jersey.

Thereafter I moved into the offshore finance industry in 2009, completing the STEP diploma in International Offshore Administration.  My legal background enables me to specialise in the administration of contentious, complex and / or distressed offshore structures, in particular those involved in litigation or under criminal or tax investigation. 

Claire advises clients in relation to a broad range of family law issues arising on the breakdown of marriage or cohabitation, with an emphasis on the financial claims that arise on divorce. She has particular experience in complex high-net-worth cases often involving a trust element.

Claire has significant experience in cases concerning children issues such as child arrangement orders. She is an experienced practitioner in child relocation and is regularly instructed in cases of this nature.

On the non-contentious side, Claire regularly advises clients in relation to pre-nuptial agreements and post-nuptial agreements and cohabitation agreements.

Claire is listed in the Legal 500 and the CityWealth top 100 lawyers.

Claire is an active member of Resolution and the International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA). She recently hosted an event focusing on innovative practices within the family arena. Claire is regularly quoted in the Law Gazette and other publications.

Claire understands her clients’ needs when dealing with emotionally-trying circumstances. She is empathetic, with strong technical ability and a successful track record for providing clear judgement and guidance.

Rob is a senior associate within the Private Client group specialising in contentious trusts work. Rob advises on all aspects of contentious trusts work with a particular focus on advising and representing trustees and high net worth individuals on a range of trust issues in litigation both in England & Wales and in offshore jurisdictions. Rob also has civil fraud, asset tracing and recovery expertise and he assists clients with a variety of alternative dispute resolution strategies.

Jemma specialises in bringing and defending estate and trust related claims, acting for beneficiaries, trustees and personal representatives. Jemma was recognised as one of eprivateclient's Top 35 Under 35 private client practitioners in 2019 and a Rising Star in Contentious Trusts and Probate in The Legal 500 rankings.

Jemma advises on a broad range of trust related actions, including trustee-beneficiary disputes, applications for the removal of trustees and complex restructurings, for UK-based and offshore trusts. Jemma also assists with the resolution of estate related disputes, including claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

James' work encompasses dispute resolution, strategic advice and restructuring in relation to legal and commercial challenges faced by high net worth individuals, trusts and corporate structures.

Identified in 2020 by Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” and one of the eprivateclient Top 35 under 35, James is an associate in the Firm’s top tier private wealth disputes team. He previously trained and qualified at Macfarlanes where he worked in their private client advisory team and joined the Firm in 2018 in order to focus on private wealth disputes.

A significant proportion of James’ work relates to international matters with little (or no) connection with the UK.

Kate is Counsel at Signature Litigation and has over ten years’ experience acting in complex, high value, cross border disputes, including civil fraud and asset tracing claims, general commercial litigation, digital asset and banking litigation.  Kate has a special interest in digital assets and tech disputes, and regularly publishes articles on and speaks about topics relating to cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Kate has advised on all stages of litigation, from pre-action through to fully contested trials and enforcement matters.  She also has experience of a wide range of interim applications, including applications for summary judgment, specific and third-party disclosure, security for costs, worldwide freezing injunctions, orders for disclosure and delivery up, passport orders, applications for committal for contempt of court and applications for cross-examination on evidence.

Kate is ranked in the Chambers UK 2022 guide for Civil Fraud and is described as having “notable experience in civil fraud work” and commended for having “a real commercial handle on things and is completely unflappable”. In 2018, Kate co-founded ACROSS Fraud, a network for fraud lawyers in London and worldwide and in 2014 she was identified as a ‘Rising Star’ for Commercial Litigation by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers.

Natasha is an Associate in the firm's Private Wealth Disputes team in Mishcon Private.

Natasha deals with a broad range of private client litigation. She acts for trustees (both individual and corporate), personal representatives, beneficiaries, and other individuals and entities involved in private client disputes. Her work includes a wide range of trust and estate disputes, including complex cross-border trust matters, claims relating to intestacy and the validity of Wills, Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims, issues arising in estate administration, lifetime gifts, and claims for proprietary estoppel. Her work often involves an international element.

Natasha also has experience in international family law matters relating to the breakdown of relationships. This includes divorce and financial remedy proceedings.

Additionally, Natasha has experience advising on contractual disputes, including shareholder disputes, commercial contracts, and private contracts.

Natasha is experienced in advising clients on many forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations and Financial Dispute Resolution hearings.

Natasha is a committee member of the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA"), an affiliate member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners ("STEP"), a member of Resolution (a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way), and she is an ADR-ODR International accredited Civil-Commercial Mediator. 

Kieran is an associate solicitor in our estates, trusts and will disputes team having qualified into the team in September 2021.  

Kieran acts for a wide variety of clients across a broad array of matters. He specialises in trust litigation, will and probate disputes and claims under the Inheritance Act 1975.  Kieran also has a wealth of experience in acting for insurer based clients in respect of trust litigation and on contentious Court of Protection matters.

Laura joined Kingsley Napley in 2012 and became a Legal Director in the Dispute Resolution Department in 2023. Laura has particular expertise in Wills, Trusts and Inheritance Disputes but also has a broad range of litigation experience.

Laura’s experience in the area of disputes in relation to trusts and estates includes challenging wills on the basis of lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, fraud, forgery and undue influence. She regularly acts for clients in the Court of Protection. The trusts and estates are often multi-cultural and multi-jurisdiction. Laura also represents both claimants and defendants of Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims. In respect of trust experience, Laura is regularly instructed in respect of claims relating to the removal of executors and trustees, claims for breaches of trusts, misappropriation of funds by trustees and professional negligence claims relating to wills and trusts.

Laura is a member of STEP and on the steering committee for the CTAP special interest group. She is also a member of the Contentious Trusts Association (ConTrA). Laura’s expertise has been recognised in the Legal 500.

Elizabeth Fox has experience as a commercial litigator with a focus on civil fraud and contentious insolvency often as part of complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. She handles matters involving allegations of fraud or misconduct including diversion of business opportunities, secret commissions, bribery, conspiracy, data theft, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, and/or breach of contract.

Elizabeth represents a wide range of clients including high net-worth individuals and many of her cases are international in scope. Her experience includes injunctive relief on both the claimant and defendant side such as search orders; freezing and asset preservation orders; delivery-up orders; computer imaging orders; third Party disclosure orders; and other asset recovery techniques. She has been identified by Chambers UK Guide as Up and Coming in the Fraud: Civil category. Chambers UK Guide 2023 also refers to Elizabeth as “a master of detail” and “simply fantastic. She understands the most complex situations very quickly, and incorporates the legal and procedural principles of other jurisdictions into her analysis with disconcerting ease”, whilst the Legal 500 UK 2023 refers to Elizabeth as “a strong and effective presence on any team.”

George is an Senior Associate within the Private Client group specialising in contentious trusts. He advises on contentious trust and estate matters with a focus on advising and representing trustees and high net worth individuals on a range of trust issues in litigation. George also advises on disputes involving challenges to wills, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, proprietary estoppel and other equitable claims including trust Arbitrations. 

Peter is a managing associate in our contentious trusts group with extensive experience in complex, high value trust disputes in the banking and financial services and private wealth sectors.