The Non-Dom Tax & FIG Forum - 4th Annual

Sophie focuses on advising UK resident and non-resident individuals on their tax planning. Her clients are frequently hedge and private equity fund managers, as well as entrepreneurs. She is particularly knowledgeable on carried interest, tax efficient investing for trusts (especially protected settlements) and family investment companies as part of larger succession planning. Sophie was listed in Spear's 2019 Top 10 Tax Advisors.

Frederick is a partner at London private client law firm Payne Hicks Beach. He advises a broad range of UK and international clients on personal tax and trust issues. His practice is focused on advising entrepreneurial, business families on long term structuring and succession planning (often through the use of trusts). A number of Frederick’s clients are UK resident non-domiciliaries, who he advises on UK tax, residence and asset structuring (including ‘pre-arrival planning’). Frederick’s offshore work has a particular focus on Scandinavia but he also advises clients from a number of other jurisdictions most notably those with a US connection. Consequently Frederick is used to working with advisors in multiple jurisdictions to coordinate consolidated advice for clients with international connections.

Georgina is a partner and is responsible for Brown Advisory’s international strategic advisory capabilities. Prior to joining Brown Advisory she was a Director at EY in the Wealth and Asset Management tax team where she worked with ultra-high net worth individuals and their families (both UK domiciled and non-UK domiciled), providing and co-ordinating tax advice on their complex investment structures, business operations and personal matters. Georgina has frequently collaborated with and worked alongside her clients’ other advisers including their lawyers and trustees.

Before that she was with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP for 5 years, having previously trained and qualified as a solicitor at Linklaters LLP in 2003, where she then practiced in their UK tax department for a further 3 years.

David Kilshaw is a Manging Director with Rothschild & Co and Head of Private Client Wealth Solutions.

A qualified lawyer and former partner with KPMG, EY and Rawlinson & Hunter,  David no longer provides tax advice but works alongside leading lawyers and accountants to help clients craft solutions to their personal and business needs. David received the STEP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018

Helen is a Partner in the Joseph Hage Aaronson contentious tax team specialising in UK and international tax disputes. She is a Solicitor and Chartered Tax Adviser, a member of the Society of Tax and Estate Practitioners and is a CEDR accredited mediator. She has recently been included in the City Wealth Leaders List Top 100 Private Client lawyers, is included in the Private Client Global Elite Directory 2023 and appears the Tatler Address Book 2023. Helen writes prolifically for numerous tax publications and is an active committee member at the Chartered Institute of Tax and the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers.

Helen advises both individuals and corporates either engaged directly or as a consultant to an extensive network of professional firms and financial institutions who repeatedly call upon her expertise.

Helen has successfully run numerous residence and domicile cases but will also turn her hand to a wide variety of contentious and advisory tax matters. Helen is an industry leading specialist at running highly technical COP9 investigations where she has a proven track record of successfully negotiating very favourable settlements.

I was appointed as CEO of Blick Rothenberg in August 2020, having joined the firm in 2012.

My background is in personal tax and I have had over 15 years’ continuous experience in practice. I specialise in the interaction of personal and corporate tax matters, advising predominantly entrepreneurs from across a variety of industry sectors on all aspects of their personal and corporate tax affairs. This includes their company’s business life cycle – from start-up and growth through to business exit.

I am regularly approached to comment on tax matters in the media including the broadsheets and personal finance publications, and have made appearances on radio and television. I can also be found speaking regularly at a host of events on tax issues.

My career highlights include my appointment as CEO of Blick Rothenberg, as well as being recognised for several leading industry awards including eprivateclient’s ‘50 Most Influential Private Client Professionals’ and Spear’s ‘Top Recommended Tax Accountants’.

I have a keen interest in the UK’s tax policy and regularly input into Government consultations including stakeholder meetings with HM Revenue & Customs and HM Treasury. I am passionate about both improving the UK’s tax system through simplification and reducing barriers and compliance requirements to promote entrepreneurship in the UK.

I am proud to have been given the support and the confidence to develop my career here at Blick Rothenberg, enhancing both the profile of the firm and myself personally. In my role as CEO, I hope that I can give our people the same opportunities and support that have been afforded to me, and my own measure of success will be to see people develop their careers beyond mine.

Sonia Velasco’s crossborder practice involves advising private clients on their investments including real estate investments, estate planning, family governance and business succession, executive compensation and pension plans. She is well versed in vehicles such as trusts, which do not have a precise counterpart in Spanish law.

She also often advises private equities, venture-capital and strategic investors, and family offices on their investments in startups and scaleups.

She worked at the Cuatrecasas New York office for three years, enabling her to work on many crossborder matters involving the United States, Canada and Latin America.

She is an active member of the American Bar Association and of the International Bar Association, where she chaired the Tax Committee from 2013 to 2015. She is also a member of the Barcelona Bar Association and of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

She lectures on taxation at ESADE Business & Law School and speaks regularly at the International Bar Association and other international forums.

Alberto Brazzalotto, partner at Maisto e Associati, heads the London office since January 2023.

His main area of expertise is Italian tax law, with a focus on private client matters, including taxation of trusts, estate planning, cross-border successions, restructuring of family business and relocation of high-net-worth individuals to and from Italy.  He has an extensive experience also in international tax law, taxation of IPs, taxation in the sport, entertainment and art sector. He also assists clients (both domestic and international) in potential tax controversies and tax dispute resolutions through settlements.

He is a TEP member of the Italian branch of STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and a member of PAIAM (Professional Advisors to the International Art Market)

Rosie advises on a broad spectrum of private client matters ranging from wills and succession planning to tax efficient structures for non-UK domiciled individuals.

Rosie’s background is in corporate tax and funds tax having trained at a City firm working for five years in their tax practice. She joined Stevens & Bolton in 2012 and became a partner in 2016.

Many of Rosie’s clients are entrepreneurs and she has particular expertise in advising business owners in relation to corporate exit planning and restructuring. She also advises family run companies, assisting families with long-term succession planning.

Rosie has extensive experience of advising on the cross-over between investment funds and private client matters and many of her clients are fund managers with a cross-border element to their affairs.

Rosie was appointed to the Tax Law Committee by The Law Society’s Policy & Regulatory Affairs Committee in 2022.

Rosie also advises on complex onshore and offshore trust structures and has specialist knowledge in relation to residential property holding structures.

I’m a Senior Manager in the Private Client division, specialising in US Tax and International Tax. I hold over ten years of experience, advising in these areas, which enables me to support SRLV’s diverse range of music, entertainment and owner managed businesses clients.

From successful professionals to family offices, trusts and non-domiciles, my clients have global work and investment interests, which require wide-ranging tax compliance and advisory support. My US tax speciality affords a particular understanding of the intricacies of cross-border tax obligations -such as residency movements, overseas working and entity structuring. I also provide clients with business consulting support, as well as advice on personal and international tax, trusts and other issues associated with non-domiciles, as many live abroad or have interests outside the UK.

With complex business interests, a major part of my role is ensuring that clients’ affairs are tax-optimised, together with a highly personalised approach to long-term planning. It is hugely satisfying to help clients to see through the ‘fog’ of any potential issues, and to implement practical solutions that achieve the most favourable outcomes for them.

Providing these carefully considered options, and a balanced, objective view, builds a relationship of trust, as clients manage an on-going and wide range of new challenges and potential opportunities.

Oliver has a practice encompassing all areas of tax law, contentious and non-contentious.

“Oliver Marre is “our go-to when we need advice,” reveals an instructing solicitor, adding: “He’s extremely approachable, knowledgeable and brilliant with clients.  Marre often advises high net worth clients on a range of tax matters.  Another interviewee enthuses: “What sets him apart, I think, is his ability to relate to clients and explain difficult concepts or strategic points to them.  I am always confident in recommending him to clients and colleagues.”  (Chambers High Net Worth)

Oliver is also listed in the other main legal directories.  Who’s Who Legal refers to his “strategic prowess”.

As well as his broad general revenue advisory work and litigation, Oliver provides tax advice in the contexts of trusts disputes, mediations, in cases before the Family Division (including complex or HNW divorce cases) and in relation to the taxation of charities and charitable donors.

Sarah focusses on advising international UK-based wealthy families, including entrepreneurs and investors, on structuring their worldwide assets efficiently. Sarah started her career as a graduate, and has worked for a variety of legal and accounting firms in both the UK and the Channel Islands, before joining Frank Hirth in 2016. She now heads the UK tax team at EY Frank Hirth.

Sarah has advised wealthy multinational families, entrepreneurs and highly sophisticated investors on structuring their worldwide assets efficiently. She is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP). Sarah is also a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA). She was named in Spear's 500 Top Private Client Advisers in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

She holds a Law degree (LLB Hons) in Law from UWE Bristol and a master’s degree (LLM) in Public Law from University of Bristol.

Katie is a Partner in the immigration team and has over 10 years' experience across a wide spectrum of UK immigration matters, with particular expertise in applications made under Tier 1 of the Points Based System and complex personal immigration matters.  

She regularly provides commentary on the workings of the UK Immigration Rules and is often involved in lobbying the Home Office, including in relation to the design of a future post-Brexit UK immigration system.

Katie works in the private client immigration team where she advises a broad range of clients.

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.

Geoff specialises in resolving troublesome issues relating to trusts and estates, whether domestic or international. Chambers describes him as a “real superstar”. Geoff is dual-qualified in England and Wales, and California. He was a litigator in San Francisco before cross-qualifying and relocating to London.

Geoff’s experience consists entirely of dealing with complex litigation relating to trusts and estates, often with an offshore element. He has experience with cases involving the UK, US, Channel Islands, Cayman Islands, BVI and Hong Kong, among other jurisdictions. Geoff is equally at ease dealing with purely domestic matters. Unusually for a litigator, Geoff acts as a trustee, which gives him a first-hand view of the issues facing trusts and trustees.

Laurence advises on all areas of tax, trust and estate planning for individuals, trustees and family offices, with a particular focus on complex cross-border tax advice. A significant number of his clients have connections with the US or Spain.

He regularly advises on pre-arrival planning for individuals moving to the UK, as well as on asset holding structures for international families with members resident in multiple jurisdictions. This often involves working with advisors in other jurisdictions to provide his clients with coordinated advice.

Laurence has particular experience in advising on matters with a US connection and he regularly advises US citizens who are resident in the UK or otherwise have connections with the UK on US/UK cross-border matters.

Laurence also speaks fluent Spanish and before becoming a partner Laurence spent six months in Barcelona on secondment to the tax group of a leading Spanish law firm. There he worked alongside Spanish advisors and gained an understanding of Spanish tax and estate planning that assists him in advising on cross-border matters involving the UK and Spain.

Alfie is a senior tax adviser in Baker McKenzie's Wealth Management Practice in London. He trained and qualified at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP before leaving as a senior manager to join Baker McKenzie in 2022.

Alfie advises international and domestic individuals, international families, trustees and family offices, and family business owners. Alfie has a wealth of experience advising on tax matters, including estate and succession planning and asset protection structuring, contentious tax matters and high-value tax authority investigations, pre-UK arrival planning for individuals and families, UK residence and domicile advice including the resident non-domiciled regime, clean capital structuring and remittance basis optimisation, and the taxation of carried interest in the UK.

Fiona specialises in complex estate and succession planning for her clients’ personal and business assets in multiple jurisdictions and international trust issues for high net worth individuals. In addition to being a private client lawyer, Fiona is dual qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser.  

Fiona has an in-depth understanding of the personal tax needs of her clients. She has a great deal of experience in working with families with complex asset-holding structures and diverse tax profiles.  Her expertise includes succession strategies for global assets, assisting families with inter-generational discussions and the composition of family constitutions, residence and domicile issues, estate planning for both UK and international entrepreneurs, UK taxation of non-UK trusts, their settlors and beneficiaries, tax efficient structuring of UK property transactions, pre-immigration tax planning, English Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney. Fiona also advises clients on managing tax disputes and communications with HMRC.”

Claire advises UK and international clients on their estate and tax planning affairs. She is recognised for her ability to find practical solutions to complex issues involving UK taxation, including for individuals moving to or back to the UK, and UK resident individuals setting up or benefitting from offshore structures and investing in the UK. Claire also has experience in making tax disclosures and settlements with HMRC.

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. 

Noted as ‘excellent, extremely approachable, knowledgeable and, importantly, likeable,’ in Legal 500 2024, Jeremy is a Partner in the Private Client team where he has extensive experience of advising both UK and international clients on all aspects of personal taxation, succession planning, and family governance. He works closely with UK entrepreneurs, business owners, executives and their families on capital taxation, corporate and trust structuring, as well as advising on the development and implementation of estate plans for both UK and non-UK resident individuals.

Jeremy is determined to provide clients with clear and concise advice, ensuring that their objectives are achieved in a tax efficient manner.

He has particular expertise in the structuring options and tax implications for purchasing UK property. He regularly advises on UK and offshore tax planning, including the tax treatment of excluded property trusts and trust administration.

Jeremy also focuses on family office work, including supporting existing family offices and working with clients to develop and establish family offices. He also specialises in providing family governance advice to both UK and international clients, notably establishing private trust company structures and working with families to prepare family charters and other governance documents.

Jeremy has co-led the firm’s Community and Charity Committee since 2022, alongside his co-lead Michael Armstrong, and the other members of the Committee to drive community and fundraising initiatives.

Sean is Head of the Tax practice at Edwin Coe.

Sean acts for high-net and ultra-high-net worth individuals and families and those that advise them (financial service providers and corporate service provider/trustees).

Principally acting for clients with assets and business interests globally, Sean is well versed on multi-jurisdictional issues and has a wealth of experience advising those who are seeking to ensure their tax affairs are administered in a framework that is both effective and compliant. A particular strength is advising non-domiciled clients as to how best to navigate the UK tax landscape and maximise their position, as well as assisting non-UK residents who are looking to acquire business or property interests in the UK and structure their arrangements effectively. Sean has also advised a number of non-UK trustees/directors as to their UK tax position and the impact of several significant legislative changes in the most recent years.

Sean has assisted a significant number of clients (both individuals and companies) who have had Serious Fraud enquiries and/or have sought to make disclosures to HMRC under one of the available disclosure facilities. In addition, Sean is presently undertaking a significant number of client assignments concerned with the significant recent changes to the overseas trust regime.

By combining his practical experience in relation to disputes work and the knowledge base developed as a result of his advisory work, Sean is able to provide an unparalleled service to his clients. With the ability to communicate complex concepts, Sean ensures his clients are well informed and are able to make the right decisions for their affairs.

Hugh specialises in tax disputes and investigations. His clients include internationally mobile high net worth clients and other private individuals, family businesses, trustees, entrepreneurs and corporates, both small and large. His practice covers the full range of UK taxes, both direct and indirect; including income tax, CGT, inheritance tax, SDLT, corporation tax and VAT.

Hugh has experience of litigating tax cases at all levels, from the specialist tax tribunals through to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. A significant element of Hugh’s practice involves remedying unsuccessful planning (often involving complex trust arrangements), including by way of claims for mistake and rectification in both the UK and offshore jurisdictions. He also acts on tax-related professional negligence disputes and other trust and commercial disputes with a tax angle.

Hugh has been recognised as a 'Rising Leader' in Legal Week’s Private Client Global Elite 2022.

During his HMRC career, Kevin has undertaken a range of technical, operational and compliance roles as well as programme management within HR and HMRC Communications. Kevin has managed relationships with some of the UK’s largest businesses, headed-up HMRC’s Incentives and Relief compliance operations and led technical and tactical teams in a range of personal tax environments. Kevin became the Deputy Director of Wealthy in September 2022.

Charlie is a partner in the private client and tax team.

He focuses on UK and international tax and trust issues for both UK domiciled and non-domiciled individuals, as well as advising on wills and succession planning. Charlie was listed in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 dealmakers list for 2018.

He advises a number of family offices and international families as to their ongoing affairs and international trust structures, including private trust company structures.

He also works closely with a number of business families advising on existing structures set up for the management and governance of the family business, its interaction with family trusts and associated estate planning measures.

Charlie advises charities and private clients on tax issues in probate and trust disputes and assists with trust issues involved in international trust litigation.

Charlie assisted Sir Gerry Robinson as the Wills Advisor on the six-part BBC series, ‘Can’t take it with you’, which ran from January to March 2011.

Peter has dedicated his career to delivering exceptional trust and administration services, building lasting partnerships with high-net-worth individuals, their families, and advisors worldwide.

With over 30 years of experience, Peter specialises in complex trust litigation, asset recovery, and transforming underperforming trusts. His expertise also spans the development of philanthropic initiatives and managing significant business assets held within trust structures. As a former barrister with an extensive background in private and commercial trusts, Peter’s career has been built on his vast knowledge of the international trust sector.

Prior to establishing IMG in 2022, Peter was head of private client services with the Maples Group in the Cayman Islands, an executive director of Forbes Hare Trust Company in the Cayman Islands, and a partner in the Private Client Group of McGuireWoods LLP in London. Before that, Peter held the position of Managing Director of ATC Trust Group's offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, as well as being a group shareholder.

A Lexology Client Choice winner in the “Private Client Trust & Advisory Services” category in the Cayman Islands, Peter is listed in the Citywealth ‘Top 75 Trustees’ 2024 and ranked in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide. He is also a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Prior to establishing IMG, Peter was head of private client services with the Maples Group in the Cayman Islands, an executive director of Forbes Hare Trust Company in the Cayman Islands and a partner in the Private Client Group of McGuireWoods LLP in London. Prior to that, Peter held the position of Managing Director of ATC Trust Group's offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, as well as being a shareholder of the group.