Private Client Year in Review

Jessica is a private client partner specialising in risk and disputes in relation to trusts and estates.

Jessica has accrued extensive trust litigation experience both in England and offshore. Her cases have included both seeking and defending the removal of trustees, protectors and executors; rectification and variation of trusts; setting aside and defending trusts on the basis of sham allegations; challenging trustees’ decisions and advising trustees on making decisions in contentious circumstances; challenging trustees’ fees; claims for breach of fiduciary duty; and associated professional negligence proceedings against tax and legal advisors. 

Equally, Jessica frequently advises on probate and estate disputes, including invalidity claims, capacity and construction issues, as well as claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.

Jessica has also built up particular expertise in advising trustees and beneficiaries on issues of trust law in the context of divorce proceedings – both in relation to proceedings in the Family Division and in the corresponding offshore trust jurisdictions. 

Tom Dumont KC practises from Radcliffe Chambers, in Lincoln's Inn. He was appointed silk in 2019, the culmination of years as one of the most in-demand barristers at the Chancery Bar. He has been Advocate of the Year at STEP’s Private Client Awards and one of the Lawyer’s Hot 100. He has won cases in the Supreme Court – including Roberts v Gill – the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal, as well as his more usual stamping-ground, the Chancery Division.

His practice covers the booming sector of contentious trusts and estates, and other private client litigation and advice. He has a particular strength in professional negligence where it overlaps with the private client world, such as tax-planning by solicitors and accountants. His clients range from landed families and trust companies (on and offshore), to entrepreneurs, national charities and Russian oligarchs

Ruth has a broad Chancery practice focused on litigation. The main areas of her practice are Trust and Estate disputes, Court of Protection and contentious Tax.

Ruth has appeared in (and cross-examined) in highly complex and valuable cases including the Ingenious tax-avoidance litigation, a film scheme concerning financing films such as Avatar, Life of Pi and Shaun of the Dead. The amount at stake is c. £1bn.

Ruth has represented the Attorney-General (unled) in the Court of Appeal in the high-profile Quan v Braydivorce litigation where the wife is seeking to break a Mauritian trust for the benefit of the endangered South China Tiger. 22 tigers live on the trust’s land in South Africa worth £25m.

Ruth regularly appears in the High Court and the Court of Protection where she is frequently instructed by the Official Solicitor.

Ruth has been appointed to the Attorney-General’s B Panel.

Robert is a Jersey Advocate, and English and BVI barrister, specialising in trusts, company, commercial and insolvency litigation.

Robert has extensive experience of acting for and advising clients in high-value commercial matters in particular involving breach of trust claims, directors’ breach of duty claims, trust disclosure and other administrative proceedings in relation to trusts, enforcement of foreign orders in relation to trusts, actions to remove trustees and protectors, unfair prejudice claims, freezing injunctions and insolvency procedures. He has acted for beneficiaries, shareholders and other individuals in disputes with larger institutions such as trust companies, banks and other lenders.

James has a wide ranging practice, advising on UK and international taxation, residency and domicile, offshore pensions and trusts, asset protection, succession planning and HMRC disputes. He was also a finalist for 'solicitor of the year' in the Law Society Excellence Awards 2018. He is ranked by Spears as being in the Top 10 tax and trust lawyers in the UK.

The Legal 500 describes him as a “very experienced tax lawyer with commendable professionalism and responsiveness ” and Chambers describes James as "the fount of all knowledge". He has a wide ranging practice, advising on international trusts, taxation, pensions and HMRC disputes.

James is currently named in the eprivateclient's "50 Most Influential in Private Wealth" and his team is the holder of various awards, including "International Law Firm of the Year” in the prestigious STEP Private Client Awards (2018), "Private Client Law Firm of the Year" in the Wealth Briefing Awards (2015, 2017 and 2018) and the British Legal Awards (2015). James is one of the most prominent private client lawyers in the UK and frequently appears in the press and broadcast media (Sky News, BBC TV News, BBC Radios 2 / 3 / 4 / 5, Bloomberg TV and the BBC World Service).

As well as being a solicitor, regulated by the SRA, he is a Registered Tax Technician, regulated by the Association of Tax Technicians (ATT). He is an active member of STEP and a contributing editor for Lexis/Nexis.

Chris Moorcroft advises individuals and families on wealth planning and succession matters. This includes the use of estate planning vehicles such as companies, trusts and foundations to manage the passing of wealth and family businesses to younger generations, to protect wealth from unexpected events like death and incapacity, to protect wealth from adverse third parties and to manage complex cross-border tax problems involving multiple jurisdictions.

He advises on will planning and probate involving assets spread across jurisdictions, including the application of the EU Succession Regulation. He frequently deals with wills and probates which involve more than one jurisdiction and acts as executor and administrator of estates, as well as the trustee of a charitable trust.

He represents wealthy individuals and families from around the world, with a particular focus on US-connected clients and individuals from the Middle East and Africa. In addition, he also represents professional trust companies and other fiduciaries on issues relating to the design and management of structures, risk mitigation (including fiduciary risk), data protection and tax.

A significant element of his expertise involves advising UK and international high net worth individuals who are resident, investing or spending time in UK on how to structure their assets, including advice relating to the remittance basis regime and the structuring of UK residential property.

William Moffett is a highly regarded barrister, who is recognised for his expertise in private client, real estate, charities and business disputes. He also acts in professional negligence claims in those areas. He regularly appears in litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal, often in critical, high-value cases. He is recommended by Chambers UK Bar and The Legal 500 UK Bar, where he is frequently praised for his clarity, thoughtfulness and outstanding advocacy skills. He is also noted for the quality of his advisory practice.

Simon Gibb focuses his practice on tax advice, trust and estate planning for UK and non-UK resident and domiciled individuals, including on the protection and devolution of trust assets. While he advises on all aspects of personal taxation and structuring, his practice has an emphasis on the structuring of family businesses through trusts and foundations. Simon is regularly involved in both non-contentious and contentious tax work.

Andrew is a chancery and commercial specialist, whose highly-regarded practice encompasses trusts, fraud and asset tracing, probate and estate administration, and commercial litigation and arbitration.

Chambers & Partners recommends Andrew as top-ranked (band 1) practitioner in his fields of expertise, with recent editions praising him as "one of the best of his generation": a "great strategic thinker", “incredibly tenacious and creative”, an “accomplished advocate”, and “a master of highly technical areas of law.”

Andrew is lauded both as "a clear draftsman who produces well-reasoned opinions" and as a highly effective courtroom advocate, with clients praising him as a "wonderful junior who is very good on his feet." His focus on the client's commercial outcomes is also the subject of consistent praise in the directories: he is “very responsive”; “a hit with clients”; “really user-friendly”; "very approachable, accessible and practical"... a "very commercial" barrister who "puts his legal knowledge into practice in a fantastic way." Andrew is similarly recommended in the latest editions of Chambers Global, Chambers High Net Worth, Legal 500, Citywealth, and Who’s Who Legal.

In the United Kingdom, Andrew enjoys a busy and broad-based commercial and chancery practice. He is well known for his trusts, probate and estates work, with Chambers and Partners praising him as "a sought-after junior for his broader traditional chancery expertise". Andrew is also a sought-after practitioner in relation to complex fraud, asset-tracing and commercial and company/shareholder disputes, particularly where they engage principles of equity.

Andrew also has an extensive international practice. He has deep international trusts expertise, including acting for the settlors, trustees, beneficiaries and protectors of private trusts, as well as for the institutional custodians, directors and professional advisers of trusts, funds and companies. Client feedback in Chambers and Partners is that he is an "outstanding trusts specialist", with one client saying that "there is nothing in the trusts world that he is not familiar with." Andrew also enjoys a highly-regarded practice in the field of international commercial litigation and arbitration, including international fraud and asset-tracing and connected matters engaging principles of international jurisdiction and enforcement. His briefs in this area demonstrate that he is well equipped to navigate clients through the legal and factual complexities inherent in high value international litigation and arbitration.

Richard advises on a full range of private client matters, including will drafting and lifetime and post-death tax planning, to include succession planning for those individuals with family business interests. Richard also advises on trust creation and administration as well as capacity issues, including advising attorneys on their duties and responsibilities and any necessary applications to the Court of Protection.

More recently, Richard has begun developing a niche for complex estate administration matters on behalf of executors and beneficiaries, especially those with a contentious element. Richard is a key member of the firm’s Legacy Administration team and his experience in advising charities covers a wide variety of issues, as well as teaching the inheritance tax module on the Institute of Legacy Management’s Essentials Course for charity legacy officers.

Richard was noted as a key lawyer in the 2021 and 2022 Legal 500 for his ‘invaluable’ experience in handling complex estate administration matters, and he is a Full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the world’s leading organisation for private wealth professionals. Richard was also named as one of the 2021 eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35, the definitive annual list of leading young private client practitioners in the UK and UK Crown Dependencies.

Richard is admitted to practise in England and Wales.

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.

James is ranked in Tier 1 for Private Client: Trusts and Probate (Legal 500 (2021)) and is ranked as a leading practitioner in Legal 500, Chambers UK Bar, Chambers High Net Worth, Chambers Global, and Who’s Who Legal across a number of different fields, where he is described as a “brilliant lawyer” and a “superstar”.

James has acted in some of the most significant trust cases in recent years including: Wong v Grand View Private Trust Company and ors (Civil Appeal No. 5A of 2019 (invalidating decisions based on loss of substratum) ) (to be heard by the Privy Council in March 2022); Wong v Grand View Private Trust Company and ors (Case No.44 of 2018) (5 month trial of claims to set aside trusts with assets worth around $20 billion); Sofer v SwissIndependent Trustees Ltd [2020] W.T.L.R. 1075 (CA) (claim for fraudulent breach of trust); Schwartz v VGV (UK) Ltd [2020] EWHC 3500 (Ch) (committal proceedings against trustee and protector); Hartogs v Sequent (Schweiz) AG [2020] W.T.L.R. 505 (setting aside transfers for mistake).