CHANCERY - Key Persons
LLG PTE Ltd v Inigo Philbrick & Anor [2022] - acting for the co-owner of a work of art, acquired pursuant to a complex joint acquisition arrangement, against the other co-owner who later misappropriated the work A National Treasure [2020] - advising the owner of a ‘National Treasure' work of art on an application for an export licence
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Trust and Estate Disputes
Alexander's contentious trust work includes all actions for breach of trust and the removal of trustees, establishing resulting and common intention constructive trusts, construction and rectification of trust documents, and trustees' applications for directions.
In the estate context, Alexander is instructed in all probate claims, including those alleging lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval, undue influence and fraud. Alexander also advises and acts in estate administration claims of all kinds, including those for the removal of personal representatives or claims for an account, as well as claims for the construction and rectification of wills.
Unusually complex or tactically important non-contentious probate claims in the Principal or District Registries are a specialism of Alexander's.
Alexander is always willing to advise on the inheritance tax and capital gains tax aspects of all his work and has experience of advising on and leading tax-driven applications under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.
Andrew Simmonds KC specialises in pensions and professional negligence work but also undertakes trust, probate and financial services litigation.
Andrew's pensions experience covers advice and litigation relating to all manner of problems and disputes arising between trustees, employers and members, complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman, the powers and duties of the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund and claims against pensions professionals.
In the professional negligence field, Andrew has particular experience of claims against solicitors, barristers, actuaries and accountants but has also acted in claims against insurance brokers, fund managers, stockbrokers and others.
Andrew has represented the Conservative Party in a major probate action, defended Equitable Life in a class action launched by 400 policyholders and acted in the first inheritance claim based on proprietary estoppel to reach the House of Lords. Andrew was also instructed in the first pensions case to be heard by the Supreme Court.
Job Titles:
- Education and Qualifications
- Junior Counsel
Job Titles:
- Assistant Editor of Heywood & Massey
- Junior Counsel / Mediators
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
- Professional Reputation
"She is academically very good and also steely and pragmatic in her approach." "Excellent on paper: her drafting is clear and concise."
Barbara is the only junior barrister currently listed as a "star individual" in Chambers UK Bar guide for Court of Protection Property and Affairs work. She has acted in some of the leading cases on statutory wills and gifts following the coming into force of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in 2007. A current focus of her practice is advising and acting for professional deputies in complex questions of property administration and prospective litigation against third parties.
Barbara is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS), and an honorary member of Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE).
Barbara is the assistant editor of Heywood & Massey: Court of Protection Practice, consultant editor of the Elder Law Journal and a regular speaker and writer on subjects within her fields of practice. She is also a committee member of and regular contributor to the Transparency Project, a charity which works towards improving the quality, range and accessibility of information to the public about family law and courts in England and Wales. Barbara's writing on legal affairs, in particular on the reporting of cases in the Court of Protection, has been quoted by Full Fact, and in articles in the Guardian and in professional journals
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel / Mediators
- Professional Reputation
Cheryll Hammersmith-Stewart (et al). v Cromwell Trust Company (Bahamas) Ltd - Advising Caymanian STAR Trustees of a trust settled by the late Butch Stewart (owner of Sandals and Jamaica Airlines) where trust 100% shareholder in Bahamian PTC. Advising on whether to participate in the Bahamian proceedings (and on what grounds as a mere shareholder). Instructed by Collas Crill (Cayman)
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- King 's Counsel
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
Christopher is a trustee of a pension scheme and editor of Tolly's Pension Law as well as Chair of Brixton Fencing Club.
Christopher is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, STEP and APL.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
As well as being consistently ranked in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, Edward is recommended as a private client junior in Who's Who Legal's UK Bar directory, and identified as ‘One to Watch' by Legal Week's Private Client Global Elite directory. Quotes from recent editions of the directories include:
"a very impressive advocate on his feet. He is very collaborative and clients invariably feel that they are in a safe pair of hands."
Elis is a Chancery specialist who practices exclusively in the field of contentious estates and probate litigation, together with its associated fields. His practice is focused on contentious and non-contentious trusts matters; probate, inheritance and estate litigation and associated matters like agricultural holdings and partnership disputes. He also conducts property and affairs cases in the Court of Protection.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
Eliza was recently Junior Counsel for the Appellant in the highly publicised 1975 Act case of Cowan v Foreman in the Court of Appeal. She is a member of the LexisNexis Expert Panel for Family Law and Private Client.
Eliza is a member of the Chancery Bar Association and the Court of Protection Bar Association. She sits on the Chancery Bar Association Wellbeing Committee.
Job Titles:
- Education and Qualifications
- Junior Counsel
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
- Member of the Court of Protection Bar Association
Hugh provides advice in the contentious and non-contentious aspects of the administration of trusts and estates, and regularly appears in proceedings. He advises and appears in connection with contentious probate claims including challenges on the basis of lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval, or challenges to the formal validity of wills. Hugh often advises in respect of the proper construction of wills and trusts and rectification as well as advising on Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax issues in estates and trusts.
Hugh is a member of the Chancery Bar Association (‘ChBA') and the Contentious Trusts Association (‘ConTrA')
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Member of PAIAM
Jordan is a recognised leading junior in the art and cultural property field and has developed a particular specialism in authenticity, provenance and title disputes. He acted for the successful claimant in Avrora Fine Arts Limited v Christie, Manson and Woods Ltd [2012] PNLR 35, a case involving allegations of breach of warranty and professional negligence in respect of a painting sold at auction in London and wrongly attributed to the Russian artist Boris Kustodiev.
Jordan is a member of PAIAM (Professional Advisors to the International Art Market and the Institute of Art & Law).
Jordan is a leading junior in the Court of Protection. His practice is principally focused on property and affairs matters (often of considerable value or complexity). He is frequently instructed by the Official Solicitor.
Job Titles:
- Operations and HR Manager
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
Leon Sartin has a practice covering all areas of Chancery work, with an emphasis on trusts, pensions, probate, tax and estate planning, inheritance and family provision, real property and landlord and tenant and related professional negligence. He regularly advises on capital taxation and is experienced in drafting trust documentation. His work includes contentious disputes of all kinds involving trusts, estates, patients of the Court of Protection, real property and landlord and tenant.
Leon has been recommended as a Leading Junior for Tax: Private Client in Chambers UK (since 2011) and has maintained his place as a Leading Junior for Chancery: Traditional for the last eight years. He is also named as a Leading Junior by the Legal 500 and Legal Experts for his Private Client: Personal Tax, Trust and Probate work.
"Very good on extremely complex and very technical tax and trust issues. He works through a vast volume of complex documents and comes up with a valuable opinion for clients."
Job Titles:
- HSBC International Trustee Limited and Others [2021] HKCFI 1539 - Instructed on Behalf of the Plaintiff Beneficiary in the Long - Running and High Profile Lo Family Trust Dispute
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Junior Counsel
- Members of Chambers
- Professional Reputation
Luke also gives ad hoc webinars and conferences on probate and estates and commercial topics and speaks regularly to solicitors on all areas of his practice.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
"Mark is extremely personable and very good at distilling the issues for clients."
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
Mark Blackett-Ord is an advisor, arbitrator and advocate experienced in cases concerned with property, trusts, partnership, probate, ecclesiastical law and general Chancery litigation. In ecclesiastical cases he sits as Chancellor of the Diocese of Leicester.
He is a leading authority on the law of partnership including venture capital funds and other limited partnerships and LLPs.
He has appeared in a number of notable difficult and abstruse cases, for instance matters relating to clubs, corpses and unorthodox personal relationships.
Mark is recommended by Chambers UK, Legal Experts and The Legal 500. Chambers UK in 2012 noted his "encyclopaedic knowledge and crisp no-nonsense approach" and calls him a "highly urbane and tremendously effective barrister… an exceptional cross-examiner whom clients and peers always take very seriously." In 2017 it stated that he was known for producing "the skilful practical application of his knowledge".
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
Mathew is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, the Court of Protection Bar Association and the Ecclesiastical Law Society.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel / Mediators
- Professional Reputation
"He really knows his stuff and will fight his client's corner very hard."
Michael is an accredited mediator and was trained by ADR Chambers. He has a growing mediation practice and has conducted mediations in the following areas
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel / Mediators
- Key Contributor to Jordans' Inheritance Act Claims
Miranda is an energetic mediator, who works hard to gain the parties' confidence and ensure a consensual outcome.
Miranda is a key contributor to Jordans' Inheritance Act Claims; Law Practice and Procedure. She regularly lectures for Law Society, STEP and ACTAPS, and writes for Elder Law Journal & Private Client Business.
She was an Advisory Group Member of the Law Commission for the Intestacy and Family Provision on Death Report.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
Oliver is recognised this year as a leading junior in Chambers & Partners, Chambers HWN, Chambers Global, the Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal.
Legal 500 (2024, corporate tax): "Oliver has a unique ability to make the most complex tax analyses seem simple. He is personable and technically excellent; he inspires confidence and is a thoroughly nice person with whom to work."
Legal 500 (2024, private client tax): "He is extremely intelligent and forensically thorough in his analysis of both the facts and the legal principles involved. A real star."
Oliver was nominated in the Junior Tax Barrister of the Year category in the Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023,and has been nominated as the Barrister of the Year in the CityWealth Future Leaders Awards 2023.
Chambers HNW (2023): "Oliver has always demonstrated an understanding of our clients' positions which is crucial to gaining their trust and in implementing his recommended solutions." "Oliver Marre has excellent and great judgement and pursues cases very well and tactically. He has a really good knowledge on tax law."
Who's Who Legal (Private Client, 2023): "He combines a keen technical knowledge with an ability to explain complex issues in clear language with a commercial approach."
Chambers Global (2023): "Oliver Marre assists clients with complex contentious and non-contentious tax matters. His work includes advising on inheritance tax planning and trusts, and he also tackles tax issues arising from high-value divorce proceedings."
Chambers & Partners UK Bar (2023): "Oliver Marre advises corporate clients on a broad array of tax matters, and has notable experience and expertise advising investment funds and charities. He also has an excellent track record advising high net worth individuals in tax matters. ‘Produces efficient, comprehensible advice on highly technical tax matters.'"
Legal 500 (2023, private client tax): "Oliver is an exceptional communicator. His written advocacy skill is very good."
Oliver has particular interest in private client taxation, both at the planning stage and in cases where a dispute or difference of opinion has arisen with HMRC. He is recognised as a leading practitioner in this area by the Chambers & Partners, Chambers HNW and the Legal 500.
Oliver's tax advisory work covers all areas of direct and most areas of indirect taxation. He is recognised as a leading practitioner for both private client and corporate tax work by the legal directories, with references to his "strong advisory practice" (Legal 500), his "measured approach" (Chambers & Partners) and his "balanced, credible" opinions (Chambers HNW).
Thirdly, Oliver has been involved in the tax aspects of family law proceedings, including the country's highest value reported divorce case, and the tax aspects of major charity disputes. Similarly, Oliver has played the role of tax counsel in inter partes trust and charity negotiations and litigation.
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel
- Professional Reputation
- Specialist Property
Patrick is a specialist property litigator and advisor, whose wide mix of clients include investors, London estates, banks and financial institutions, developers of all sizes and professional indemnity insurers, as well as individuals.
In addition to having extensive experience of litigation in the Courts and before specialist property tribunals such as UT (Lands Chamber), FTT (Property Chamber), Patrick regularly advises not only on non-contentious matters but also in relation to problems which have not yet become litigious, often receiving direct referrals from major industry players, their agents and advisors.
Patrick has been ranked in Chambers and Partners UK for Real Estate Litigation since 2005, and in the Legal 500 for Property Litigation since 2010
"He is a really excellent barrister and knows the law inside out. He really fills you with confidence and knows what he is talking about. He is good on his feet as well." "Very practical in his approach and good to deal with."
Job Titles:
- King 's Counsel / Mediators
- Member of STEP
Penelope is a member of STEP, ACTAPS and the Chancery Bar Association.
Job Titles:
- Associate Members
- Education and Qualifications
- Junior Counsel
- King 's Counsel
Job Titles:
- Contributing Editor to Halsbury 's Laws of England
- Junior Counsel
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
Raj is a keen musician (trumpet), having undertaken a postgraduate performance diploma (graduating with distinction) at the Royal Academy of Music after university. Raj is a trustee of NMC Recordings, a music charity devoted to recording the works of British contemporary classical music.
Raj is a member of the Chancery Bar Association and the Insolvency Lawyers' Association.
A substantial part of Edward's practice consists of challenges to the validity of wills, claims brought pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, proprietary estoppel claims and claims concerning beneficial interests in land. He also has extensive experience in advising and acting in applications for the proper construction and the rectification of wills and applications for the removal and substitution of trustees and personal representatives.
Re Tucker [2021] EWHC 3485 (Ch). Edward represented the deceased's minor daughter in her 1975 Act claim against her late father's estate. A compromise of the daughter's claim was approved by the Court.
Job Titles:
- Chambers and Partner High Net Worth 2022
- Junior Counsel
Rose is an up and coming junior with a busy chancery practice. She is ranked as "Up and Coming" in Chambers and Partners High Net Worth 2022 and as a "Rising Star" in Legal 500 2023. Rose has experience in traditional trusts litigation (both onshore and offshore), probate claims, Court of Protection litigation (property and affairs), family provision (in particular claims by spouses), and removal of trustees and executors. Recent and current cases include the trial of a high value proprietary estoppel claim, an application to remove a protector of a group of high value offshore family trusts, a substantial offshore trust restructuring, and an offshore dispute concerning the interpretation and validity of a will trust. Rose's recent reported cases include Gladstone v White [2023] EWHC 329 (Ch) and Almond v Goff [2021] EWHC 1703 (Ch).
Rose graduated from Magdalen College, Oxford in 2014 with a First in Classics. While at Oxford, she was awarded the Roberts-Gawen special scholarship for her performance in Honour Moderations. Rose then went on to obtain a Distinction in the GDL and an Outstanding on the BPTC at City University, as well as being awarded the Peter Taylor scholarship, Inner Temple's top award for the BPTC.
Rose welcomes instructions in all areas in which Chambers practises. Rose is also a qualified ADR Group civil and commercial mediator
Job Titles:
- Junior Counsel / Mediators
- Professional Reputation
"Ruth quickly assesses a matter, focuses on the key issues and provides targeted advice."
Eliza speaks at both chambers' and external seminars regarding her practice areas. This includes seminars presented with Sarah Haren on Ilott v Mitson for STEP, William East on FDRs in the Chancery Division and Mark Baxter on gifting and investment by deputies and attorney in the Court of Protection.