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  1. Contentious trusts and probate
  2. Leading individuals

Baker & McKenzie LLP ‘combines informality with an impressive legal infrastructure’. In 2011, the team drew on the firm’s international resources in acting for a major US industrial family in respect of a $2bn trust, a matter involving Bermudan and Swiss aspects. It is praised for its ‘huge intellectual firepower’; Anthony Poulton is ‘bright and robust’, and Andrew Keltie is ‘superb’.

At Farrer & Co, ‘service is of the highest level’. The firm is experienced in high-value, multi-jurisdictional trust disputes, and is currently acting for the Swiss trustees of Gibraltar trusts settled by a significant individual in Eastern Europe, as well as in significant disputes involving Bermudan, Cypriot, and Cayman Islands entities. Department head Jeremy Gordon ‘displays a steely determination’; Toby Graham is ‘extremely competent’; and Mark Bridges has ‘an enviable client list’.

Andrew Hine and Mark Buzzoni at Taylor Wessing LLP are ‘experienced practitioners’. In 2011, the firm advised the heir to a global construction business in respect of litigation relating to £4bn of assets. In another highlight, Hine was appointed by a Bermuda court to represent minor and unborn beneficiaries in respect of a dispute over Bermudan trusts. Team head Steven Kempster is ‘hardworking and level headed’.

The team at ‘market leader’ Withers LLP is led by the ‘savvy’ Dawn Goodman, who is ‘reassuring in stressful circumstances’, and is noted for its litigation expertise across a range of jurisdictions. Paul Matthews is known for Channel Islands work; and Ziva Robertson’s Cayman Islands practice enjoyed a strong 2011, with work including the Akram Ojjeh trial. The firm is regularly involved in cross-border succession disputes (such as Clarke v WWF and Others); domestic trust disputes (Sherrington v Sherrington); and domestic probate matters (Burgess v Hawes). Natasha Stourton is ‘patient’, and Paul Hewitt ‘professional’. Clients include Barclays, Cancer Research UK, and the RSPCA.

Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP’s offering is built around the expertise of the ‘exceptionally able’ Rupert Ticehurst, who moved from Herbert Smith LLP in 2011 along with ‘rising star’ assistant Jessica Henson; the firm is ‘clearly moving from strength to strength’. The team is currently acting for a high-net-worth industrial family in an application to vary trusts, a matter which involves affected unborn parties.

Boodle Hatfield LLP ‘handles big cases without being swamped’. The team includes litigation specialists Will Twidale and Sofie Hoffman (‘a creative thinker’); and Simon Rylatt and Richard Moyse, who have cross-border trust expertise. The firm is currently instructed by the life tenant of a large family trust, in a matter expected to lead to litigation involving estoppel and establishment of jurisdiction issues.

Clifford Chance’s cross-departmental offering consists of specialist arbitrators, contentious regulatory lawyers, and banking litigators such as highly regarded department head Jeremy Kosky. The team carries out an eclectic mix of work from high-end wills and asset management disputes, to pensions litigation and private equity related disputes.

Harcus Sinclair combines the skills of Damon Parker, who has expertise acting for large groups of claimants, and the highly esteemed Alison Meek. The team is regularly involved in reported cases; examples in 2011 included Paul Jonathan Howell & Ors v Marcus Lees-Millais & 5 Ors, in which Meek represented the primary representative beneficiary before the Court of Appeal, and defeated an appeal against an order previously made in the client’s favour.

The ‘excellent and reliable’ team at Herbert Smith LLP is headed by the esteemed Robert Hunter, who is ‘well known for his court expertise’. In one highlight, Hunter advised the trustees of a Jersey trust on a significant restructuring which included the creation of two new trusts to plan for future beneficiaries. John Wood is also well regarded.

The ‘first-class’ team at Macfarlanes LLP is led by the ‘astute’ Charles Lloyd. In 2011, it advised beneficiaries and executors of a multi-jurisdictional intestate estate on planning and restructuring issues, a matter which ultimately led to High Court litigation. The firm is on the Barclays Wealth Fiduciary panel.

The ‘outstanding’ team at Speechly Bircham LLP is ‘excellent for complex high-value work’, and features department head Graeme Kleiner, John Ward, Helena Luckhurst and Andrea Zavos. The firm acted for a branch of a high-profile business family in respect of multi-jurisdictional governance disputes.

At Bircham Dyson Bell LLP, clients have ‘good access to partners’. Simon Weil ‘has seen everything’, and Nicholas Holland is praised for his experience offshore in Cayman. The team also has expertise in quasi-criminal trust matters, often involving the alleged bribery of foreign officials. The firm is carrying out an increasing amount of Caribbean and Far East related work.

Charles Russell LLP has ‘substantial fire power’, and applies a ‘rigorous, sophisticated approach to litigation’. The firm is advising a beneficiary of a Far Eastern estate in a dispute over family assets including cash, property and gold. Duncan Elson is ‘experienced and unflappable’; and Suzanne Marriott and Patrick Russell are also recommended at partner level. Solicitor James Lister ‘anticipates all angles’.

Lawrence Graham LLP’s team is headed by the ‘committed, experienced, and shrewd’ Catharine Bell. The firm advises billionaire families in Russia, Mexico and Europe, while other clients include Capita Fiduciary Group and TMF Group. It is active in high-profile fraud litigation.

Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP is advising the eldest children of Lord Palumbo in their claim for his removal as trustee of a family trust. The firm also acts for Zorin Sachak Khan, Afaque Ahmed Khan and Sasheen Anwar, who are beneficiaries of a multi-jurisdictional trust and have allegedly been deprived of information relating to the trust. Jenny McKeown and Arabella Murphy are well regarded.

Tony Morton-Hooper heads the team at Mishcon de Reya, whose experience includes cutting-edge cases such as will validity case Gill v RSPCA. The firm also advises on matters with shari’ah elements.

Russell-Cooke LLP’s ‘impressive’ team handles cross-border disputes with ‘great aplomb’, and has particular experience in cases with a French dimension. The firm also handles publicly funded work such as Inheritance Act claims, and challenges to wills. Richard Frimston is ‘a cross-border guru, with an unerring instinct’; Alison Regan is ‘resolute’; and Gareth Ledsham ‘holds his nerve when the going gets tough’.

Emily Mailer’s department at Finers Stephens Innocent LLP is valued for its ‘proportionate advice’. In one highlight, the firm reached agreement by mediation in respect of a £12m estate. Senior associate Neil Long is ‘commercially aware’.

Forsters LLP is ‘focused and diligent’. A team led by Caroline Bassett is advising Sheikh Abdullah Ali Alhamrani in declaratory proceedings in the BVI, with related simultaneous unfair prejudice proceedings. Emily Exton is ‘unwavering in the face of adversity’.

Frydenson & Co’s Henry Frydenson is ‘a household name in this area’, and is notable as the founder of the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists.

Kingsley Napley LLP’s Matthew Duncan is ‘experienced’ in the area.

Ian Burman heads the team at Laytons.

David Catchpole is the contact at the ‘excellent’ Mills & Reeve LLP.

Payne Hicks Beach’s team is led by Stephen King, who has particular experience in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Gibraltar. Richard Butcher is ‘excellent’; and Alastair Murdie provides ‘invaluable advice’.

Penningtons Solicitors LLP’s Michael Cash is a ‘brilliant litigator’. In 2011, the firm acted for Nicholas Rayner in Murphy v Rayner, in which a claim for proprietary estoppel was dismissed, and a variety of counterclaims were successful.

At Seddons, solicitor John Melville-Smith is a ‘very safe pair of hands’.

Stephen Roberts heads the team at Stephenson Harwood, which has notable international reach. In 2011 it continued to act for Deloitte & Touche Advisory Services China advising the administrators in respect of the $10bn estate of Nina Wang.

Chichester-based Thomas Eggar LLP ‘gives the London firms a run for their money’. Paula James is an ‘excellent team leader’.

The well-respected Michelle Rose is the contact at Veale Wasbrough Vizards.

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