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Private Client Team of the Year
This award recognises the top private client teams in the country, either offshore or onshore, handling high-value work in the areas of estates, charities, family, contentious and non-contentious trusts and probate, as well as personal tax, particularly to high-net-worth individuals and families.
Previous Winners / Nominees
Winner
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Damian Bloom
The firm now offers a truly global practice following its 2018 transatlantic merger. It has made a particular impression in Shari’a-compliant succession planning structures and continues to lead in real estate matters for private clients, including directly held, diversified and corporatised residential real estate.
Nominee
Stephenson Harwood HIGHLY COMMENDED
James Quarmby
The London private wealth team achieved a 20% fee-income increase in the last financial year on the back of key highlights, including substantial victories in Gany Holdings v Khan & ors; Rangoonwala v Khan & ors, setting a precedent for the advancement of trust assets and clarifying the existing law on trustee’s discretion.
Nominee
Charles Russell Speechlys
Andrew Cameron
The firm underlined its commitment to the practice with the appointment of four new partners in 2018, following the launch of a Hong Kong office in 2017 and expansion in Switzerland. Recent highlights include advising an ultra-high net-worth family and trustees on the disposal of high-value property interests to the family’s property management company.
Nominee
Collyer Bristow
James Badcock
The hire of experienced family law partner Tanya Roberts from Charles Russell Speechlys was a major fillip for this City firm. It also advised a long-term client on wealth structures involving six offshore trusts along with underlying companies, having a total value of £1.4bn, as well as another on a $6bn cross-jurisdictional trust.
Nominee
McDermott Will & Emery
Ziva Robertson
The firm successfully represented Truchot Trustees in obtaining a highly favourable judgment in an unusual case before the Chancery Court. The team managed to set aside potentially disastrous litigation on the basis that the client had no knowledge of the litigation and the firms representing it were doing so without proper authority.
Nominee
Womble Bond Dickinson
Neil Long
The UK private wealth division saw revenue grow by 11% in the last financial year and, following the merger with Womble Carlyle in 2017, the team has seen a significant increase in engagements from US-based private banks and financial institutions, including advising a family with a net worth of over £1bn on succession planning.