William Charrington > Farrer & Co > London, England > Lawyer Profile

At Farrer & Co, Adrian Parkhouse and Isabel Paintin jointly lead a team filled with a ‘plethora of first-class lawyers’. This ‘great firm is completely immersed in the sector’, and covers issues as diverse as art-related litigation and art financing, through to advising on heritage property, offers-in-lieu, and philanthropy. It also acts for leading museums and galleries in the UK, as well as numerous major charities. Parkhouse acts for dealers and private and public galleries, as well as individuals in disputes concerning art and heritage property. Paintin has particular expertise in art transactions, and also advises on issues such as heritage taxation. William Charrington was promoted to the partnership in May 2024, and he is frequently involved in cases dealing with allegations of misrepresentation over provenance, authenticity, false attribution, theft, copyright infringement, and the misuse of trade marks. Bethan Waters is another name to note.

The education practice at Farrer & Co advises universities and higher education sector bodies with the full-service offering, such as investment fund management, charity law, data protection, joint ventures, property and construction, employment and student disputes, as well as safeguarding and reputation management. The team is led by David Copping who handles IP and commercial work for universities. Kathleen Heycock is adept at employment and student matters, including student safeguarding and deals with Tribunal claims and higher education investigations. Sam Macdonald has vast experience in tax and charity law, supporting the establishment of charities and engagement with charitable sectors. Jeremy Isaacson assists universities and schools with IP, information law and consumer regulatory issues, while William Charrington covers contentious matters for the team’s higher education clients. Senior associate Alice Kendle is also noted.

Farrer & Co has ‘very well-recognised ability to deal with extremely high-profile cases’. The corporate and commercial litigation practice consistently handles large-value disputes, and it is particularly focused on cases involving complex company structures and asset holdings, shareholder conflicts and cross-border commercial contracts. Much of the team’s caseload encompasses international aspects, including both coordinating proceedings in multiple jurisdictions and cases with significant jurisdictional issues. Recent international disputes for the group cover the Middle East, South Africa and India, as well as the Channel Islands and South America. Kate Allass has notable expertise in corporate and shareholder disputes; the ‘very strategic’ Jolyon Connell represents individuals, financial institutions, private banks and investment funds in major disputes; and Ben Longworth focuses on contractual claims, shareholder disputes and commercial litigation featuring allegations of breaches of directors’ duties. The second line of experienced practitioners includes ‘very good litigator’ Gerard Heyes and John Wilkinson, whose recent workload includes defending multiple sets of high-value proceedings. Other experienced practitioners are commercial disputes expert Charles Fursdon; the ‘seriously-talented’ Blue Elliott; commercial litigation specialist Victoria Atkins; and Sally Mantell, who acts in cross-jurisdictional commercial disputes. ‘Excellent at art disputes’, William Charrington was raised to partner in May 2024.