Roman Kubiak > Hugh James > Cardiff, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile

Hugh James Offices

Hugh James
Two Central Square
CARDIFF
CF10 1FS
United Kingdom
033 3016 2222 029 2038 8222

Roman Kubiak

Roman Kubiak photo
033 3016 2222

Work Department

Contested Wills, Trusts and Estates

Position

Roman Kubiak is a partner and head of the contested wills, trusts and estates team.

Roman is responsible for formulating and implementing the department’s business strategy and day-to-day operations, in line with the firm’s overall strategy, alongside running a core caseload of complex, high value and cross-border will, trust and estate disputes.

He has been integral to the growth and development of the department and his initiatives have seen it gain recognition as a top-ranked department for this type of work in the UK’s leading legal directories.

Roman acts for high profile and high net worth individuals, financial institutions, professional trustees and executors and charities.

Roman also manages the relationships with a number of our key clients, partners, introducers and professionals in the industry.

He advises across the whole spectrum of private client litigation, with a particular focus on high value, complex and cross-border disputes including: trust disputes, breach of trust claims and applications to remove trustees; will disputes, particularly those with an international element; claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975; and claims for equitable relief under proprietary estoppel, constructive trusts and resulting trusts.

Roman has played a key role in developing the firm’s offering within the charities sector. He has experience of advising charity clients on contentious trust and probate matters including will disputes and claims for financial provision, construction claims and ex-gratia payment requests.

Roman has advised the partner of a high profile celebrity with an estate valued at £100m+ in relation to a claim under the Inheritance Act, and associated application to seek interim relief, and to prove a lost will.

He has also acted for the beneficiaries of a £120m Jersey-based trust with underlying companies in various jurisdictions, in claims for undue influence, breach of trust and to set aside transfers of overseas assets.

Roman secured a positive settlement for a spouse in claims under the Inheritance Act, to set aside a will by reason of lack of capacity, lack of knowledge and approval and undue influence and by reason of a constructive trust involving assets split across England, France, Switzerland, Austria and Jersey.

He has also acted for the claimant in a breach of trust claim valued at circa £2million in which the breaches span over 20 years.

Roman successfully represented a farmer in relation to a claim over land under proprietary estoppel all the way to trial.

Roman is a full member of STEP and ACTAPS, having successfully completed both diplomas. He is also a member of the Institute of Legacy Management and the Charity Law Association.

He holds the STEP Advanced Certificates in Trust Disputes and Cross-Border Estates, receiving a distinction for the latter.

Roman regularly comments on leading issues within the field of contested wills, trusts and estates. As well as providing seminars, webinars and legal updates to professionals, he authors a regular contentious probate update for the Law Society’s Private Client section.

He has been quoted in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, CityAM, The Telegraph, This is Money and yourmoney.com and has also appeared on radio.

Career

Career history

  • Trained: Martin Smalley & Co. Nottingham
  • Moved to Withy King LLP on qualification as a solicitor into the Inheritance and Trust Disputes Department
  • Joined Hugh James: 2012
  • Associate at Hugh James: 2013
  • Senior Associate at Hugh James: 2015
  • Partner: 2016

Languages

Polish

Memberships

Education

  • Keele University – Law with English (Dual Honours) – 2:1 LLB (Hons)
  • Nottingham Law School – LPC
  • ACTAPS – Diploma (CTAPS)
  • STEP – Diploma (TEP)
  • STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes

Leisure

Mountain biking, cooking, listening to music, guitar-playing.

Lawyer Rankings

Wales > Private client > Agriculture and estates

Sitting within the firm’s broader private wealth offering but also able to leverage areas of expertise in other key firmwide practice areas, including property, litigation and regulatory, Hugh James is a popular choice among agricultural clients across a broad array of their contentious and non-contentious requirements. Team head Matthew Evans has a strong track record advising on inheritance disputes within the sector, including on proprietary estoppel matters, as does ‘legal powerhouse’ Roman Kubiak, who achieves ‘superb results’ for clients, including a recent high-profile matter which provided clarity on the issues of detriment and remedy in the context of a proprietary estoppel claim.

Wales > Private client > Contentious trusts and probate

(Leading partners)

Roman Kubiak – Hugh James

Hugh James has ‘the depth and range of experience to take on complex or modest litigation for institutions and private individuals’, running the gamut from Inheritance Act claims, through to complex proprietary estoppel claims. Team head Roman Kubiak is recognised as a ‘titan in the world of contentious trusts and probate’, combining as he does a ‘first-class legal brain with charm’ to ensure the best possible results for clients, mindful of the client’s overall and objectives and the costs involved with endless and unnecessary litigation. As well as receiving direct individual instructions, Roman has also successfully cultivated strong relationships with financial institutions, charities and professional trustees, ensuring a tremendous variety and scope of work that spans Wales and England and also regularly has cross-border ramifications. Matthew Evans combines strong contentious and non-contentious smarts in his role as overarching private wealth head, ensuring that clients receive a very joined up and holistic service. Senior associate Sarah O’Grady  has thrived since recently joining the firm from Clarke Willmott LLP and has been particularly effective in handling a range of trusts and probate disputes in the agricultural sector.

Wales > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate

Overseen by the ‘top-notch’  Matthew Evans, as part of the overarching private wealth offering, Hugh James has the strength-in-depth to provide a degree of specialisation and expertise unmatched by other firms in the Welsh market. The ‘outstanding’ Eleanor Evans heads up the trusts and estates sub-group  and is responsible for managing the administration of the estates of institutional clients, work which often includes complex financial assets as well as issues relating to foreign jurisdictions. Senior associate Austin Gill  handles  the administration of estates for private individuals, including high-net-worth matters involving complex issues; he is also very adept at advising on onward succession planning for beneficiaries, including in the context of drafting Deeds of Variation, as well as ensuring that lifetime gifts are effectively utilised to minimise IHT burdens on the estate. One of several in the team with Welsh language skills, Catrin Griffiths  can handle matters in English and Welsh and leads the estate planning group that has a strong reputation representing high and ultra-high-net worth clients, in particular, with the preparation of their wills, trusts, Powers of Attorney documents, succession planning and estate planning advice. For the more commoditised work, under the guidance of Gareth Wisdom and utilising some very effective internal legal technology, the firm also excels in handling volume will writing for financial institution clients. Clients also benefit from access to a market-leading litigation offering which is headed up by the ‘totally brilliant’ Roman Kubiak, who excels in complex contentious probate matters, including promissory estoppel cases in the farming sector.

 

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