Sarah Foster > Freeths LLP > Oxford, England > Lawyer Profile

Freeths LLP
Spires House
5700 Oxford Business Park South
OXFORD
OX4 2RW
England

Work Department

Dispute resolution.

Position

Sarah is the managing partner of the Oxford office of Freeths. She has twenty five years of managing disputes for her clients, with a particular emphasis on inheritance and trust disputes and professional indemnity claims. She heads the private client litigation team in Oxford and deals with a wide range of cases, including issues surrounding the validity of a will; claims against estates for financial provision; disputed trusts; and the removal of executors and trustees. She also acts for private individuals in disputed Court of Protection applications/proceedings during a person’s lifetime.

Sarah also has many years’ experience of dealing with claims made against professionals including legal, construction and financial professionals. She specialises particularly in legal or financial claims with a trust or probate background. She also advises on coverage disputes between insurers and insured.

Sarah is well known and has been praised by clients for her no nonsense, efficient and diligent approach. She is a fierce advocate of mediation, recognizing that in family disputes particularly, it can be an extremely useful tool to bring about early closure of disputes and at reduced cost.

Career

Trained Lovells (now Hogan Lovells); qualified 1994; Wansboroughs 1994-97; Crutes 1997-99 (both now DAC Beachcroft); Henmans; then Freeths 1999 to date; partner 2003; managing partner 2013

Memberships

Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS); affiliate member of Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP); Professional Negligence Lawyers Association (PNLA); Law Society.

Education

Whitley Bay High School; University of Nottingham (1990 LLB Hons 2(:1)); College of Law, York (1991).

Leisure

Triathlons, reading and taxi service for two teenagers

Lawyer Rankings

South East > Insurance > Professional negligence

The sizeable Oxford dispute resolution practice at Freeths LLP acts for both claimants and defendants in an array of directors & officers’ liability insurance, legal professions as well as technology and IT professional negligence claims. Sarah Foster ’s practice encompasses contentious probate matters and related trust disputes. Clare Bellis is well-versed in professional negligence concerning property law, while Will Richmond-Coggan  is adept in data privacy breaches claims. Caroline Watson is experienced in advising financial services businesses with mis-selling claims and policy holder disputes.

South East > Private client > Contentious trusts and probate

(Leading individuals)

Sarah FosterFreeths LLP

A ‘first-rate regional firm’ , Freeths LLP advises beneficiaries, executors, and trustees with challenging wills, family trusts and matters falling under the Inheritance Act. Head of the team, Sarah Foster, has a broad practice which encompasses claims against estates for financial provisions and the removal of executors and trustees. Sally Goodger is an ‘accomplished operator’ who often advises private clients acting as attorneys, deputies in addition to independent administrators. All of the individuals that have been mentioned are located in Oxford.

South East > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate: Thames Valley, Berks, Oxon, M4/M40

Freeths LLP‘s private client service division specialises across all aspects of trusts, estates and tax, Court of Protection, private litigation and residential conveyancing. Oxford-based Sarah Foster  heads up the team. Nigel Roots is well known for managing complex inter-generational wealth structures and trust reorganisations, while Louise Lewis undertakes estate planning for high-net-worth individuals as well as on administration post-death. Lisa Mark-Bell is another important port of call, receiving client praise for being ‘practical, pragmatic and dedicated to finding solutions for her clients’, and specialising in providing bespoke trust advice to HNW trusts, including landed estates.