Piers Barclay > Macfarlanes LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Macfarlanes LLP Offices

20 CURSITOR STREET
LONDON
EC4A 1LT
England
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Piers Barclay

Work Department
Private client
Position
Piers is the head of private client.
Piers specialises in succession, tax and estate planning advice for individuals and their families as well as related advice to trustees and other private client service providers, such as family offices. In addition to UK-based clients, much of his work has an international element, including structuring multi-jurisdictional estates, using trusts in civil law and Shari’a law countries and advising non-UK trustees on tax and fiduciary matters.
He has experience in UK pre-arrival planning for non-domiciliaries, remittance basis advice and the implementation of trusts, wills and associated mechanisms on arrival, both for entrepreneurs and for other high-net-worth individuals. Piers is also involved in the post-death administration of estates, both in the UK and in the international context.
Before becoming a partner, Piers spent six months on secondment in the trusts department of a leading international law firm.
Piers is ranked as a Tier One adviser in the UK and Global editions of the independent Chambers guide and as a leading individual in the UK Legal 500 guide. He has been recognised in the eprivateclient 2021 50 Most Influential list and is recommended in the 2021 Private Client Global Elite guide.
Career
Trained Macfarlanes; qualified 1998; partner 2005
Memberships
Professional memberships
STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
(Leading partners)Macfarlanes LLP ‘is the yardstick of private client advice, setting standards’. Piers Barclay heads an ‘absolutely first-rate team’, which advises wealthy clients across all aspects of private client work. The group particularly stands out for its expertise in complex international matters, typically for very wealthy clients with assets, business interests, and families across multiple jurisdictions. It has a plethora of excellent practitioners among them, including Charles Gothard who has a significant Middle East/GCC practice. Nicholas Harries‘ expertise spans international trusts and estate planning matters and he has a particular emphasis on the Far East. Edward Reed‘s practice has a large European element, while Jennifer Smithson has built up a specialism in advising financial services executives (private equity, hedge funds, and investment bankers), as well as entrepreneurs moving to the UK. Richard Giangrande is recognised for his advice on the tax treatment of fund management executives, as well as supporting entrepreneurs in the technology sector. Paul Hardwick was recently promoted to the partnership, and Mark Hunter and Sebastian Prichard Jones are among the other key members of the department.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Personal tax, trusts and probate London > Private client
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Corporate and commercial > VAT and indirect tax
- Investment fund formation and management > Hedge funds
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £500m)
- Investment fund formation and management > Retail funds
Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Investment fund formation and management > Fund finance
- Real estate > Residential property
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Employment > Pensions (non-contentious)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Real estate > Property finance
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Private client > Court of protection
- Employment > Employers
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Finance > Securitisation
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£500m+)
- Employment > Immigration
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory