Jan Atkinson > Osbornes > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Osbornes
LIVERY HOUSE
7-9 PRATT STREET
LONDON
NW1 0AE
England

Work Department

Private Client
Wealth planning, high value and complex estate administrations, international estates with cross border issues and contentious probate & trust cases.
Inheritance Act 1975

Position

Partner and head of private client department. Jan specialises in wills, probate and trusts with a focus on wealth planning, high value estate administrations, contested Wills, international estates and contentious probate and trusts cases. Jan and her team are based in the firm’s Hampstead and Camden offices. Jan is a registered Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and a registered Contentious Trust and Probate Specialist (CTAPS). She is a well known figure in the private client field, in large part as a result of her active role on the Law Society Private Client Section Executive Committee and her membership of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS). Jan also writes regularly on wills and inheritance issues.

Career

Trained Attwater & Liell, Harlow; qualified 1987; Holman Fenwick & Willan 1988-89; Richards Butler 1989-91; partner Osbornes 1994; co-author ‘Cohabitation’ (Sweet & Maxwell 1999) – co-wrote chapter ‘Inheritance and Succession’; registered trust and estate practitioner (TEP); registered contentious trusts and probate specialists (CTAPS).

Memberships

Executive committee of Private Client Section of Law Society; Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP); Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialist (ACTAPS).

Education

Heanor Grammar School; University of Sheffield (BA Hons History); King’s College, University of London (PGCE); Nottingham Law School (CPE (Commendation)); Law Society Finals).

Leisure

Horse riding, tennis, cinema, opera, travel.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Private client > Contentious trusts and probate

Osbornes has a ‘strong private client department’ and ‘the firm seems to be going from strength to strength’. Practice head, Jan Atkinson , is best known for her court appointments as the independent administrator of disputed estates. The nimble team acts for a broad range of high-net-worth individuals and families on a variety of complex estate and trust litigation. Other key clients include trustees, personal representatives and charities. Elspeth Neilson is adept at handling complex estate administrations where there are assets in other jurisdictions. Senior associate, Katie De Swarte, also acts in contentious Court of Protection cases.

London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate

The ‘approachable, friendly and motivated’  team at Osbornes is led by Jan Atkinson. It receives a steady flow of instructions from high-net-worth individuals and families on an array of tax planning, wealth preservation, estate and succession planning issues. It also frequently advises on family governance matters. Clients include entrepreneurs, wealthy families and individuals.