William Begley > Charles Russell Speechlys LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
5 FLEET PLACE
LONDON
EC4M 7RD
England

Work Department

Private wealth; private client.

Position

William is a trusted adviser to both UK and non-UK domiciled clients on a wide range of tax and estate planning issues. His expertise is often called upon to help devise structures to protect the wealth of his clients and their families and to find innovative solutions to the issues they face. Many of William’s clients are household names, drawn from the worlds of business, property, finance, media and the arts. Experience: designing and implementing a practical and effective succession plan for a significant family to ensure the wealth which has been generated is protected for future generations against the threats of tax, possible divorce, family disputes and financially immature heirs; advising the owner of a successful and high-profile family business on pre-sale structuring to incentivise key management and to maximise returns, whilst also effecting a tax efficient succession plan for his family; advising the trustees of a substantial family trust to enable them to carry out their responsibilities in such a way as to meet the family’s requirements; providing a practical and tax efficient estate plan to a family where there are children from more than one marriage.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Private client > Agriculture and estates

Spearheaded by Bart Peerless and Henry Fea, the nimble team at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP primarily focuses on providing specialist tax and trust advice for intergenerational succession. It deals extensively with ultra-high-net-worth families and their businesses both in the UK and overseas. As well as advising on all aspects of strategic land purchases and sales, it excels in advising on issues relating to art collections and heritage properties. Another core area of expertise for the group is advising landed estates on a wide range of disputes, from high-value divorces to contentious property matters. Robert Blower specialises in all aspects of private client work and acts for many well-known estate owning families, advising on estate, tax and succession structuring issues. William Begley is also highly regarded.

London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate

(Leading individuals)

William BegleyCharles Russell Speechlys LLP

The large team at Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has a stellar reputation for its advice to HNW/UHNW individuals and their families, family offices, landed estates, private banks, trustees and wealth managers. It also acts as leading advisers to entrepreneurial wealth creating families. The practice is led by Robert Blower, Piers Master and William Begley. A sizeable portion of its work is cross-border and it is particularly skilled at coordinating cross-jurisdictional matters. Highlights included Nicola Saccardo joining the firm from Italian tax law firm, Maisto e Associati in August 2022. It also added Jeremy Arnold to its ranks from Withers LLP in June 2022. Simon Weil specialises in tax planning, trusts, philanthropy and charities. Nicola Thorpe  and Sangna Chauhan  – who is ‘technically excellent’ – are rapidly building strong client bases. Dominic Lawrance and Alice Wilne are other key members of the team. Clients include some of the world’s wealthiest families. The group also excels in advising on inter-generational succession.