Set Profile > Chambers of Timothy Brennan QC > London , London

Set overviews: England and Wales

The ‘incredible’ Devereux is ‘a very strong set of personal injury barristers, with a broad range and level of experience’ as well as having ‘a strength in depth in the field of telecoms disputes’, while, in the employment arena, solicitors note that 'there is a specialist in every complex area of law that you might need’, and it continues to be ‘a strong chambers in the tax market’. The set has ‘significant figures both at silks and senior junior levels’ who are ‘approachable, pragmatic, technically sound, and understand the pressures that instructing solicitors are under’. ‘It feels like you are working as a team; they do not undermine solicitors in front of clients or propose unreasonable deadlines.’ Members are ‘so client-friendly, unpretentious, and all-round excellent at their craft’. In recent news, Aparna Nathan QC took silk in 2019 and Rebecca Murray joined from Temple Tax Chambers. Meanwhile, Oliver Hyams recently left to take up a full-time position as an employment judge. The set’s management is led by chambers director Vince Plant. The clerks are ‘quick to respond, helpful, and always available when you need them’. Practice managers Cyrus Biggs and Chris Downes are ‘will track down a response from counsel if you can’t and they feel like part of the team’. Offices in: London

IT and telecoms

Attracting praise for delivering ‘concise, easy to understand and sensible advice’, the ‘excellent team’ at Devereux has been highlighted by clients as the ‘first choice for work relating to the new Telecoms Code’. In a recent work highlight, Graham Read QC was instructed by EE Limited and Hutchinson 3G Limited in a dispute against The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Islington for the rights, under the New Electronic Communication Code, to erect a replacement mast following redevelopment at a former mast site.

Personal injury, industrial disease and insurance fraud Tier 2

Devereux is 'a very strong personal injury set', according to instructing solicitors. Members demonstrate 'far-reaching knowledge of catastrophic injury cases' and have 'client care skills to match'. The set has 'unparalleled expertise in certain niche areas', including spinal cord and brain injury. Severe psychiatric injury and cases that raise challenging points of law are other areas of specialist interest for the set's barristers. Robert Weir QC represented the claimant in the Court of Appeal case Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Ltd, which held an employer vicariously liable for an assault committed by its managing director at a work party. Robert Glancy QC predominantly acts for brain damages and paralysed claimants, while Bruce Silvester has extensive experience in group litigation.

Private client: personal tax Tier 2

Devereux has a thriving personal tax practice with a ‘great ethos and a really good mix of different types of technicians, both in terms of skill and personality'. Aparna Nathan QC acted as junior counsel for HMRC on the important issue of whether a taxpayer can force a loss of relief claim into the wrong year by simply calculating his own tax liability. Members of the set who are ‘top of their game’ regularly advise individuals, trustees, companies and other entities.

Tax: corporate and VAT/indirect tax Tier 2

Members of Devereux are instructed in contentious and non-contentious direct and indirect tax cases. Able to draw on their wider expertise in employment law, commercial disputes, and professional negligence in cross-over matters, the set is able to assist clients in matters involving the minimum wage and employment status, as well as on the tax aspects of negligence claims against promoters of fraudulent tax schemes. Members have been involved in several standout cases, including HMRC v Higgins, where Christopher Stone appeared for the Revenue before the Upper Tribunal, in a case concerning the application of principal private residence relief from capital gains tax on the disposal of a main residence. In PGMOL v HMRC, a case in which Jolyon Maugham QC and Georgia Hicks appeared for the taxpayer, they successfully argued before the First-tier Tribunal that 'National Group' referees in major sporting leagues are self-employed Felicity Cullen QC is a key name, with a client list that includes a number of owner-managed businesses. Aparna Nathan QC took silk in 2019.

Employment Tier 3

'Incredibly strong' Devereux is 'a great all-rounder set for employment litigation' with 'strength in depth across their employment practice, including connected areas such as tax and national minimum wage issues', according to instructing solicitors, who also note that chambers are considered a 'go-to set for trade union matters'. Bruce Carr QC was involved in the landmark Timis v Osipov, in which the Court of Appeal, for the first time, found two individual directors liable for whistleblowing-related detriment in a case following a disclosure by a company's CEO surrounding its oil business in Niger. Elsewhere, Akash Nawbatt QC acted for British Airways securing a High Court injunction to prevent pilots going on strike over the summer.

Clinical negligence Tier 4

Devereux has 'significant figures, both silks and senior juniors, who have proven strength and ability' and provide 'excellent advice' in relation to clinical negligence matters. Typical instructions include birth trauma, brain injury and cerebral palsy claims, which raise challenging issues in relation to liability, quantum and causation.

Insurance and reinsurance Tier 4

Devereux has an 'excellent reputation for insurance and reinsurance disputes' and is home to 'several leading experts'. Colin Edelman QC led Richard Harrison in UKI Insurance Limited v R&S Pilling, a high-profile dispute which examines the UK’s compulsory motor insurance regime and whether this is enlarged by virtue of EU law. Allianz Insurance Plc v Tonicstar was a notable matter for Andrew Burns QC.

Awards

Legal 500 UK Bar Awards win – extra tab on our microsite, in which we can speak on our experience in our winning practice area & any developments in the last 12 months.

With some of the most experienced tax advisors and litigators at the Bar, our tax team is perfectly placed to deal with all areas of tax impacting both corporate and private clients.  Our members act for the taxpayer, as well as for the government, with twelve members on the Attorney General’s panel of junior counsel. 

All of our barristers have an excellent reputation for combining in-depth analytical expertise, an ability to deal with highly complex issues, robust advocacy and advisory services, and skill in offering clear and practical advice to professional and lay clients.

Given our expertise in Devereux’s other core areas of law, such as employment, fraud and professional negligence, our barristers are ideally placed to advise on the cross-over of tax with any of these areas.

Our team has unrivalled expertise at the bar for employment related tax matters. Our members are often the first port of call for issues relating to employment status, advising on the IR35 regulations for example, and have been involved in some of the leading cases in this field. We also have a wealth of expertise on matters relating to Employee Benefit Trusts.

In particular, Devereux is recognised for first-class advice and litigation concerning all tax issues relating to:

• Companies, partnerships and other unincorporated businesses
• Taxation of private individuals (Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax)
• Employment and service provisions (including “IR35” issues)
• Residence and Domicile (individual and corporates)
• Trusts and foundations
• Pension funds
• Charities
• Real estate
• Structured tax planning
• Statutory investigation powers and assessment procedures (civil or criminal)
• VAT, Customs Duties and other indirect taxes
• Stamp Duty, Stamp Duty Land Tax and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax

Recent notable cases over the last 12 months have included:

• Pertemps Limited v HM Revenue & Customs [2018] UKFTT 0369 (TCC): No taxable supply on salary sacrifice adjustment
• SSE Generation Ltd v HM Revenue & Customs [2018] UKFTT 416 (TC):  FTT allowed the appeal in part, finding that most of the relevant items qualified for capital allowances under the Capital Allowances Act (CAA) 2001
• Professional Game Match Officials v HM Revenue & Customs [2018] UKFTT 528 (TC), [2018] UKFTT B1 (TC): landmark decision for umpires across all sporting codes, the specialist First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) has decided that ‘National Group’ referees in the Premier League, FA Cup and Football League are self-employed
• AN Checker v HMRC [2018] UKUT 292 (TCC): Successful in the Upper Tribunal in the VAT appeal
• Nader and others v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 294 (TC). Successful challenge to an inheritance tax avoidance ‘death-bed’ scheme involving excluded property trusts
• Christa Ackroyd Media LTD v HMRC TC/2016/04992: the first of a series of appeals concerning the application of the intermediaries legislation (IR35)
• R (Haworth) v HM Revenue & Customs [2018] EWHC 1271 (Admin): High Court dismisses challenge to follower notice
• R (Amrolia) v HM Revenue & Customs [2018] EWHC 1688 (Admin): High Court rejects judicial review of recovery of provisional tax repayments
• HMRC v Higgins [2018] UKUT 280 (TCC): Upper Tribunal determined a point of law on the application of principal private residence relief (PPRR)
• Banks v HMRC [2018] UKFTT 617: an appeal by the UKIP donor that inheritance tax rules were a breach of his human rights. FTT found that IHTA 1984 s 24 was incompatible with the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) but dismissed the appeal on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction to rewrite the provision
• Executors of the estate of Charles Deville v HMRC, in which the appellant sought to argue (unsuccessfully) that the jurisdiction of the first-tier tribunal allowed it to hear public law challenges
• J Dickinson and others v HMRC [2018] EWCA Civ 2798 CA: Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision not to grant judicial review of APNs (FA 2014 s 219) issued by HMRC
• R (on the application of Derry) (Respondent) v Commissioner for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Appellant) UKSC 2017/0127: Respondent issued judicial review proceedings arguing that the incorrect procedures and provisions had been relied on to open the enquiries undertaken by HMRC into his tax returns
• Root2Tax – Judicial Review proceedings: Appellants refused permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal
• Sole tax counsel due to appear in the Supreme Court on behalf of the taxpayer in Routier v HMRC [April 2019]
• Knibbs v HMRC: Sole tax counsel appearing on behalf of HMRC in the Court of Appeal in 2019. HMRC was successful below; this is a hearing of the Claimants’ appeal (a claim involving more than 500 claimants)