Rodney Stewart Smith > New Square Chambers > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Rodney Stewart Smith

020 7419 8000 rodney.stewartsmith@newsquarechambers.co.uk

Position

A traditional Chancery practice with a particular flair for unusual areas of law and those with a historic interest. It focuses on trusts (onshore and offshore), probate and property matters. Recent and ongoing cases include: (1) acting for an executor in a dispute whether the assets of a Liechtenstein Foundation were held by it as nominee for the deceased; (2) acting for a representative beneficiary in ongoing negotiations to compromise a long-running family dispute involving allegations that a settlement made in 1988 is voidable on grounds of undue influence; and (3) drafting new trust precedent for a leading firm.

Career

Called 1964; Middle Temple; Recorder 1994-2004; Deputy Commissary of the Court of Faculties 2001 to date; Bar representative member of the Land Registration Rule Committee 2003 to date; General Commissioner of Taxes 1991-2007; Master of the Bench of the Middle Temple 1998-date (Reader 2011). Current directorships: Publications of note: ‘Rectification of Trustee Errors: Trust Quarterly Review’ March 2014, ‘Mistakes in Wills; Trust Quarterly Review’ December 2015.

Memberships

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners; Chancery Bar Association.

Education

Winchester College; Trinity Hall, Cambridge (1963 BA first; 1964 LLB first).

Leisure

Watching cricket, hill walking, theatre, Reform club.