William Henderson > Serle Court > London, England > Barrister Profile
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William Henderson
Position
Barrister specialising in domestic and international trust, probate and administration of estate disputes, charities and associated professional negligence. Junior counsel to the Treasury in Charity Matters. Recent cases include: Children’s Investment Fund Foundation v Attorney General [2017] EWHC 1379 (Ch) – as to court approval of $360 million grant and role of members of charitable companies; A v D [2017] EWCOP 8 (Charles J) – as to relationship between compromise in the Chancery Division and Court of Protection’s jurisdiction; JSC Aeroflot v Berezovskaya [2014] EWCA Civ 431 – as to administration of estates, receivers and confidentiality; Pitt v Holt [2013] UKSC 26 – in the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court as to setting aside voluntary transactions; Independent Schools Council v Charity Commission [2011] UKUT 421 – as to how much provision for the poor has to be made by independent schools.
Career
Called 1978, Inner Temple; junior counsel to the Treasury in charity matters since 1995. Bencher, Lincoln’s Inn 2015.
Memberships
Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS); Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP); Chancery Bar Association.
Education
St Paul’s School, London; Trinity College, Cambridge (1976 BA).
Leisure
Sailing.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Private client: trusts and probate
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1William Henderson –Serle Court ‘William is technically superb. He is an excellent advocate. He brings the complete package to any case, however complex. He can draft the trust documents, direct the strategy, see the bigger picture and represent the client in court.’
Serle Court is the ‘go-to set for all high-value trusts work’ with ‘excellent strength in depth’ in complex trust and offshore disputes. Richard Wilson KC is ‘well known for finding solutions to complex problems’ and represented Tony Wang in the Wong v Grand View trusts litigation in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council concerning Bermudian trusts storing wealth for the family that created the Formosa Plastics Corporation in Taiwan. John Machell KC ‘excels under pressure’ and has been instructed in the ITG v Glenalla Properties Limited dispute, a part of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust saga, with issues concerning how to deal with insolvent trusts. William Henderson represented the government in Re the Will of His late Royal Highness Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, a case concerning The Guardian’s opposition to the practice of sealing wills of members of the royal family, outside the usual principle that all wills are open to inspection. ‘Incredibly perceptive and intelligent’ James Weale recently acted for the defendant in Sofer v Swiss Independent Trustees Ltd, a fraud claim relating to assets worth $60m.
London Bar > Charities
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1At Serle Court, William Henderson is well-known for his role as junior council to the Treasury regarding a broad spectrum of non-contentious and contentious charity matters, and his recent workload includes appearing before the High Court in Butler-Sloss v Charity Commission and HM Attorney General, a case where the trustees of two charities sought to adopt investment policies seeking to select lower-carbon, but lower-return, investments. Jonathan Fowles has ‘a huge brain‘, and is representing the trustees of a religious charity in a dispute over the ownership and charitable trusts of a site in Abbey Mills in East London, in the context of a dispute within the Tablighi Jamaat Sunni missionary movement.