Shan Warnock-Smith KC > Chambers of Penelope Reed > London, England > Barrister Profile
5 Stone Buildings Offices
5 Stone Buildings
LINCOLN'S INN
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Shan Warnock-Smith KC
Position
Barrister who is an adviser and a litigator in the whole range of trust, estates and charity matters and has a particular interest in wealth structuring for international families from both the advisory and the litigation standpoints. In addition to her English practice, she practises extensively in the offshore jurisdictions, particularly in the Caribbean. She established ICT (International Chancery and Trusts Chambers) in Cayman and has been admitted to practice there. In 2008 she was admitted to practice in the Courts of the Dubai International Finance Centre. She is at the forefront of developments in the private client field. She appeared in Re Yorke (deceased) [1997] 4 All ER 907, the test case on estates of Lloyd’s Names, and is the author of the subsequent Practice Direction permitting paper applications to the court in such cases. Among some of her other reported cases are: Midland Bank v Wyatt [1995] 1 FLR 697 (the first English case on sham trusts); A v Rothschild Trust Cayman Ltd [2006] WTLR 1129 (establishing the availability of the Hastings-Bass jurisdiction in Cayman); AN v Barclays [2007] WTLR 565 (validity of no contest clause) and Re Circle Trust [2007] WTLR 631 (nature of power to appoint a protector); MEP v Rothschild and Sutton v England [2010] WTLR 335 [2009] EWHC 3270 (Ch) (use of court’s power to confer administration powers of partition). She has also appeared in numerous important and often highly sensitive unreported cases dealing with variations of trust, construction and rectification proceedings, breach of trust claims and applications for directions by trustees, particularly those concerning the sale or management of family companies. Shân is a mediator of trust and estates disputes.
Career
Called 1971; Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn; QC 2002; accredited mediator; Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn; on Editorial Board of the ‘Wills and Trusts Law Reports’.
Memberships
Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners; Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists; Chancery Bar Association; International Academy of Estate and Trust Law; chair of the Trusts and Estates Litigation Forum since its inception.
Education
Westlake High School, Auckland, NZ; Portsmouth High School; King’s College, London.
Lawyer Rankings
The English Bar Offshore > The English Bar Offshore
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Shân Warnock-Smith KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Technically brilliant, straight to the issues. Team player and a client-facing barrister.’
Praised as an ‘elite set’ in the offshore world, 5 Stone Buildings is a notable set for traditional Chancery, with the depth of members’ expertise ranging from contentious trusts and probate to family provision claims. Shan Warnock-Smith KC handles major trust and estate cases throughout the Cayman Islands, the BVI and Bermuda. One such recent case included Re Z Trusts, in which Warnock-Smith KC represented the appellant in the Privy Council on a major appeal from Jersey which involved novel questions of law regarding a trustee’s indemnity against reasonable costs and expenses. Penelope Reed KC is noted for her extensive offshore expertise in trusts, wills, probate and related tax issues whilst also seeing involvement in high-profile offshore commercial litigation. Of the juniors, ‘excellent advocate’ and ‘real fighter’ Matthew Paton is well-versed in high-value offshore litigation involving contentious and non-contentious trust and probate matters.
London Bar > Private client: trusts and probate
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 2Shân Warnock-Smith KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Shân is an immensely experienced and brilliant strategist and stays calm even in the face of an overly aggressive adversary. She is down to earth, has a lovely human side, and clients love her – she is someone you want on your team.’