Field Court Tax Chambers > London, England > Set Profile

Field Court Tax Chambers
3 FIELD COURT, GRAY’S INN
LONDON
WC1R 5EP
England

London Bar > Private client: personal tax Tier 3

Field Court Tax Chambers is regarded as a ‘top set for tax related matters’ that advises governments, multinational enterprises, major corporations, smaller businesses, as well as wealthy individuals, charities, celebrities and tax authorities from across the world. Patrick Way KC ‘has in-depth knowledge of working on tax related matters with the HMRC’ and recently handled a matter related to taxation of interest on overseas loans in the first-tier tax tribunal. Philip Baker KC successfully represented a family before the upper tribunal in a matter related to exit tax on trustees and EU law. Leading junior Imran S Afzal  is described as a ‘brilliant advocate who can grasp difficult concepts immediately’.

Leading Silks

Patrick Way KCField Court Tax Chambers ‘Patrick has in depth knowledge of the workings of HMRC. He provides very practical advice and is very hands on with clients. His opinions are precise and easy to implement.’
Ranked: Tier 2
Ranked: Tier 3

Leading Juniors

Ranked: Tier 2
Imran AfzalField Court Tax Chambers ‘Imran is a very talented junior with great attention to detail in relation to tricky points of tax law. His advocacy is very detailed, clear and focussed.’
Ranked: Tier 2

Testimonials

Set

‘The chamber has a great breadth of experience.’

Clerking 

‘Good clerking support.’

Work highlights

    London Bar > Tax: corporate Tier 3

    The ‘experienced and excellent counsel’ of Field Court Tax Chambers advise clients ranging from governments and multinationals to small businesses. Philip Baker KC is a visiting professor at Oxford University, and has been active on multiple high-value matters concerning EU tax law. Patrick Soares, head of chambers, writes extensively on UK tax matters and advises on the structuring of major UK and offshore land transactions. ‘Very practical’ and ‘hands on’ set co-founder Patrick Way KC advises on a broad range of tax issues, and has appeared at all levels of the UK tax system. ‘Brilliant advocate’ Imran S Afzal is highly active for individuals, companies, and tax authorities. Afzal appeared before the Upper Tribunal in Gallaher Limited v HMRC, which concerned the application of EU law to over £2bn of assets.

    Leading Silks

    Ranked: Tier 2
    Patrick Way KC – Field Court Tax Chambers ‘Excellent advocate. Very personable. Deeply knowledgeable. Very user-friendly – and understands the dynamic for solicitors, having worked in a solicitor’s firm himself in the past. ‘
    Ranked: Tier 3
    David Southern KC  – Field Court Tax Chambers ‘Very knowledgeable with a tremendously inquisitive mind.Never gets lost in the intricate detail of the legislation. Supremely reliable and always willing to help.’
    Ranked: Tier 3

    Leading Juniors

    Imran S Afzal – Field Court Tax Chambers ‘A very talented junior with great attention to detail in relation to tricky points of tax law. His advocacy is very detailed, very clear and very focussed.’
    Ranked: Tier 1
    Ranked: Tier 2
    Peter Vaines – Field Court Tax Chambers ‘He has a great kind and thoughtful manner combined with tax knowledge unrivalled by anyone else in the market.’
    Ranked: Tier 2

    Testimonials

    Set

    ‘Some star people practice at Field Court Tax Chambers, with strength in depth.’

    Clerking

    ‘I always receive great service from Chambers and Counsel Clerks.’

     

    Field Court Tax Chambers deals with all aspects of taxation and is led by highly experienced and respected leaders in the sector. Specialist advice and representation includes international and European tax, property tax matters, value added tax, corporate taxation, M&A advice, restructuring, trusts and estate planning, including acting for high-profile individuals, partnerships and multinational corporations.

    The set: Chambers provides dedicated taxation services of the highest quality, delivered with a commitment to meet the commercial and individual needs of clients, as well as to provide first-class legal expertise. The members have a track record of excellence. They have experience of acting on the instructions of clients, ranging from the UK and other governments to major corporations and smaller businesses across a range of industries, as well as individuals. Members of Chambers appear at all levels of the UK court system including the Privy Council  and in the European Court of Justice.

    Patrick C Soares is one of the best-known tax lecturers to the professions in the country and lectures on tax structures for property, as well as offshore taxes and estate planning. Topics on which he has spoken and chaired conferences include “Optimum Tax Structures for Land Transactions” and “The Taxation of Overseas Trusts and Companies”. Patrick Soares has written tax memoranda on a wide range of topics including SDLT, the Taxation of Pension Funds, Business Investment Relief, Taxation of Non-UK Domiciled Individuals and  the Statutory Residence Test. He was the Tax Editor of the Property Law Bulletin for many years. He is the Editor of Land Taxation.

    Patrick Way KC’s current case load includes issues relating to transfer pricing, DPT, individual and corporate residence, double tax agreements, VAT on property transactions, corporate reconstructions, taxation of interest, mutual agreement procedures, COP9 investigations, image rights investigations, ATED, transfers of assets abroad and many other topics.

    Philip Baker KC has written one of the leading text books on “Double Taxation Agreements” and has specialist expertise in taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights. He has acted for the UK and foreign governments, and appeared in the House of Lords, Privy Council and European Court of Justice.

    Imran Afzal read Law at Oxford as an undergraduate and postgraduate, coming top of the university on both occasions, and has had a meteoric rise in the profession. He has taught tax part-time at the LSE and on the MA in Taxation at the IALS.

    Peter Vaines was a tax partner in firms of accountants and solicitors for many years before joining chambers in 2016. He was the lead advisor in the case of Gaines-Cooper and is described as the elder statesman of residence and domicile. He writes and lectures widely on tax issues and won the Tax Writer of the Year Award in 2015.

    Dilpreet K Dhanoa has a diverse practice in Revenue law across both indirect and direct taxes, nationally and internationally. She is currently junior Counsel to the Attorney-General’s C Panel, and undertakes a range of both advisory and litigious work.  Dilpreet joined Field Court Tax Chambers from private practice where she worked in international arbitration and litigation, focusing on commercial disputes. She has appeared in all levels of Court up to the Court of Appeal. Prior to joining the independent Bar, she qualified as a Chartered Tax Advisor with a Big-4 Accounting firm, specialising in the taxation of financial instruments and real estate.

    David Southern KC joins Field Court Tax Chambers from Temple Tax Chambers. Before beginning independent practice at the Bar in 1997 he worked in the Inland Revenue and in banking. He was appointed a KC in 2014. Until 2020 he was Director of the School of Tax Law at Queen Mary, University of London. He is sole author of Taxation of Loan Relationships and Derivative Contracts, now in its 10th edition. A Supplement was published in 2020, dealing with loss carry-forward rules and the corporate interest restriction. He is a contributor to Gore-Browne on Companies.

    Information on our door tenants:

    David Bloom KC holds the degrees of LLB (Hons) and LLM (Hons) from the University of Sydney. He was called to the New South Wales Bar in August 1975 and became one of Her Majesty’s Counsel in 1987. David is also a practising member of the Bar of England and Wales and a member of the New York State Bar.

    *Porus Kaka is a Senior Advocate (India) and Barrister and was President of the International Fiscal Association Worldwide (2013-2017). He was the first President from the Asian Region in its 75 years’ history. Previously, he represented India in the IFA’s Permanent Scientific Committee. He is currently a Trustee of International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (Netherlands) and Hon. President IFA. He is also on the Editorial Board of the World Tax Journal, and completed his LL.M from Harvard Law School in the USA. His areas of practice include all Direct Tax and International Tax Treaty Laws and litigation.

    Philip Goeth was called to the Bar in 2017. Previously he was a senior partner with a Big-4 accounting firm, holding leadership positions in Austria, Switzerland, and in the Asia-Pacific region. He obtained a Master of Business Administration and a Master and Doctor of Law degree in Austria, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP and a Master of Law at the LSE in London. He was awarded rights of audience as Chartered Tax Adviser in the Austrian tax courts in 1997, and he is also licensed as Rechtsanwalt and Certified Public Accountant in Austria and as Auditing Expert in Switzerland.

    Richard Collier* specialises in the taxation of MNEs with particular reference to the financial sector and the rules for the cross-border allocation of income relating to transfer pricing and permanent establishments. He has also worked on a range of issues concerning international tax treaties. He was previously a Partner in one of the UK’s ‘Big 4’ consulting firms where his dual role was to lead the global banking tax practice and to lead the Firm’s global engagement with the OECD on international tax matters.

    Rita da Cunha is a practising member of the Bar of England & Wales and of the Portuguese Bar (2008), as well as a member of the New York State Bar (2010). She has rights of audience before EU courts. She also chairs tax arbitration in Portugal on a regular basis and is a tax expert for the Tribute Foundation for International Tax Dispute Resolution.

    *This information is provided in relation to and for the purpose of work undertaken at Field Court Tax Chambers.

    Types of work undertaken: Patrick C Soares advises on all aspects of taxation, providing notable expertise on the taxation and structuring of property transactions, as well as value added tax, trusts and offshore tax planning and tax advocacy. Patrick Way KC has appeared in leading tax cases at all levels of the UK court system and also advised on some of the largest corporate transactions in the UK, where the tax at stake has been in the multi-millions and he continues to advise high profile celebrities in the words of sport and entertainment. Philip Baker KC is one of the most renowned tax advisers on international tax matters, handling cases in jurisdictions, including India and Mauritius and at the European Court of Justice. He has advised the UK government and other governments on tax matters and has played a major part in the development of many tax systems. Imran Afzal has been involved in a range of domestic and international matters, acting for taxpayers and revenue authorities. He has been instructed in various high-profile and high-value matters, eg he has acted for Rupert Grint and Arron Banks. Peter Vaines is well known for his experience on matters of residence and domicile and for advising on trusts and private client matters generally with many clients from overseas, in addition to wider issues such as tax investigations and share valuations for tax purposes.  Dilpreet K Dhanoa is well known in the VAT world and has advised extensively on the tax – both in the UK and the Middle East. She was the principal lecturer at the DIFC Academy of Law for VAT, and played a major role during the introduction of VAT in the Middle East. She currently sits on the University of Oxford’s Advisory Board for Women in Law, where she completed her Masters in Taxation.  She is a regular contributor to the British Tax Review, and a chapter editor for Gammie & de Souza on Land Taxation. David Southern KC has a wide-ranging tax practice covering direct taxes and VAT in equal measure, nationally and cross-border. His litigation practice is extensive. He  represented taxpayers in many of the recent leading cases on judicial review of payment notices (Rowe, Cartref Care Homes). He has a specialism in corporate finance. He has worked regularly for foreign governments in the UK and abroad (China, Australia, Latvia, European Commission).

    Field Court Tax Chambers is expanding from its very strong initial core of barristers and will continue to enhance its services in all its areas of expertise.

     

    DepartmentNameEmailTelephone
    Practice manager Marie Burke
    Assistant practice manager Stephanie Talbot
    Head of Chambers SOARES, Patrick C (1983)
    Member of Chambers WAY KC, Patrick (1994)
    Member of Chambers BAKER KC, Philip (1979)
    Member of Chambers AFZAL, Imran S (2008)
    Member of Chambers VAINES, Peter (1989)
    Member of Chambers DHANOA Dilpreet K (2009)
    Member of Chambers SOUTHERN KC David (1982)
    Door Tenant BLOOM KC, David (Australia)
    Door Tenant KAKA, Porus F (India)
    DoorTenant GOETH, Philip (Austria)
    Door Tenant COLLIER, Richard
    Door Tenant DA CUNHA, Rita
    PhotoNamePositionProfile
    Imran S Afzal photo Imran S AfzalBarrister at, and co-founder of, Field Court Tax Chambers. Has a broad…
    Philip Baker photo Philip BakerWorks in most areas of revenue law, with particular emphasis on international…
    Philip Baker photo Philip BakerWorks in most areas of revenue law, with particular emphasis on international…
    Katherine Bullock photoMs Katherine BullockBarrister at Field Court Tax Chambers. Advises on all areas of personal…
    Dilpreet K Dhanoa photo Dilpreet K DhanoaDilpreet K Dhanoa has a diverse practice in Revenue law across both…
    Patrick C Soares photo Patrick C SoaresGeneral taxation with special emphasis on the taxation of trusts, international tax,…
    David Southern photo David SouthernRevenue law and judicial review. Recent cases: VAT Allegion (UK) nLtd v…
    David Southern photo David SouthernRevenue law and judicial review. Recent cases: VAT Allegion (UK) nLtd v…
    Peter Vaines photo Peter VainesAll areas of tax, with special emphasis on residence, domicile, trusts, international…
    Patrick Way photo Patrick WayAll areas of tax, both as an adviser and an advocate. Queen’s…
    Patrick Way photo Patrick WayAll areas of tax, both as an adviser and an advocate. Queen’s…

    Diversity

    Field Court Tax Chambers is committed to providing equality of opportunity regardless of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, religion or belief, political persuasion, pregnancy or maternity.

    Pro bono assistance

    Members of chambers are willing to provide assistance pro bono in appropriate cases. We have given pro bono advice and representation in the past, including assistance to the Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) both in providing opinions to go to HMRC and HMT and in representing unrepresented litigants.


    Diversity

    Field Court Tax Chambers is committed to providing equality of opportunity regardless of race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, religion or belief, political persuasion, pregnancy or maternity.

    Pro bono assistance

    Members of chambers are willing to provide assistance pro bono in appropriate cases. We have given pro bono advice and representation in the past, including assistance to the Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) both in providing opinions to go to HMRC and HMT and in representing unrepresented litigants.