Clients praise the contentious tax team at Baker McKenzie for ‘always looking for solutions to tax disputes with HMRC’. The group’s expertise is particularly sought out by clients with disputes in the financial institutions, healthcare, TMT and FMCG sectors. Co-heads David Jamieson and Jessica Eden both take responsibility for steering the practice. Jamieson is a reputed VAT lawyer and fields a wealth of knowledge in VAT disputes stemming from the financial services, telecoms and e-commerce sectors. Eden provides the corporate tax expertise, seeing her frequently advise on HMRC investigations into international structures. Jukka Karjalainen leads on the transfer pricing front.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Very proactive and supportive - always looking for solutions to tax disputes with HMRC. the team understand our business well and are readily available to assist when needed’
- 'Jess Eden - Jess is more in the background, but she knows our business well and is always there if needed to give another opinion or give insights on strategy. Very professional and technically competent. very pleased to have her as part of the team. Jukka Karjalainen - we have only been working with Jukka for a short time, but he has become a valuable additional resource to us as clients.’
‘The Bakers team is very deep, and they have people with various specialities - technical, procedural, modelling etc. They are very proactive and provide great client service. Great insights and ideas.’
‘Jessica Eden, Salli McElligott, excellent professionals and very nice to work with.’
‘Very hard-working. Excellent legal knowledge and tactical judgment. Provides fantastic help to counsel in preparing for hearings at all levels up to the Supreme Court.’
‘David Jamieson: absolute pleasure to work with. Friendly, hugely intelligent, responsive and has fantastic tactical judgment. Naoko Uehara: Responsive, hard-working. Provides invaluable help on the procedural aspects of litigation. Friendly and a pleasure to work with.’
Key clients
- Electronic Arts
- European Tyre Enterprise Limited
- JP Morgan
- MDU (Medical Defence Union Limited)
- Refinitiv
- Takeda
- Thames Television
- The Prudential Assurance Company Limited
- Thomson Reuters
- UK Power Networks
Work highlights
Advised the Kwik-Fit Group on a dispute with HMRC over interest deductibility (unallowable purpose).
Represented Prudential in the Court of Appeal in January 2024 on the VAT treatment of investment management services.
Acted for Thomson Reuters Corporation in a Judicial Review of HMRC's decision to issue Diverted Profits Tax Notices in contravention of an Advanced Pricing Agreement.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
David Jamieson; Jessica Eden
Other key lawyers
Jukka Karjalainen; Salli McElligott; Mark Delaney; Naoko Uehara