Jonathan Arr and Elizabeth Doherty jointly lead the private client disputes team at Macfarlanes LLP, which is widely recognised for handling high-value trust and estate disputes involving major businesses and assets across multiple generations and jurisdictions. Arr is highly skilled across the full range of contentious trusts and estates matters, including complex disputes over trust validity, administration, and beneficiary rights. Doherty is knowledgeable in contentious trusts and estates disputes, including breach of trust claims, trustee and protector removal, Public Trustee v Cooper applications, and capacity issues in the Court of Protection. Jacob Ward has a particular focus on international succession, estate disputes, and fraud, while Emma Cohen has been key in international contentious trusts disputes. William Fletcher is instrumental in large-scale litigation proceedings across private wealth disputes, fraud and asset recovery, sovereign wealth disputes, and corporate disputes.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- The strength and depth of the team are unrivaled in the contentious private wealth area. Not only are the partners in the team some of the market leaders in their field, but they are supported by a cohort of extremely talented associates.
- Jonathan Arr is one of the finest trust litigators in the market. He is approachable and responsive, and capable of dealing with the most complex contentious trust matters. He is an inspirational leader and embodies every quality you would look for in a lawyer of the highest calibre. Chloë Edworthy is also a litigator of the highest quality, able to handle the most complex matters expertly.
- Elizabeth Doherty is superb. She has a real instinct for the law in this area and for litigation strategy: she can troubleshoot with the best of them, but her strongest suit is lining up successful litigation and avoiding problems before they can arise. She is so attentive to clients too, and they trust her implicitly. At the top of the tree.
- The Macfarlanes team is the very best in a highly competitive market. They offer unmatched expertise and resources and are a pleasure to work with. They are the best of the best.
- Lil Doherty is simply excellent in everything she does for clients. She is highly intelligent and sensitive to client needs. This, combined with a first-class legal mind, makes for a platinum service. I would wholeheartedly recommend her to any client. William Fletcher is a rising star. The full package. He is smart, extremely hardworking, highly commercial, and loyal. He is a pleasure to work with and is set to become a leader in this industry. Emma Cohen is a brilliant lawyer and adept at managing challenging matters and clients in need. She has a sharp legal intellect and is a brilliant tactician - a joy to work with. Leyla Garahan is one of the best senior associates in the market. She is understated and highly effective. She is extremely clever, very knowledgeable about the law, and she makes no mistakes. Leyla works extremely hard for clients and has an unparalleled eye for detail. We would always want her on our side.
- The team is supporting us through a complex, contentious transaction where they have multiple workstreams and need to bring in expertise from their colleagues across many disciplines. They are collaborative, incredibly knowledgeable, and professional.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Jonathan Arr; Elizabeth Doherty
Other key lawyers
Jacob Ward; Emma Cohen; William Fletcher