With Jonathan Arr and Elizabeth Doherty jointly at the helm, Macfarlanes LLP is a go-to firm for high-value and complex disputes for HNW families and high-profile individuals, trustees and family offices. Additionally, it is able to draw on the strength of its strong private client and trusts offering, as well as its well-regarded white-collar crime, tax litigation, corporate tax and M&A teams. The firm is regularly instructed in disputes concerning some of the largest trusts and estates. These disputes often involve prominent businesses, substantial property holdings, in addition to substantial cash and investment portfolios. Significantly too, a number of these disputes are resolved through multi-party Public Trustee v Cooper applications. Jacob Ward, was promoted to the partnership in April 2025, is increasingly known for his work on large-scale international and UK mandates.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team are very supportive in a very tense environment and always make themselves available at short notice to provide comprehensive and sound advice.’
‘The team at Macfarlanes deserves to be in a league of its own. It combines the work ethic of the US law firms with unmatched expertise in trusts law.’
‘Elizabeth Doherty is the complete package. She is bright, tenacious and a pleasure to work with.’
‘Macfarlanes' Contentious Trusts and Probate Team is the best of its kind in the country, and very likely one of the best in the world. They have boundless experience of disputes in this area across the common law world. There is quite literally no firm in the UK which knows more about these types of disputes.'
‘Jonathan Arr has become a senior statesman in no time at all. He is incredibly smart and lovely to work with. He will continue to be involved in the biggest disputes for decades to come.'
- 'Elizabeth Doherty seems to have experience in practically every type of dispute, from Court of Protection work to contentious probate to international trusts work. She is a pleasure to deal with and she's excellent at running big teams and multi-jurisdictional disputes.'
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.
Practice head
Jonathan Arr; Elizabeth Doherty
Other key lawyers
Jacob Ward; Emma Cohen