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Jacob Ward

Jacob Ward

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Macfarlanes LLP

Macfarlanes LLP

England - London • Private client

1

Contentious trusts and probate

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
Phone
02078492316
Email
[email protected]
Profile
macfarlanes.com

Profile

Work Department
Litigation and dispute resolution
Position

Jacob specialises in domestic and international litigation, with a particular focus on trust disputes, international succession and estate disputes and fraud.

He advises on a broad range of litigation both in England and across the world, including the BVI, Guernsey, Cayman, Cyprus and Hong Kong. He focuses particularly on:

  • trust disputes, including removing or defending trustees, tracing assets, and disputes between beneficiaries;
  • estate and probate disputes, including disputes over the validity of wills and claims against the solicitor who drafted the will;
  • fraud claims, including tracing and recovering assets; and
  • insolvency claims, including claims against former directors and recovering assets for creditors.

Jacob edits the Contentious Matters section of the Butterworths Wills, Probate and Administration Service.

Jacob is ranked as a leading individual in the 2021 UK Legal 500 guide.  He is a qualified solicitor advocate and sits as a Magistrate in London.

Career

Trained Macfarlanes 2012; qualified 2014

Content supplied by Macfarlanes LLP

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.’