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Piers Barclay

Piers Barclay

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Macfarlanes LLP

Macfarlanes LLP

England - London • Private client

1

Personal tax, trusts and probate

Macfarlanes LLP is the ‘Rolls Royce and Tesla of private client work combining the best of every old style quality with the modernity of high-tech innovation in the fiscal world’. Spearheaded by Piers Barclay, it is highly recommended for its work on complex international matters typically for high-net-worth clients with assets, business interests and families across multiple jurisdictions. Richard Giangrande maintains a significant US/UK focused practice, and a growing Latin American practice. Charles Gothard spends considerable time in Switzerland developing relationships with key intermediaries and has a significant Middle East/GCC practice, as well. Nicholas Harries has a diverse practice, which includes advising on significant international trusts and estate planning matters. Mark Hunter and Sebastian Prichard Jones are both eminent practitioners, while Edward Reed’s practice has a large European element. Jennifer Smithson specialises in advising financial services executives, as well as entrepreneurs moving to the UK. Paul Hardwick has considerable experience in succession planning for major privately owned family businesses.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Phone
020 7849 2530
Email
[email protected]
Profile
macfarlanes.com

Profile

Work Department
Private client
Position

Piers is the head of private client.

Piers specialises in succession, tax and estate planning advice for individuals and their families as well as related advice to trustees and other private client service providers, such as family offices. In addition to UK-based clients, much of his work has an international element, including structuring multi-jurisdictional estates, using trusts in civil law and Shari’a law countries and advising non-UK trustees on tax and fiduciary matters.

He has experience in UK pre-arrival planning for non-domiciliaries, remittance basis advice and the implementation of trusts, wills and associated mechanisms on arrival, both for entrepreneurs and for other high-net-worth individuals.  Piers is also involved in the post-death administration of estates, both in the UK and in the international context.

Before becoming a partner, Piers spent six months on secondment in the trusts department of a leading international law firm.

Piers is ranked as a Tier One adviser in the UK and Global editions of the independent Chambers guide and as a leading individual in the UK Legal 500 guide. He has been recognised in the eprivateclient 2021 50 Most Influential list and is recommended in the 2021 Private Client Global Elite guide.

Career

Trained Macfarlanes; qualified 1998; partner 2005

Memberships
Professional memberships STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)

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Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'A  stellar team that is rightly regarded as one of the market leaders for private client work. Technical expertise is matched with a work ethic that would not be out of place in a Magic Circle or US firm.'
  • 'It's probably the commerciality of approach that singles them out. Sebastian Prichard Jones: Unparalleled intellect and focus. For leading one through complex and complicated situations and making it all appear straightforward he is hard to beat.'