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Private Client: Trusts And Probate

1
5 Stone Buildings
Serle Court
Wilberforce Chambers
XXIV Old Buildings
2
New Square Chambers
Radcliffe Chambers
Ten Old Square
3
Gatehouse Chambers
Selborne Chambers

Leading Silks

1
Jonathan Adkin KC –Serle Court ‘He has all the qualities required of a first-rank commercial silk. He is hard-working and efficient.'
Gilead Cooper KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Gilead has a gravitas which instils confidence in clients and solicitors alike. He is known for his deft advocacy skills and his first rate critical analysis.'
Michael Furness KC – Wilberforce Chambers
Brian Green KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Brian's advice is of the highest quality. He can be relied on to find a solution to the seemingly intractable.'
Dakis Hagen KC –Serle Court ‘Incredibly bright and knowledgeable. Masterful and captivating as an oral advocate.'
Robert Ham KC – Wilberforce Chambers
Jonathan Hilliard KC – Wilberforce Chambers 
Henry Legge KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Great in court and very persuasive.'
Nicholas Le Poidevin KC –New Square Chambers ‘Nick is the technical guru for domestic and offshore trust disputes and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the courts.'
Penelope Reed KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Unflappable, hugely knowledgeable, excellent with clients.'
Clare Stanley KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Clare possesses a wealth of knowledge and is clearly highly experienced and sought after within her area of expertise.'
Elspeth Talbot Rice KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘There's a reason that Elspeth is top of the pops. Her advocacy is considered and measured and highly persuasive.'
Simon Taube KC –Ten Old Square ‘Technically very strong but with a human touch.'
Richard Wilson KC –Serle Court ‘Richard is an outstanding advocate. His courtroom presence is assured and persuasive, marked by clarity of thought.'
2
Tracey Angus KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Tracey is technically excellent and one of the best Chancery advocates at the moment. Her attention to detail and analytic skills are unparalled and her cross-examination of witnesses can be devastating.'
David Brownbill KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘The senior don of the Chancery Bar. Carries huge respect.’
Edward Cumming KC –XXIV Old Buildings 'Incredibly hardworking and bright and has an excellent manner with clients.'
Jonathan Davey KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Jonathan is very thorough and user friendly. He gets to the nub of the issue extremely quickly.'
Jonathan Harris KC –Serle Court ‘Jonathan is a leading authority in his field, and he has the ability to put highly complex concepts into easy to understand language.'
Elizabeth Jones KC –Serle Court 'One of the best advocates around. She is insightful and very sharp in her thinking, leaving no stone unturned.'
Constance McDonnell KC  – Serle Court ‘Constance is fantastic. She is brilliant, bold and great to have on one's side.'
Andrew Mold KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Andrew is extremely bright and detail orientated, but has a fantastic ability to break down difficult and intricate matters and focus on the key issues.'
Stephen Moverley Smith KC –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Stephen is fantastic with clients and provides an excellent service.’
Robert Pearce KC –Radcliffe Chambers ‘A wonderful barrister who is a master technician at trusts law.'
David Rees KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘David is an absolute rock in terms of his work in our contentious estate matters. He is a leader in the profession and commands respect wherever he appears.'
Giles Richardson KC –Serle Court ‘Giles is one of the best silks around. He is incredibly intelligent and able to digest the most complex of cases with ease.'
3
Zoë Barton KC – Wilberforce Chambers
Ian Clarke KC –Selborne Chambers
Timothy Collingwood KC – Serle Court ‘Tim is an utter pleasure to work with. He wears his massive intellect lightly (but deploys it very effectively).'
Clifford Darton KC – Selborne Chambers
Thomas Dumont KC – Radcliffe Chambers ‘Tom is an exceptional and elegant advocate who is always on top of every detail.'
David E Grant KC – Outer Temple Chambers
Sarah Haren KC – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Sarah is an excellent communicator, she has a fantastic manner with clients, and her legal knowledge and case presentation is outstanding.'
Alexander Learmonth KC –New Square Chambers ‘Able to cut through very complex legal issues and make them easier to address and for the client to understand.'
John Machell KC –Serle Court 
Christopher McCall KC –Maitland Chambers
Fenner Moeran KC – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Excellent work and great to be in the trenches with.'
Tiffany Scott KC – Wilberforce Chambers
Kate Selway KC –Radcliffe Chambers 'Kate is wonderfully thorough when assessing the evidence and provides high quality advice on tactics.'
Nikki Singla KC – Wilberforce Chambers
Brie Stevens-Hoare KC –Gatehouse Chambers 'Brie is excellent at quickly establishing a rapport with clients from all walks of life.'
Christopher Tidmarsh KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Chris is so approachable, calm and knows all there is to know about trusts.’
Francis Tregear KC –XXIV Old Buildings 'Francis is diligent and responsive. His written work is considered and his advice is straightforward.'
Shân Warnock-Smith KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘One of the greatest strengths of hers is her unparallelled experience over many years.'

2025 Silks

Ruth Hughes KC –5 Stone Buildings ‘Extremely capable and fantastic attention to detail, thinks every angle through, works well as part of a wider team.’

Leading Juniors

1
Piers Feltham –Radcliffe Chambers  
Andrew Holden –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Andrew is hugely commercial and pragmatic which combined with his immense intellect makes him a client's dream counsel to have advocating their case.'
Lynton Tucker –New Square Chambers 
James Weale –Serle Court ‘James is responsive, fast and commercially minded. He has a wealth of knowledge on the law and is very good at suggesting practical ways of resolving difficult problems.'
2
Georgia Bedworth –Ten Old Square ‘Georgia is very thorough and personable and is able to communicate very technical matters easily.’
Aidan Briggs –New Square Chambers ‘Aidan is incredibly bright, personable and easy to deal with.'
Zahler Bryan – Serle Court ‘Zahler is fantastic to work with. She thinks laterally and is across every detail across multiple jurisdictions.'
Daniel Burton –Radcliffe Chambers ‘Daniel's advocacy in court is excellent - he is polite but puts his points forward forcefully.'
Richard Dew –Ten Old Square 'Richard is a leading barrister in trust and estate disputes, highly organised and knowledgeable.'
Thomas Fletcher  – Serle Court ‘Tom has excellent analytical skills and is very knowledgeable/authoritative on trust and will principles.’
Elis Gomer – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Simply fantastic. Superb legal knowledge and gives commercial, practical advice.'
Emma Hargreaves –Serle Court ‘Emma is really excellent. She inspires confidence and is a force to be reckoned with.'
Mark Hubbard –New Square Chambers ‘Mark's advice is consistently comprehensive in terms of technical detail but delivered in a practical and concise way.'
Susannah Meadway –Ten Old Square ‘Susannah has excellent trust law/tax knowledge and her trust drafting skills are superb.'
Barbara Rich –5 Stone Buildings
Sophia Rogers –Radcliffe Chambers ‘Sophia is extremely diligent and has a tremendous work ethic.'
Daniel Warents –XXIV Old Buildings  
Elizabeth Weaver –XXIV Old Buildings ‘An excellent all rounder.'
3
Robert Arnfield - Ten Old Square 'His advice is technically excellent and also pragmatic.'
Michael Ashdown – Wilberforce Chambers ‘He is very thorough and meticulous on the detail which is essential for all trust variation work.’
Simon Atkinson – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Simon has a mastery of Chancery Division commercial disputes that include contentious probate issues.'
Toby Bishop –5 Stone Buildings ‘Toby is a very bright and personable barrister who has a pragmatic approach to cases.'
James Bradford - XXIV Old Buildings 'James is brilliant. He is strategically excellent, tenacious and a brilliant draftsmen.'
Rory Brown – South Square  
Alexander Drapkin – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Alexander is a powerful advocate with deep expertise in Court of Protection, trusts and estate matters.'  
Sarah Egan  – New Square Chambers ‘Solid grasp of the law in her field.'
Rose Fetherstonhaugh – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Rosie is brilliant - she is extremely clever, so switched on and is an absolute dream to work with.'
Jordan Holland –5 Stone Buildings ‘Jordan is bright and is very knowledgeable on a broad range of issues in this area.'
Oliver Ingham – 3PB ‘Oliver is meticulous and has a great eye for detail. Whilst he is a very technical lawyer, he is able to give very practical advice.'
Oliver Jones –Serle Court ‘Oliver is very impressive. He is completely over the detail and and drafts very clearly, is very user friendly, responsive and a pleasure to work with.'
James MacDougald –Ten Old Square ‘James is extremely user friendly and delivers consistently strong and timely advice in a collaborative manner.'
Matthew Mills – Radcliffe Chambers
Adil Mohamedbhai –Serle Court ‘He is exceptionally hard-working and competent. He can analyze complex legal problems from a wide range of areas of law.'
Francis Ng – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Francis is very bright and very good on the details. He is a pleasure to work with, and his written advocacy is especially good.'
Michael O’Sullivan –5 Stone Buildings 'Great depth of experience and entirely unflappable.'
Nathan Wells – Radcliffe Chambers 'Excellent at very tricky issues. Incredibly bright and articulate and thinks outside the box to come up with solutions.'
George Woodhead –Selborne Chambers
Stephen Woodward –Three Stone ‘Stephen is a brilliant technical lawyer, but his advice always has sight of the practical implications for instructing solicitors and their clients.'
4
Mark Baxter – 5 Stone Buildings
Sarah Bayliss – XXIV Old Buildings  
Julia Beer – Selborne Chambers
Chris de Beneducci – Selborne Chambers
Amy Berry – New Square Chambers ‘She is technically excellent, her drafting is thorough and advocacy strong. In mediation she is pragmatic and realistic.’
Charlotte Beynon – Serle Court 
Chris Bryden – 4 King’s Bench Walk ‘He is quick on his feet, keeps his eye on the ball and his mediation advocacy skills are first rate.'
Rupert Coe –Three Stone ‘Rupert's technical knowledge is excellent. He is responsive and turns work around at the earliest opportunity.'
Hugh Cumber – 5 Stone Buildings 'Fantastic knowledge, great with clients, can handle any level of case with ease.'
Eliza Eagling – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Eliza provides considered, strategic advice with an excellent bedside manner.'
William East – 5 Stone Buildings ‘William is technically excellent. Really knows his stuff when it comes to thorny trust law issues.'
Marcus Flavin –Radcliffe Chambers ‘Quick thinking, innovative and crystal clear in his advice.'
Helen Galley –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Excellent with the clients themselves, able to explain complex issues in an understandable way.'
James Goodwin – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Absolutely brilliant written work done under extreme time pressure.'
Katherine Hallett – Three Stone ‘Very thorough with great business and company law knowledge.’
Luke Harris  – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Luke is very sharp and focused. He has a great knowledge and is capable of digesting and disseminating a huge volume of information in a flash.'
Edward Hewitt –5 Stone Buildings ‘He is a silk in junior's clothing. Incredibly bright, yet commercial and confident.'
Edward Hicks –Radcliffe Chambers 'Absolutely top class mind, but what makes him such an excellent counsel is that that is combined with a relentless persistence and devotion to his client’s case.'
Oliver Hilton – Radcliffe Chambers ‘Oliver is technically strong and a pleasure to work with. He is as forceful on his feet as he is on paper.'
Gregor Hogan – Serle Court ‘Gregor is great at getting up to speed quickly on huge volumes of documents. His advocacy oral and written is persuasive and to the point.'
Charles Holbech –Radcliffe Chambers 'Quite superb legal analysis and quality of service. Advice/opinions are very helpful to solicitor and client alike.'
Justin Holmes –Radcliffe Chambers ‘He is calm and reassuring, exceedingly knowledgeable and very prompt in advising.'
Elizabeth Houghton – Wilberforce Chambers  
Charlotte John –Gatehouse Chambers 
Cheryl Jones – 3PB ‘Cheryl is calm and capable on her feet in court, dealing with unexpected developments with ease and flair.'
Kira King  – South Square ‘Strong analytical skills and easy going approachable manner. Very good with clients.'
Josh Lewison – Radcliffe Chambers ‘Josh is as bright as they come and can really find solutions to the most tricky issues.'
James McKean – New Square Chambers ‘Extremely thorough, organised, detailed in his approach and robust.'
Alison Meacher - Gatehouse Chambers
William Moffett –Radcliffe Chambers ‘William is an outstanding advocate with a combination of sharp commercial acumen and practical sensibility.'
Roger Mullis –Radcliffe Chambers
Heather Murphy –XXIV Old Buildings
Elaine Palser –Outer Temple Chambers ‘Elaine is exceptionally well prepared and extremely thorough in her analysis. She is articulate and persuasive in her advocacy and brilliant with clients.'
Lydia Pemberton – Selborne Chambers 
James Poole –Ten Old Square 'Impressive in his turnaround speed of his written work and clear in his advice.'
Amy Proferes – Serle Court ‘Amy is bright, personable and cuts to the issues very quickly.'
Mathew Roper –5 Stone Buildings ‘Matthew is excellent at analysing the evidence, relating this to the law and providing clear, practical advice.'
Tom Roscoe – Wilberforce Chambers 
Edward Sawyer – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Very details focused, clear and concise.'
Bajul Shah –XXIV Old Buildings ‘Bajul is an absolute anchor in our team. He is solid, thorough and utterly dependable.’
Timothy Sherwin –XXIV Old Buildings 'Tim is excellent. He punches above his weight, is technically brilliant, commercial and gets stuck in.'
Joseph Steadman – Wilberforce Chambers ‘Joe's comprehensive knowledge of the law and attention to detail makes him great to work with.'
Philip Stear – Outer Temple Chambers ‘Philip is very astute, thorough and knowledgeable.’
Cameron Stocks –Gatehouse Chambers ‘Cameron is technically astute and knowledgeable, commercially pragmatic and personally down to earth and likeable.'
Stephanie Thompson – Serle Court ‘Absolutely faultless drafting skills with the most astonishing attention to detail.'
Matthew Tonnard – Radcliffe Chambers

Rising Stars

Arabella Adams - 5 Stone Buildings 'Terrific attention to detail and enthusiasm for work.'
Emilia Carslaw – 5 Stone Buildings ‘Emilia is excellent. She is hard working and forensic in her knowledge of dates/documents.'
Thomas James – Ten Old Square
Emma Loizou – Radcliffe Chambers ‘Emma is super bright and very effective, both in writing and when advocating.'
Poppy Rimington-Pounder – Radcliffe Chambers 'Excellent advocate and deals well with difficult questions under pressure.'
Adam Smith-Roberts –Gatehouse Chambers ‘His advice is coherent, clear and always understood.’
Daniel Thorpe – Radcliffe Chambers ‘Daniel is one of the most highly regarded up and coming juniors around.'

Private wealth and probate in London Bar

5 Stone Buildings


‘A terrific set with a deep bench’, 5 Stone Buildings‘ expertise covers a broad swathe of chancery, especially large contentious probate, Court of Protection work and taxation. Penelope Reed KC led Emilia Carslaw in Bond v Webster, a High Court probate claim concerning the capacity of a testator. Made silk in March 2025, Ruth Hughes KC acted for the CPS on the trusts elements of its POCA proceedings against Baroness Mone . Elis Gomer appeared for an ICB in the Court of Protection concerning a case that examined whether a personal health budget is capable of being administered by a property and affairs deputy.

Referenzen

‚Paul Jennings is a very competent clerk who always provides prompt information.‘

‚5 Stone Buildings are supreme in my view. A top tier set.‘

‚The clerking service at 5SB is a real credit to chambers. Friendly efficient and reliable. A pleasure to work with.‘

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Serle Court


Supported by an ‘excellent’ clerking team, members of Serle Court regularly represent clients in major litigation. Thomas Fletcher acts unled against Richard Wilson KC and Oliver Jones in JTC Employer Solutions Trustee v Garnett, a High Court claim seeking the rescission of trust appointments on the grounds of mistake. Amy Proferes is acting in the factual complex Re Klein, a probate case where the estate was tied up in shareholdings in fifteen companies. Jonathan Harris KC is instructed in Kea Investments v Wikeley Family Trustee, where his client was able to obtain rare anti-enforcement injunctions in this case concerning an allegedly fraudulent agreement - the matter involved cross-border litigaiton involving New Zealand.

Referenzen

‚Arron Snipe in particular has been a pleasure to work with – always available, thorough and goes above and beyond to assist.‘

‚Serle is a top class set in the chancery field, with some of the most able practitioners.‘

‚The chambers has a very good reputation for trust and probate litigation and for general commercial litigation.‘

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Wilberforce Chambers


‘An excellent set from front to back’, Wilberforce Chambers appears at all levels of the judicial system, representing clients in leading trust, probate and taxation cases. Brian Green KC currently advises Sheikh Mohammad, the ruler of Dubai, on the English law aspects of his divorce to Princess Haya of Jordan. Clare Stanley KC acted for the Appellant in the Supreme Court case, LA Micro Group (UK) v LA Micro Group Inc, which established that s. 53(1)(c) of the Law of Property Act applied to personal property. In Crescent Gas Corporation v National Iranian Oil Company, Gilead Cooper KC advised on the potential appeal of a claim concerning the beneficial ownership of a commercial property in London. Zoë Barton KC advised the wife of Sheikh in Greig Mitchell & Keneth Krys v Al Jaber, a claim establishing a beneficial interest in a home in London. Nikki Singla KC led in the complex Pavilion v RadcliffesLeBresseur, in which the claimants allege - among other issues - that the private client firm of solicitors acted in breach of its retainer in failing to retire the claimants from three family settlements.

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‚Tommie Drury and Stewart Cameron are particularly impressive.‘

‚An excellent set from front to back.‘

‚All of the clerking team are very organised and a pleasure to work with.‘

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XXIV Old Buildings


‘A high quality outfit’, XXIV Old Buildings contains experts in trust and investment structure disputes raising issues of fraud, banking and insolvency. High-net-worth individuals, multinationals and global trust structures regularly instruct members of chambers in their disputes. Elizabeth Weaver acted in Grosskopf v Grosskopf for the defendants who successfully stayed proceedings in favour of arbitration, stopping proceedings to appoint a judicial trustee. Harry Samuels represented a defendant in Folds Farm Turstees v Cutts - a contested trustee blessing application, followed by issues as to if a party could recover costs out of the estate.

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‚The set is a high quality outfit and a leading voice in the trusts and estates field.‘

‚XXIV Old Buildings is a fantastic set for chancery work.‘

‚The clerks are always responsive and helpful.‘

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New Square Chambers


Noted for its pool of ‘extremely talented juniors’, New Square Chambers acts for clients across multiple jurisdictions for high net worth individuals on issues relating to trusts and probate. Nicholas Le Poidevin KC is a specialist in litigation concerning trustees’ exercise of powers, as well as trust variation. Alexander Learmonth KC successfully resisted a freezing injunction application in Feinberg v Feinberg, where his client was alleged to have unjustly enriched himself by withholding his sister’s shares of an estate. Aidan Briggs acts in Re Mordue, an Inheritance Act claim examining the capacity of the widow’s capacity to litigate. Mark Hubbard appeared on appear relating to English aspects of Buksh v Bush, an Manx case concerning a company domiciled in that jurisdiction owning a large property portfolio in the UK.

Referenzen

‚Excellently managed by senior clerk Michelle Greene, the clerks are very friendly, helpful and responsive.‘

‚New Square Chambers are my go to London set for all manner of chancery, contentious probate and trusts work.‘

‚Clerks are extremely responsive and the team has depth.‘

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Radcliffe Chambers


‘A fantastic set for traditional Chancery work’, Radcliffe Chambers covers the breadth of contentious and non-contentious trust and probate work. Robert Pearce KC acted in Jaffer v Jaffer, a High Court claim concerning a dispute over the running and finances of an international charity set up to benefit followers of Shia Islam. In Killick v Kocsis, Kate Selway appeared before the High Court in this claim seeking to overturn a grant of probate.

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‚Superb set, they are my go-to chamber for contentious probate.‘

‚Radcliffe are a fantastic set for traditional chancery work.‘

‚Radcliffe is well run with clerks who are very helpful.‘

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Ten Old Square


Supported by ‘superb’ clerks, Ten Old Square‘s barristers cover the gamut of trusts disputes. Simon Taube KC regularly advises trustees on complex trust structures, recently working in a case concerning the appointment of replacement trustees to a large Chelsea estate. Georgia Bedworth is acting on a probate claim challenging the will of her client’s late husband on the grounds of lack of capacity. In Seymour v Ragley Trust Corporation, Richard Dew appears in this case brought by the Earl of Yarmouth who seeks to remove the trustees of a number of discretionary trusts to which he is a beneficiary.

Referenzen

‚Marc Schofield is always helpful.‘

‚The barristers are knowledgeable, excellent advocates and a pleasure to work with.‘

‚A renowned set with great strength in chancery work.‘

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Gatehouse Chambers


‘With a nice range of areas of expertise’, Gatehouse Chambers compliments its trusts and probate expertise with knowledge in the areas of real property, mortgage and insolvency. Brie Stevens-Hoare KC acted in Pidsley & Pidsley v Spencer, a case raising allegations of fraud and forgery relating to the purported will of the claimant’s stepfather. Cameron Stocks was instructed in the Supreme Court case of Hirachand v Hirachand, which clarified the law on successful fee arrangements in relation to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. In Changizi v Mayers, Charlotte John provided an opinion on whether the proceeds of sale of English properties that are part of an estate constitute moveable or immovable assets in English law.

Referenzen

‚The set as a whole is strong with strength in depth.‘

‚Patrick Sarson is a great clerk and leads by example.‘ 

‚Gatehouse are a pleasure to deal with.‘

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Selborne Chambers


Selborne Chambers contains expertise in a wide array of trust and probate work, with members of the right experience level for every stage of a case's life cycle. Acting for the defendants, Ian Clarke KC led Julia Beer in Alexander Brotherton v Maybrook Properties, a claim for specific performance of an alleged agreement to separate underlying trusts holding shares in Maybrook Properties. Clifford Darton KC appears in Kilner v Hewitson, a High Court case seeking to set aside a will on the grounds of forgery. George Woodhead acted as sole counsel in the now leading case of Islam v Islam, which clarified the law on sham trusts.

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