Appleby‘s houses an ‘excellent’ private client and trusts team, known for its ‘real depth and expertise in trust litigation’. High net-worth individuals, institutional trustees, banks, and charities all frequently instruct the team. Charles Davies works extensively on complex trust disputes, often involving novel points of law, while Mark Holligon has distinct dispute resolution expertise. The ‘detail-oriented’ and ‘approachable’ Melissa Wong advises on the full spectrum of trust law and regularly assists financial institutions with authority and capacity issues. Erin Trimble-Cregeen is a key name for trustees and beneficiaries, handling a wide range of contentious trust issues.

DQ‘s dedicated tax and private client team undertakes a ‘wide and varied’ workload on behalf of leading banks, law firms, trustee providers, and accounting practices. Team leader Annemarie Hughes has notable experience in trust and private client matters, as well as international tax investigations, while Donna Matthews advises on the full spectrum of trust matters, from day-to-day administration issues to complex restructurings. Catherine French routinely assists corporate service providers and family offices with complicated trust and tax matters, such as economic substance issues. Joshua Quinn recently joined from M&P Legal.

Simcocks excels across the full spectrum of trust law advice, including acting in contentious matters; the group also has extensive experience in probate and estate administration, frequently acting for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Phil Games regularly establishes offshore and multi-jurisdictional trust structures and has experience advising wealthy international families on estate restructurings, while Louise Byrne handles high-net-worth financial relief divorce cases, and Kevin O’Loughlin has considerable corporate and company law, regulatory, and pensions knowledge. Caroline Jennings is head of family law, and Janice Turnbull has over 20 years experience as an advocate.

Humphrey & Helfrich is noted in the market for its will drafting expertise along with knowledge of estate administration issues. Stacey Meakin regularly handles matters involving grants of representation, estate planning issues, and succession requirements, and Rebecca Bannister is active in contentious and non-contentious probate matters. Mark Humphrey regularly acts as administrator in estate disputes.