Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Trusts - London (Bar)

1
Band 1

What the Team is Known For

5 Stone Buildings is appreciated for the "the breadth of experience, approachability and no-nonsense approach to very complicated matters" exhibited by its members. The set advises on complex contentious and non-contentious trust matters, and has significant expertise in the handling of will trusts and deeds of variation, as well as specialist areas including strict settlements, entailed interests and perpetuities. Its team is active in several offshore jurisdictions such as the Channel Islands, the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. Recent work highlights include R v Mone and Barrowman, a case concerning £75m worth of Proceeds of Crime Act Final Restraint Orders.

Paul Jennings is the senior clerk.

Strengths

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Notable Practitioners

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Alexander Drapkin
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Alexander Drapkin
1
Band 1

Alexander Drapkin has a broad contentious and non-contentious trusts practice. His experience includes handling applications for variations of trusts, claims for breach of trust and inheritance disputes. He also has a specialist practice advising on regulated funeral protection plan trusts.

Superb to work with, Alex understands the client's perspective and the commercial elements of a case. He is always quick to pick up the key technical points in a case.

Alexander is very responsive and very approachable. He had a willingness to go into an area which others weren't prepared to work in.

Alex has good attention to detail and an excellent client demeanour. He is able to quickly put clients at ease, which is particularly valuable in emotive trust disputes.

Alex is brilliant. He's sharp-witted, responsive and easy to work with. Level-headed and calm, he has an excellent feel for how matters will play out in court.

He is both technically brilliant and astute at seeing the big picture. Alexander's expertise in securing sensible and commercial outcomes for clients is highly sought after.

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Francis Ng
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Band 1

Francis Ng is a highly regarded chancery barrister with a focus on trusts and estates. He has a broad private client practice with proven experience in probate disputes, validity of trusts and interpretation of deeds. He is appointed to the Attorney General’s B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown.

Francis is very good at the technical detail. His opinions are good and he goes into issues in a clear way, fully explaining the background.

Francis' strength is his advocacy and presentation in court which is top notch. His preparation is excellent, even in a fast-paced area.

Francis is easy to work with in terms of strategy. I've seen his advocacy and he's very quick on his feet. He is responsive, reactive and someone who takes the right points.

Francis is very, very meticulous in his preparation and a fine advocate. He knows the points to press and the ones to concede, which is key when its a high stakes costs scenario.

Francis has great client skills and is very articulate both in oral and written presentation. He's very bright and on the money, and his negotiation skills are excellent.

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Henry Legge
1
Band 1

Henry Legge KC is instructed in large trust disputes, both onshore and offshore. He has also advised extensively on non-contentious matters, including those concerning the interpretation and variation of trust structures. Legge is an expert in commercial trusts, securitisation structures and private trusts. His expertise also encompasses complex tax issues which arise in trust matters.

Everyone regards Henry as a superlative barrister. He's an absolute all-rounder, who's a fierce advocate and a superb client handler.

A smooth, clear and crisp advocate, who's just a real joy to work with.

Henry is always very creative with his arguments, and very user-friendly. He gets on with juniors, as well as partners and all kinds of clients, and is just superb.

Henry is incredibly smart. He has a quite brilliant brain and is very creative.

Henry is a fantastic person to deal with. He's very approachable, responsive and good when it comes to availability.

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Jordan Holland
1
Band 1

Jordan Holland has in-depth expertise in both onshore and offshore trust matters. He often acts for professional trustees as well as beneficiaries and protectors in a range of high-value disputes. His experience includes disputes concerning the validity of trusts, breach of trusts and ancillary applications.

Jordan is a formidable and really quick expert barrister. He is technically excellent and a pleasure to work with.

Jordan is very approachable and always eager to assist. He's very quick to grasp complex factual and legal matters, and also has excellent drafting skills.

Matthew Paton
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Matthew Paton
1
Band 1

Matthew Paton is instructed in onshore and offshore jurisdictions and acts in both contentious and non-contentious trust and probate matters. He has significant expertise in matters involving validity of deeds, removal of trustees and liability issues.

Matthew is very responsive and bright. He's an excellent barrister, who is very pragmatic.

Matthew is the go-to person for Bahamian trust disputes.

I find Matthew to be thorough, incisive and a very classy litigator. He's eloquent and an all-round five star barrister.

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Penelope Reed
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Band 1

Penelope Reed KC is an exceptionally eminent silk with a formidable depth of experience in trusts and inheritance matters. She is noted for her work on high-profile cases and particularly for her trial advocacy. Her practice also includes acting as a mediator in major trust disputes.

She has that authority and gravitas needed for offshore cases, and is someone who can explain things to clients in such a good way.

Penelope is highly regarded and top of the tree. Its her knowledge of the law and usability which really make her a standout. She is very good at ensuring she gets everything done.

Penelope is someone I always want in my corner; you instinctively lean into her in tough moments. Quietly authoritative, she's so calm and wise, and respected across the profession.

Penelope is absolutely at the top of her game and such a class act. It is a pleasure to see her perform in court. She's charming, yet exceptionally robust.

Penelope is just superb. She is one of those rare barristers who knows everything, yet is really nice. She is very responsive, very clever and highly commercial.

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Shân Warnock-Smith
1
Band 1

Shân Warnock-Smith KC is an expert in private client issues, including all aspects of trusts and succession work. She is exceptionally well known for her work offshore and overseas, and is an excellent choice for work in the Cayman Islands.

Shân has an amazing ability to interact with judges. She's knowledgeable on trusts and a very good advocate.

Shân is a fantastic advocate and a brilliant speaker.

Shân is a very safe pair of hands, who is very solid in her approach and easy to work with.

Shân is hugely experienced.

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Tracey Angus
1
Band 1

Tracey Angus KC is a trusted and respected silk with an enviable trusts practice. She is a particularly fine choice of counsel for matrimonial trusts work and is frequently instructed both domestically and overseas.

She is knowledgeable, thorough and gives the client confidence whilst being approachable and offering practical advice.

Tracey is so amazing. She is at the top of her game, is really hands-on and doesn't miss a trick.

Tracey is brilliant. She's so dynamic and highly motivated to do her best for clients. She works well with solicitors.

Tracey is absolutely phenomenal. Her grasp of information is exceptional and she's a joy to work with. She has a nuanced look at things and cuts through to unique angles.

Tracey is the top person out there. She is really clear in her advice, very client friendly and has got an amazing ability to capture important detail and zoom out and understand the strategy.

Ranked Barristers at
5 Stone Buildings

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Filter by
Band

Silks (KC)

London (Bar)

Trusts

1
Henry Legge KC
1
Band 1
1
Penelope Reed KC
1
Band 1
1
Shân Warnock-Smith KC
1
Band 1
1
Tracey Angus KC
1
Band 1

Juniors

London (Bar)

Trusts

Alexander Drapkin
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Alexander Drapkin
1
Band 1
1
Francis Ng
1
Band 1
1
Jordan Holland
1
Band 1
Matthew Paton
1
Matthew Paton
1
Band 1