Chambers Review
Provided by Chambers
Tax: Indirect Tax - London (Bar)
What the Team is Known For
Gray's Inn Tax Chambers is a well-established specialist tax set known for acting in a range of leading indirect tax cases. Members have deep experience of handling complex VAT, MTIC, SDLT, insurance premium tax, and input and exit tax cases. They appear in cases throughout the domestic court system, and regularly take judicial reviews to the CJEU and other international courts, representing both the taxpayer and the Revenue. Recent matters include the Supreme Court case of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v HMRC, concerning the VAT treatment of hospital car parking charges. Members also represented Berkeley Group in The Tower One St George Wharf Limited v Revenue and Customs, a case about stamp duty land tax and group relief arrangements that involves the First-tier Tribunal and Court of Appeal. Interviewees praise the set's "exceptional legal and technical knowledge" and "clear communication and advice".
Ben Stern is the senior clerk.
Strengths
Ben Stern is commercial, so you can have a useful discussion with him. He's a useful contact who's very good in terms of business development.
First junior clerk Jamie Hall is very proactive and good at coming back to you promptly. I've been very impressed with the clerking team in general. They're efficient and nice to work with.
The clerks get stuff done, and are helpful and proactive when called upon.
Notable practitioners
Nicola Shaw KC devotes a significant portion of her broad tax practice to indirect tax instructions, regularly representing taxpayers and HMRC in contentious matters, particularly in the area of VAT. She acts for clients at every level of court, including before the CJEU.
Nicola Shaw KC is brilliant. She is very creative as an advocate.
She is very intellectually rigorous and really effective at communicating in court. I think her broad experience in tax also really helps; Nicola doesn't come at things from a narrow perspective.
Very impressive indeed. Her attention to detail is fabulous, and she has such a command over the documents. The other thing with Nicola is that she won't give up easily.
Michael Firth KC is particularly adept at assisting clients in cases pertaining to VAT and SDLT. He has recently led a case in the Supreme Court.
Technically excellent, Michael Firth KC is a powerful and persuasive advocate who is a highly respected and feared opponent.
Michael is approachable, down to earth and someone you can have an ad hoc discussion with. He's also very on the ball with developments in case law.
Michael is an experienced litigator who is organised, efficient, sharp-witted and perceptive. His advice is very clear and commercial.
I worked recently with Michael and thought he was very good. He clearly thought very hard about the area, and the clients were very impressed. He was very accommodating.
Michael Jones KC receives strong praise from peers for his handling of indirect tax matters. He represents both the Revenue and the taxpayer in noteworthy cases involving VAT and stamp duty.
Michael Jones KC is clever, hard-working and a safe pair of hands for any piece of tax litigation.