Rupert Morris

Practice Areas

Rupert heads Walkers' Private Capital & Trusts practice group and has over 15 years’ experience as a private wealth specialist focusing on private client advisory and structuring work.

Since qualifying as a Guernsey Advocate, Rupert also has experience as a contentious practitioner, appearing before the Guernsey courts at all levels. He is recognised as one of the leading lawyers in his field in Guernsey, and sits on the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners’ (STEP) worldwide council and is a former Chair of their Guernsey branch.

Rupert’s clients include leading trust companies, financial institutions, government departments and ultra-high net worth individuals. He helps them with all aspects of local and cross-border advisory and structuring work, impact investment, charitable structures, and regulatory matters including tax investigations and dawn raids.

Professional Memberships

- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) - TEP, Deputy Chair of the Guernsey Branch and STEP Worldwide Council member

- Guernsey Association of Trustees (GAT) - Committee member (co-opted)

- The Guernsey Bar

- The Law Society of England & Wales

- The Chancery Bar Association (overseas member)

- ARIES / INSOL International

- ConTrA (Contentious Trusts Association)

- AIJA (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats)

Work Highlights

A selection of Rupert's recent representative experience includes:

- Representing a trust firm in a US$1bn case involving the removal of a trustee from a large trust established for the family.

- Representing the protector, and the settlor of a Guernsey law trust holding US$1bn in family assets for a major Asia-Pacific industrialist.

- Advising the new trustee of a GBP£900m+ family multi-trust structure in respect of a large number of family trusts for a high-profile family.

- Advising on the restructure of a GBP£200m+ trust for a UHNW family in relation to foreign tax liabilities.

- Advising Trustee on application for directions regarding a complex cross-border family trust structure involving disputing beneficiaries.

- Advising a number of young adult beneficiaries in respect of a family dispute involving a large family multi-trust structure.

- Advising a foreign trustee on the ongoing administration of the foreign language Guernsey law trust deed both pre and post the Settlor's death.

- Advising the former trustee of a Guernsey law Trust in respect of a rectification application brought in Jersey by the current trustee to rectify the Settlor not having been excluded as a beneficiary.

- Advising the protector of a number of Guernsey trusts set up following a momentous decision application dividing up a large family structure.

- Advising the Trustee of a complex family structure in respect of matrimonial proceedings before the UK High Court (Family Division) involving divorcing beneficiaries, including joinder and disclosure applications.

Experience

Before joining Walkers in 2017, Rupert was a Guernsey Advocate in the Fiduciary and Litigation departments of two leading offshore firms. Before that he was a solicitor at a leading commercial firm in the north-west of England, and worked in London.

Languages Spoken

- English

- French

- German

- Japanese

Education