Top Ten Tax & Trust Lawyers

‘My work is more international than most private client lawyers in London,’ says the razor-sharp Charles Gothard. ‘One day I could be looking after someone very wealthy from the Far East, the next day a sheikh. It’s a real mix of cultures but all the clients appreciate empathy, clear communication and good service.’

Gothard particularly draws attention to the privilege of being trusted by clients to do this kind of rarefied work. He is also eloquent about the human interest element in the private client world: ‘Some clients are chaotic and haven’t wanted to think about death – they see it as taboo. Others want to rule beyond the grave and delineate their family’s future.’

He is reasonably philosophical about Brexit (‘In most cases I don’t think Brexit is likely to have much impact in relation to the personal UK tax regime’) and is exercised instead about the non-dom tax reforms. ‘What non-doms hate is uncertainty and too many changes – they’ve signed up to a regime and want stability. Hopefully the latest changes will provide that.’

Gothard is also mindful of the competition. ‘Italy has introduced a new regime; Switzerland has had an attractive regime for a long time. The French prime minister
is introducing a package of attractive ideas to get wealthy people back to France. So if the British government tightens things up too much, there will be an exodus. Non-doms want stability.’