‘For owners of family businesses, the political and economic upheavals of the last year increased the focus on protecting wealth long-term,’ says Boodle Hatfield’s Hayden Bailey. ‘Clients are focused on preservation of wealth, but at the same time do not want asset protection structures to create a compliance burden that stifles the ability to make commercial decisions.’ At 43, Bailey says he is the right age to bridge the gap between the baby boomer wealth creators and their millennial children. ‘If the children don’t trust my advice, things can fall apart,’ he says. ‘It is important that they are brought in early and understand the reason the structures are there.’

‘If you have assets in the UK, it’s better if they’re out,’ warns Mark Buzzoni of Taylor Wessing. ‘I suspect that if we’re going into a general election quite shortly there won’t be much time to do anything. An incoming government would probably slap on capital controls pretty quickly.’ An expert in tax, trusts and family governance issues, Buzzoni has a predominantly international client base. He believes political uncertainty has got people thinking harder about asset protection. ‘People are coming to me saying, “Right, let’s talk about Corbyn, let’s talk about divorce, and let’s make sure that all of our financial structures are robust enough to withstand that sort of upheaval.”’

Rather than follow in her parents’ footsteps into law, Clare Hetherington instead chose to study music at Oxford. After a few years working for a concert venue, however, she decided that she wanted to ‘really challenge myself, properly test my brain’. She took annual leave to do internships at different law firms (‘I used that a lot in early interviews to prove my dedication’) and got a training contract in 2014 at Payne Hicks Beach. Private client work struck her immediately as the area she wanted to be in: ‘It’s a mix of rigorous analysis and attention to detail, combined with interacting with a range of clients from all over the world and adapting your advice to suit them.’

Caroline Le Jeune is a formidable partner in the private client world, having overseen succession planning advisory at BDO as well as specialising in chartered tax advisory at PwC for a decade. A qualified solicitor, she joined Blick’s in 2014, where she now focuses on international families. ‘Preparing for a Corbyn government has been a big theme,’ says Le Jeune, who has been busy helping HNWs structure offshore assets and find the best tax jurisdictions should the need to move arise. She adds that the UK needs to be careful to protect its attractiveness as a jurisdiction for HNWs: ‘We need to ensure that they continue to come here, pay taxes, set up businesses and invest.’

History graduate Suzanna Baker studied for her GDL and LPC at the College of Law in Bloomsbury, but spent some time at a boutique corporate finance firm before joining Osbornes. She now credits her spell in finance with providing a ‘breadth of knowledge’ that has come in useful more than once in her private client work. Baker often works on Court of Protection matters, where decisions about an individual or their estate must be made when they lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. ‘It can be very stressful for families,’ says Baker, ‘and it’s something that’s easy to identify with. Most people’s lives will be touched by this at some point.’

Withers partner Christina Baltz has broad and varied experience, thanks to a career that has spanned senior roles at leading law firms as well as financial institutions. As a result, she has the perspective to lay out the most effective and practical solutions and strategies for clients, which range from international individuals to family offices, business owners and charities. Baltz’s expertise is also regularly sought by media outlets such as Fox Business and the New York Times. In a recent article she commented on the consequences of a change to US tax law that altered the role of trusts and their effect on alimony payments.

Change is afoot, says Rawlinson & Hunter’s David Barker, as the relationship between HMRC and the accountancy profession has got ‘appreciably worse’. That’s in large part because of ‘aggression’ on the part of HMRC, which has begun to target many of Barker’s nom-dom clients with onerous enquiries. Often one comes hot on the heels of another, necessitating the submission of the same information more than once. ‘I do think it’s counterproductive for them,’ he says. Barker works closely with non-dom clients to help them understand and respond to approaches from the taxman. ‘We’ve had some notable wins on those domicile enquiries,’ he says.

Stephanie Brobbey’s star has risen rapidly at Goodman Derrick. Her promotion to senior associate in 2016 broadened her practice further to include many of late founder Lord Goodman’s former clients. Operating in the private client arena gives her ‘a perfect mixture of being in an academic discipline’ and the ability to focus on ‘human relationships’. Brobbey advises on a range of issues, including philanthropy. She says real alternatives to charitable giving have emerged that can create more impact, offer anonymity and decrease the administrative burden: ‘I think it’s going to change even more as the younger generations come into more wealth.’

The idea of a wealth tax doesn’t impress Jonathan Burt. There is, he tells Spear’s, ‘an obvious answer to that particular conundrum’. ‘There’s no reason why – if you feel that you’re not paying enough tax – you shouldn’t be writing out a cheque to the IRS voluntarily.’ However, he admits: ‘I suppose it’s something one could foretell, for the simple reason that taxing income, gains and the profits of economic activity seems to be insufficient to make up the numbers.’ Burt, who joined Harbottle & Lewis as a partner in May 2018, has relished the opportunity to broaden his focus. On the subject of prospects in post-Brexit Britain, he is unambiguously bullish: ‘It’s exciting.’

A partner in Baker McKenzie’s esteemed tax and global wealth management practice in New York, Paul DePasquale advises HNWs and multinationals on a diverse range of issues relating to tax and wealth management. Specialisms include international and domestic tax planning, cross-border transactions and investments, and wealth management. Formerly stationed in the firm’s Zurich and Hong Kong offices, he also advises US inbound and outbound international tax issues for multinational corporations and investment funds. He has ‘significant’ experience advising financial institutions on issues such as the Common Reporting Standard and strategy.

A partner at the exceptionally discreet Currey & Co, Sabina Fortescue specialises in private client trust, probate and wills work as well as general family, charity and tax issues. Founded in 1812, the firm serves clients who are ‘land-owning and other families throughout the country’. ‘We offer our clients strategic advice tailored to their specific needs, focused on protecting wealth for successive generations,’ the firm says. ‘We are rarely able to take on discrete pieces of work for individuals with whom we have no previous association.’ Fortescue, a former trainee at Goodman Derrick who has also worked at Taylor Wessing and Rickerbys, joined the firm in 2012.

‘We’ve been doing a lot of thinking ahead about how the private client tax world is going to look in the future,’ Mishcon’s head of tax Andrew Goldstone tells Spear’s. Clients are expressing more demand for ‘consultative services’. Goldstone regularly advises on residence and domicile issues, including the statutory residence test, business investment relief and offshore trusts. His department’s flexibility enables it to assist on a broad range of client needs, including tax reliefs and tax-efficient investments. Philanthropy is a particular interest. ‘I’m very keen on tracking how those with money are changing their views on how to do good,’ he adds.

It’s full speed ahead for Benjamin Grist, who has been particularly busy with the ‘increasing complexity’ of tax legislation and ‘toughening approach’ from HMRC, where he has received a lot of new enquiries. The Dixon Wilson partner is well equipped to deal with the load, having more than 15 years’ experience in the international aspects of UK taxation as well as tax residence, domicile and the remittance basis of taxation. ‘We are always in touch with our clients, so we always know what is going on,’ says Grist. Advisory is more than just delivering reports – it’s also ‘about being able to sit down and speak plain English to people’.

Mark Harris, Rawlinson & Hunter’s London liaison partner, comes highly recommended by a partner at a top City firm. As well as covering all elements of UK tax, Harris also oversees the progress of the firm’s offices in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands. Although it has a significant corporate services department, R&H is predominantly a private client practice. ‘It permeates everything we do,’ Harris previously told Spear’s. ‘Of the private client firms we probably have the greatest exposure to offshore work, having originally set up our Bermuda office in the late 1950s. That specialisation continues into much of the work that we do.’

It’s been a year of navigating opportunity within uncertainty for James Hender, a nominee for our 2018 Private Client Accountant of the Year award, who heads up Saffery Champness’s excellent private wealth team. ‘We’ve been particularly busy with revenue work and with other big tax changes,’ he tells Spear’s. Many of his HNW clients have started their own businesses, where he works closely with them on a range of commercial issues. Hender is pragmatic on Brexit. ‘People will either see it as an opportunity or a threat to the country,’ he says, pointing to potential changes to the inheritance tax regime ‘no matter what government is in power’.

Craig Hughes joined Menzies in 2016 as private client tax director, after spells at two of the Big Four accountancy firms. In 2017 – aged just 32 – he was made partner at the firm, where he works with a range of HNW clients, including entrepreneurs, international singers, sports stars, corporate executives, non-UK domiciliaries and private equity executives. His skills cover strategic tax planning, estate and inheritance tax planning, international tax structuring and all aspects of personal taxation. He is also a qualified probate practitioner. Hughes attended Manchester University, where he was awarded a first-class degree in economics.

Geraint Jones is known as a safe pair of hands. Advising clients on their income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax, he specialises in finding solutions to improve tax efficiency for people with multiple assets and sources of income. Jones cites the ever-increasing demand for his services as a result of ‘fewer and fewer firms being able to offer what we offer, what today’s private clients are looking for: an in-depth service that covers tax, trusts and estates, and a service where the technical expertise also comes with a personal, human interest’. Perhaps this is why clients have followed him throughout his career, ‘across three moves in 20-plus years’.

It’s been a busy year for Sue Laing, who has been advising clients on the changing legislative framework. She provides guidance on succession planning, long-term asset protection, capital and income taxes, trusts, private companies, partnerships and the family businesses themselves. Laing has noticed an increased amount of ‘tax tinkering’, making it harder for HNWs to plan their affairs sensibly. ‘There seems to be a never-ending stream of consultations on possible further tax changes, some despite similar recent exercises – two recent examples being the consultation on IHT and trusts and the OTS [Office of Tax Simplification] report on IHT,’ she tells Spear’s.

Christiana Lazo runs an established practice that analyses sophisticated tax and estate plans for family offices, entrepreneurs and their various businesses. She notices that subtlety is an emerging trait among structures, as HNWs are ‘consolidating and eliminating entities where they don’t serve a true purpose’. Cases are becoming more intergenerational, often with younger generations who are US citizens while the original wealth creators are from abroad. ‘People are living longer, so there are more voices in the room,’ she says. ‘If the first generation wants to spend more and more time in the US when they age, the tax implications can create a complicated situation.

The personable Greg Limb has 25 years’ experience in tax, including a spell acting as an adviser to HMRC. He now heads KPMG’s London private client team, advising individuals, family offices, entrepreneurs and private equity executives on personal tax. The Yorkshireman operates in landscapes of ‘tremendous wealth creation’, with HNW clients in the Middle East, Russia, the US and Europe. He looks forward to the prospect of the ‘great wealth transfer’, where a wealth creator passes down their assets to the younger members of the family. Rather than simplifying the complexity of the UK’s tax regulation, Limb is an advocate of ‘harmonising’ the rules instead.

Deloitte tax consultant Lucy Lukic first worked at the Big Four firm in 2012, in its scholar programme, joining full-time in 2016 as an analyst. ‘I support the partners in acting as an adviser on tax affairs as well as with wider aspects such as family dynamics,’ she says. She has noticed a lot of discussions around succession planning, as well as more families looking to ‘professionalise’ their wealth holding structures. It’s a job Lukic relishes. ‘It’s such a people and client-focused role,’ she tells Spear’s. ‘Our clients are all so different, they operate in such different industries and worlds that it’s the variety – no two clients are the same and no two days are the same.’

Despite the uncertainties around Brexit, specialist partner Piers Master, who heads the international private wealth arm at Charles Russell Speechlys, says ‘a number of major families are moving to the UK’. This influx of activity from Middle Eastern and US clients has resulted in his ‘busiest ever year’. Meanwhile, political uncertainty is pressing British families to focus more on wealth structuring and planning. With changes affecting trusts and IHT on the way, Master says the capital gains landscape ‘looks particularly benign’. ‘Many clients are therefore bringing forward gifts and other planning to take advantage of the current regime,’ he notes.

‘Choppy waters ahead is the ancipation,’ Clare Maurice tells Spear’s when asked for her short-to-medium-term outlook. The possibility of a Corbyn government and greater uncertainty are the two things her clients are worried about. ‘An awful lot of it is crystal-ball gazing,’ she adds. It’s been a busy year for Maurice, who founded the firm ten years ago after leaving Allen & Overy, where she was the first woman to be made partner. The firm also appointed the eminent Rupert Ticehurst earlier this year to head up its disputes team, and there’s been a raft of new business coming from around the world. ‘Uncertainty and political turmoil tend to generate anxiety,’ she says

David Mellor was appointed partner at Dixon Wilson 20 years ago, and he’s developed an acute understanding of what clients appreciate when it comes to achieving their objectives. ‘I try hard to avoid jargon,’ he says. ‘We are dealing with complicated things. Clients have really got to understand what we are suggesting, getting to grips with it rather than just being accepting of the advice.’ This approach helps with complex issues in taxation, where Mellor works especially on inheritance and capital gains tax, corporate tax and VAT. Fortunately, he’s no stranger to problemsolving: he also has a degree in aeronautical engineering.

A private client partner in Withers’ esteemed tax team, Patricia Milner advises on tax, trust and estate planning for both UK and non-UK resident and domiciled individuals. It’s been another year characterised by the uncertain political climate. ‘The biggest issue for clients is not so much Brexit but a possible change in government,’ she tells Spear’s. It’s partially for that reason that some clients are actively undertaking succession plans ‘when the rules are known’ and their implications understood. There has also been a move towards more simplified structures as clients look to the future and long-term wealth preservation, adds Milner.

‘We’ve been blown away by the quality of the clients,’ Julian Nelberg remarks to Spear’s. The former PwC rising star joined the US firm in January to help consolidate its UK base and hasn’t looked back since. ‘We have a large number of billionaire clients,’ he adds. ‘It comes down the strength of the Andersen brand and the network and quality of the clients they have in the States.’ Head of the private client group, Nelberg covers a range of tax matters relating to US and UK issues, including complex crossborder issues. Perhaps surprisingly, he’s noticing a steady stream of clients coming into the UK, which he says is ‘still a very competitive tax environment’ for new arrivals.

Robert Pullen, 31, is the youngest partner in Blick Rothenberg’s history. A graduate with a civil engineering and architecture background, he started his career in private client tax at Deloitte, before leaving for a boutique single-family office in Tunbridge Wells and then joining Blick’s. ‘A lot of partners here are ex-Big Four,’ he says, ‘so there’s a lot of expertise and knowledge, and a more entrepreneurial approach.’ How have things changed for Pullen since his promotion in July 2018? ‘The buck stops with you,’ he says. ‘You make the calls and you make the decisions, and you have the final say.’ And most importantly, he adds, ‘You have to get it right’.

With more than 25 years of experience in HNW affairs, Carolyn Reers joined Wiggin and Dana as a private client partner in February, where she supplies her expertise in all aspects of trust and estate planning and administration. ‘Carolyn is a leading private client services attorney with a national and international reputation and an impressive client base,’ said the firm’s managing partner Paul Hughes. Private client chair Len Leader added: ‘Her arrival enhances our ability to deliver the best possible legal services to our clients.’ A former managing director at JP Morgan, Reers is also an expert in succession planning, charitable giving and family office services.

John Riches is an expert in some of the most complex areas of tax and holds a unique place in the industry. RMW Law’s private client and tax consultant is both a practitioner and trusted adviser to HNWs, as well as a consultant to STEP. He deals with cross-border operations and structuring for a range of international and largely entrepreneurial families. He’s told Spear’s that the domestic trusts register is a ‘messy’ affair that has ‘taken things to a whole new level’. However, he adds: ‘We’re thinking about structural designs for the future and we’re working to add beneficiary powers to begin with. I’m up to date on the thinking with policymakers, and it’s helping me with clients.’

Marc Rinaldi is the partner-incharge of PKF O’Connor Davies, an accounting and advisory firm that ‘holds itself to a higher standard – going beyond passive value calculation to active value creation’. Rinaldi is known for his expertise in sustainable investing, alternative investment accounting, reporting and valuation, due diligence, portfolio performance and risk reporting. His background in finance – he has worked in hedge funds and as a director of strategic trading at Bank of America – means he is in a strong position to advise clients such as family offices, private foundations, endowments, and private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, infrastructure and real estate funds.

Nick Rucker, the national head of the London tax, trusts and estates team at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, specialises in international structuring for HNW individuals and families. He recently handled the estate of a deceased husband and wife, whose children and grandchildren were domiciled in various jurisdictions. ‘The family wished to make significant contributions to various global charities, as well as make provision for the deceased’s children and grandchildren,’ he explains. Rucker came up with a solution: ‘Eventually the estates were varied to allow for distributions to be made to over 25 individuals and charities resident in more than six different jurisdictions.’

Simon Rylatt has just been through a caseload of international trust projects featuring themes such as restructurings, governance reviews and investment approach arrangements. Despite new areas of interest, simplicity in tax and estate structures is uppermost in the minds of the complex clients he looks after. ‘It’s partly driven because the financial implications of running really complicated structures are now quite significant,’ he reveals. Rylatt doesn’t operate solely as a tax and trust lawyer to his clients, as relationships naturally deepen. ‘As part of your advisory role, you do get involved in other aspects of their lives,’ he says.

Make hay while the sun shines. That, in effect is Alexandra Sarkis’s advice to many of her clients. ‘Now is still a very benign climate for tax planning,’ she says. ‘Generally, we’re advising our clients to take advantage. Capital gains is low, and it’s only going to go one way.’ By contrast, inheritance planning has become more restrictive. ‘But we still have the ability to make exempt transfers, so we’re encouraging our clients to do that while we still can.’ Sarkis became a partner at May, May & Merrimans in 1984 and was made joint head of department when the firm merged with Hunters in 2015. As well as tax and trust work, she also specialises in estate planning and wills.

Highly regarded among the Spear’s network, Chris Shepard has looked after the tax affairs of families with both inherited and newly acquired wealth for 30 years. A partner at Smith & Williamson since 1996 and a nominee for Private Client Accountant of the Year at last year’s Spear’s Wealth Management Awards, Shepard often deals with probate matters and the administration of estates and tax planning. One question he often faces is at what point the children of an HNW client should receive their inheritance. ‘It is a question of giving them enough to take responsibility, but not too much that they completely go off the rails and become dependent,’ he has previously said.

The Common Reporting Standard can make things tricky for clients, says Daniel Sopher, who has been running Sopher + Co since 2014. ‘Often they have to prove that something isn’t taxable. It can be difficult to prove a negative, but we have to give HMRC confidence that everything is above board.’ Sopher spends much of his time mediating, and prides himself on his ability to foresee issues and prepare accordingly – unlike our recent government. ‘I think certain taxes are causing markets to behave dysfunctionally,’ he tells Spear’s. ‘The high level of stamp duty on real estate is affecting the market; it’s actually raising less.’ Something for our new prime minister to ponder…

‘It’s very much been a question of people trying to make sure that their affairs are organised in a flexible and agile way so that they can deal with whatever comes at them from a political point of view,’ says Lisa Spearman, who has been a partner at Mercer & Hole since 2003. ‘I’ve got a number of clients who are leaving because they dislike the uncertainty of Brexit or their immigration status is uncertain.’ When Spear’s asks about what one can do to protect assets from political risk, she responds, after a pause: ‘It’s actually more about what you don’t do. You don’t, for example, set up a trust when you might move to a non-trust-friendly jurisdiction.’

Having worked in the industry for 22 years, Dixon Wilson partner Jon Sutton advises on matters including landed estates, personal tax, trusts and capital tax planning. He also works with businesses and entrepreneurs – both on and offshore – providing valuation and commercial advice to clients and their boards. In 2007, Sutton became deputy chair of the STEP Family Business Group, a committee focusing on what makes business families distinct, their particular challenges and how to best address them. Known for his collaborative approach, he comes highly recommended by peers and clients alike.

‘Katten is unique in that it is a full-service firm,’ says Kathryn von Matthiessen. The company has 700 attorneys – all with varying specialisms. Von Matthiessen’s focus is on sophisticated personal and estate planning for HNWs, as well as the administration of complex estates and trusts. Her clients are often foreign families with connections to the US and she works on ‘inbound’ planning – helping to prepare for the tax implications of personal or professional arrangements in the States. Many clients are concerned with ‘dynastic’ wealth transfers. ‘A lot of times it’s dealing with wealth transfers in a way that’s tax-efficient,’ she says.

‘I think there are all sorts of ways that the UK is attractive, and has remained attractive despite various tax changes that are against nondoms,’ says Simon Weil, whose practice spans everything from contentious trusts to advising the government on charitable tax vehicles and representing sophisticated global givers. However, a Labour government could cause an exodus. ‘The really big clients who have the resources are seeking contingency arrangements, so that if a nightmare were to arise on election night, they’d have everything in place to export,’ he says. ‘The Laffer curve point is often overlooked, but often when you bring taxes down you actually collect more tax.’

Frank Hirth experienced the tragic loss of the eminent Paul Hocking earlier this year, in an accident in Lesotho, where he was conducting philanthropic activities. Despite this, Iain Younger tells Spear’s that the strong foundations and ‘technical excellence’ Hocking had installed has enabled the firm to continue growing. Younger continues to address ‘diverse and complex’ client situations, including matters related to information-sharing programmes. He emphasises that he has a duty to dispel ‘many of the myths’ around US and UK international tax: ‘It is extremely important to ensure that the industry grows and quality advisers come to the fore.’