In times of political, economic or social instability, disputes are inevitable. With the Labour government reshaping the UK’s tax landscape, from inheritance tax to VAT on school fees and the reform of non-dom status, uncertainty is on the rise. For (U)HNW clients navigating these shifts, expert tax and trust counsel has never been more critical.
With complex financial portfolios, cross-border assets and intricate family structures, securing expert legal advice is essential to safeguarding wealth and ensuring compliance with ever-evolving tax regulations.
This is why the best tax and trust barristers featured in the Spear’s index are not just advocates in court, but serve as strategic partners helping clients preserve and structure their wealth amid sweeping policy change and global instability. They can untangle complex matters involving trust and estate disputes, planning, charitable trusts, Court of Protection matters and much else besides, on behalf of their (U)HNW clientele.
Explore the full 2025 Spear’s Tax & Trust Indices:
Related
- Tax Lawyers
- Contentious Trust Lawyers
- Probate and Wills Lawyers
- Tax and Trust Barristers
- Accountants and Tax Advisers
- Trusts, Structuring and Offshore
‘When a tax issue arises for my clients, it’s rarely just about the money,’ Morag Ofili of Edwin Coe tells Spear’s. ‘It’s about protecting a legacy, safeguarding reputation and restoring peace of mind.’
Of course, helping their wealthy clients cope with the recent tax reforms has been at the heart of tax and trust barristers’ work this year. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been busier than I was between October 2024 and July 2025. Almost all of my clients wanted advice on how to leave the country tax efficiently; or, if they stayed, what they could do to minimise things,’ new addition to this year’s list Oliver Marre of 5 Stone Buildings tells Spear’s.
As tax rules evolve, leading barristers are helping clients make sense of complex issues around inheritance tax, capital gains taxes and trusts, thereby also playing a crucial role in protecting estates and ensuring that wealth is managed responsibly for generations to come.
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- Methodology
- Best tax and trust barristers: some names to know
- Best tax and trust barristers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to the Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best tax and trust barristers: some names to know
Morag Ofili
- Focus: Tax litigation and investigations
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Edwin Coe
Tax barrister Morag Ofili specialises in private wealth tax disputes at Edwin Coe. With a focus on advising high-profile individuals and international families, she has provided her expertise across a gamut of tax-related issues, including commercial fraud, conduct/fairness proceedings against HMRC, insolvency-based disputes, professional negligence claims, failed tax planning and cross-border tax investigations.
Prior to joining Edwin Coe, Ofili cut her teeth at Big Four firm EY and later served as a managing associate at Mishcon de Reya and Harbottle & Lewis. She also spent time at the criminal bar, where she specialised in corporate and financial crime. This, she tells Spear’s, equipped her with a deep understanding of the investigative process and enabled her to anticipate challenges while developing robust strategies.
Read Morag Ofili’s full profile on Spears500.com
Dakis Hagen KC
- Focus: Chancery litigation
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Serle Court
A highly regarded chancery litigator, Serle Court’s Dakis Hagen KC is more than adept at dealing with cases involving particularly complex international structures (including trusts and estates), allegations of fraud, or issues around professional negligence and asset tracing.
As is the nature of modern tax law, his practice is distinctively international, and he is routinely instructed by solicitors from London and elsewhere – including the US, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands. He has appeared as leading counsel in several of these jurisdictions, as well as frequently in London.
Read Dakis Hagen’s full profile on Spears500.com
Aparna Nathan KC
- Focus: Litigation and advisory
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Devereux Chambers
Considered among the top set of London’s tax barristers, Aparna Nathan KC of Devereux Chambers has built a high-profile litigation practice, representing clients in all forums, including the Supreme Court. Clients and colleagues alike praise her technical prowess, approachability, commercial instincts and her top-class advocacy and cross-examination skills.
Outside of her contentious work, she operates an advisory practice, providing insight to UHNW individuals (both UK and foreign domiciled), historic estates and foreign royalty on their tax planning, as well as on issues relating to residence or domicile.
Read Aparna Nathan’s full profile on Spears500.com
Oliver Marre
- Focus: Complex tax disputes
- Ranking: Rising Star
- Firm: 5 Stone Buildings
Oliver Marre is a junior barrister at 5 Stone Buildings who acts in all areas of contentious and non-contentious tax law.
In addition to litigating in private client tax disputes with HMRC, Marre advises individuals, owner-managed businesses and corporates on everything from domicile and residence to cross-border asset transfers.
Government changes to the non-dom regime are among the biggest concerns for Marre’s clients. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been busier than I was between October 2024 and July 2025. Almost all of my clients wanted advice on how to leave the country tax efficiently; or, if they stayed, what they could do to minimise things.’
Read Oliver Marre’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best tax and trust barristers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on the Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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With additional reporting by Livia Giannotti.
