Recent Projects & Selected Experience
A cross-section of matters handled across jurisdictions and practice areas.
The matters below are illustrative of the range and complexity of work undertaken across my practice. All references are anonymised in accordance with client confidentiality obligations.
Trusts, Foundations & Succession Structures
Advising a UHNW multi-jurisdictional family on their private client affairs, including the restructuring of offshore trusts and multinational business interests to segregate shareholdings in foreign businesses and real estate for tax and succession planning purposes.
Advising a UHNW client on the establishment of an excluded property trust prior to becoming UK domiciled.
Structuring a foreign grantor trust for a non-resident Indian client with issue who are US citizens.
Establishing an offshore structure to achieve succession planning objectives outside fixed succession regimes.
Advising on a Sharia-compliant family holding structure in Masdar Free Zone, Abu Dhabi.
De-enveloping a holding company with London real estate held under a Jersey trust for a Kuwaiti family.
Advising on cross-border succession planning for a high-net-worth individual with assets and family members across multiple jurisdictions.
Advising and acting for clients with complex, multi-generational succession requirements in connection with the establishment of DIFC Foundations, including the drafting of constitutive documents and complex by-laws governing succession, distribution, guardianship and governance.
Asset Protection & Pre-Event Planning
Advising a wealthy Middle Eastern investor on UK tax and estate planning, including the acquisition and ownership structuring of a high-value UK residential property.
Pre-marriage asset protection advice for a high-net-worth entrepreneur.
Advising a HNW individual returning to the UK on residence and domicile status, pre-arrival tax planning, the remittance basis and tax exposure as a shareholder of offshore companies.
Establishing UAE tax residence and business domicile for a major international shareholder.
Securing second citizenship in Malta for a high-net-worth individual from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Corporate & Commercial
Cross-border sale of group companies spanning multiple jurisdictions.
Establishing a tax-efficient corporate structure for an online network marketing business operating across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas.
Acting as ad hoc in-house counsel to an international trading group with multi-jurisdictional operations across corporate, commercial and compliance matters.
UK Real Estate
Advising a wealthy Middle Eastern investor on the acquisition structuring, due diligence and tax planning for a high-value UK residential property, including SDLT and ATED considerations.
Commercial property sales and acquisitions
Real estate acquisition in Spain combined with a Golden Visa application.
De-enveloping a Jersey trust holding structure with underlying London real estate for a Gulf family client.
Probate & Estate Administration
Complex multi-jurisdictional probate involving assets in several jurisdictions.
Administering the estate of a UK non-resident national with assets across multiple jurisdictions.
Obtaining Grants of Probate in England & Wales, Jersey and the Guernsey Ecclesiastical Court.
Dispute Resolution & Enforcement
Arbitration under LCIA Rules in the DIFC, Dubai.
Specific performance proceedings and registration of real estate title in the Dubai Courts.
Successfully disputing the application of an arbitration clause under the Arbitration Act 1991 (Ontario).
Action for recovery of brokerage commission on the asset sale of an African company group on a quantum meruit basis.
Cross-border asset tracing and recovery in connection with multi-jurisdictional proceedings.
Consultancy Services for Professional Advisers & Service Providers
I am available on a consultancy basis to trust companies, family offices, wealth managers, corporate service providers and other professional advisers who require specialist English law and DIFC expertise in connection with foundation and trust structuring matters.
In particular, I offer drafting and advisory services in connection with DIFC Foundation constitutive documents and by-laws for clients with complex succession, governance or asset protection requirements — work that demands both technical legal precision and a thorough understanding of the client's underlying objectives.
If your organisation advises or administers structures in the DIFC or other UAE free zones and would benefit from access to specialist drafting counsel on a referred or consultancy basis, I would welcome a conversation.