WINNERS

• 1st - Forsters
While many London firms are scrabbling to bolster their private client practices, Forsters has successfully built an unrivalled niche in the area under the leadership of head of private client David Robinson and senior partner Sophie Hamilton.
The practice was the first to make use of Family Limited Partnership (FLP) contracts to minimize tax exposure on family trusts after the Finance Act 2006 overhauled the tax regime governing the area. In this case the FLP, established under the Limited Partnership Act 1907, was operated from Ireland – where the client was domiciled. It effectively created a structure which achieved the client’s goals without triggering tax liabilities or falling foul of the regulatory minefield. Forsters is recognised by its peers for being a creative thinking team which finds pioneering solutions to legal challenges in an area where law is subject to frequent legislative change. .

• 2nd - Berwin Leighton Paisner
Berwin Leighton Paisner completed private client deals worth more than £4bn in 2007, advising individuals on a range of international complex tax deals.
This included acting for The Park Group, owners of collapsed Christmas hamper savings company Farepak, when it was required to provide better protection for customer payments by the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The firm established the Park Prepayments protection Group which gave customers a tax efficient way of making savings.

• 3rd - LG
LG, with its unique and successful billionaires club, stands apart from the competition. The firm has an extensive clients base, advising more than 30 billionaire families, and the trusts and offshore trustees who work with them. With its focus firmly on the Middle East and Asia, international head of private client, Andrew Young, and head of wealth planning Anthony Thompson, took the private client practice into Dubai in 2007. It made LG the first UK firm to open with people based in the jurisdiction ready to service the ultra-high net worth club.

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This category is open to Firms advising high net worth Individuals on tax/trusts or matrimonial/divorce law

Judges will be looking for evidence of:

• Full details of the transaction or case.
• Innovation in advice or precedents set
• Supporting evidence of the team’s achievements over the year

Entries welcome from:
Private practice teams	√
Nominations by in-house teams	√
Chambers / barristers	√