What the Chambers UK 2014 says about Ten Old Square.. Traditional Chancery Band 2 | Ten Old Square Very strong on all elements of private client chancery work, the set regularly represents individuals, many of them being of high net worth, throughout the UK. It has particularly strong trusts and tax expertise, and has a number of individuals who stand out at both silk and junior level. The set routinely handles breach of trust claims and contested will cases both domestically and offshore. Its members have handled the estates of some well-known names such as Bernard Matthews, George Best and Nina Wang, Asia's richest woman. Client service: "The clerks are particularly good as they are organised, approachable, good with the papers and fee sensitive." SILKS Simon Taube QC A widely respected silk whose advisory and advocacy skills put him in high demand. His practice is built on his trust expertise, including trust restructuring, trustee disputes and related taxation matters. He frequently works in offshore jurisdictions. Expertise: "He is one of those rare people who is very experienced and highly intelligent, but is nonetheless approachable, good value in terms of fees and prompt. He gives sound practical advice." "A real force at the Chancery Bar, he is both very thoughtful and very forceful in his approach." Recent work: He is involved in an extremely high-value trusts dispute relating to the Olga Montis will trust. Francis Barlow QC Head of chambers and a noted figure in traditional chancery circles both at home and abroad. He specialises in trust and succession disputes, as well as estates administration. Expertise: "He applies a great deal of common sense and intelligence to his cases and reaches practical solutions." "He is approachable, exceedingly knowledgeable and wise." Eason Rajah QC His practice continues to go from strength to strength and is international in scope. He is recognised for his skills relating to trust and will disputes, and he is well versed in adjacent tax and professional negligence issues. Expertise: "Engaging and technically adept," he is "very assured on his feet, vastly experienced and quick, calm and collected when responding to queries." "He is a great lateral thinker who always advises with the commercial context in mind."
Recent work: Prominent in the Al-Sadi v Al-Sadi case, in which the deceased's children asserted a claim over various high-value overseas assets. JUNIORS Susannah Meadway Focuses on the trust and estate fields. She is accomplished in trust formation and restructuring matters, and related taxation cases. Expertise: "Thorough, accurate, quick and technically able," he is "excellent at case preparation." Georgia Bedworth Excels in all areas of traditional chancery work and has a practice that covers trusts, estates, property and probate work. Expertise: "She is fantastic at drilling down into the detail of a case. Her advice is always highly detailed and pragmatic, and once in court she proves highly dogged." Richard Dew Balances a thriving practice in trusts, wills and estates work with expertise in related professional negligence litigation and tax matters. Expertise: Has "superb powers of analysis," and "instantly impresses with his intellect. He is excellent with clients and is just as capable on his feet as when handling the paperwork." Robert Arnfield A much respected private client junior, whose caseload focuses heavily on trusts, probate, estates and tax work. His practice is increasingly international in flavour. Expertise: "He is very approachable and always gives excellent advice." Toby Boutle His impressive private client practice marks him out as a chancery junior to watch. He is routinely instructed in relation to tax planning, estate disputes and Inheritance Act claims. Expertise: "He handles matters sensitively and clients are always reassured by his calm approach." "He has a real willingness to help and always gets back to you, no matter how small the query." Recent work: Acted on a professional negligence claim arising out of poor tax planning advice Commercial Chancery – Notable Practitioners Jonathan Gavaghan of Ten Old Square Attracts considerable praise for his property expertise and his strength in commercial litigation generally. He often handles substantial commercial frauds involving international freezing orders. Expertise: "He is quick, slick and has a tremendous ability to grasp the real issues." "He is good at explaining what is going on to clients."
Recent work: Acted in RBS v Ocean Tankers, a high-value claim relating to the mortgages of numerous supertankers. Charities – Notable Practitioners Simon Taube QC of Ten Old Square One of the leading lights of the traditional Chancery Bar, whose practice regularly encompasses contentious charity law. He draws considerable praise not simply for his sparkling advocacy skills, but also for his provision of pragmatic commercial advice to third-sector clients. Expertise: "He is very bright, very analytical, and gets to the heart of the problem immediately." Recent work: He was instructed on behalf of the Secretary for Justice in relation to the highprofile case concerning the will of Asia's former richest woman, Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum. Court of Protection – Notable Practitioners Georgia Bedworth of Ten Old Square Has a litigation practice encompassing the full range of chancery and commercial matters. Expertise: “She has encyclopaedic knowledge of the Court of Protection jurisdiction and clearly and simply condenses a myriad of turgid facts into a cohesive, clear, comprehensive account of events." Eason Rajah QC of Ten Old Square Predominantly instructed in high-value or complex cases in this area. He also edits the Court of Protection Law Reports. Expertise: “A courageous advocate, he gets right down to the issues and is very persuasive on his feet. He is an eloquent barrister who knows his stuff.” Offshore – Notable Practitioners Simon Taube QC of Ten Old Square Frequently instructed by leading firms in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Hong Kong. He is very strong on trusts and estate, tax planning and professional negligence cases. Expertise: "He can take complex trust and tax points and boil them down to something that anyone can understand." Recent work: Acted in the USD10 billion high-profile Nina Wang Will Trusts matter in Hong Kong. Partnership Band 2 | Ten Old Square This dynamic Chancery set has a fine reputation for partnership work, and is led by partnership colossus Jeremy Callman. It is particularly well-regarded for its work in contentious partnership disputes, and its barristers receive praise across the board for their exceptional strength in
advocacy, drafting and client service. Cases involving medical partnerships and partner or team moves are a forte of the set. Client service: "Bubbly and friendly, the clerks do whatever they can to meet your needs. They understand that you are juggling costs and timelines." JUNIORS Jeremy Callman An extremely talented junior distinguished by sources for his versatility and excellent skill level. He's frequently used as a sounding board by professional services looking for partnership advice, and is a thorough and devastating tactician when handling disputes. His expertise covers professional and non-professional partnerships and LLPs, and further extends to medical partnerships. Expertise: "He is an absolute star of the junior partnership Bar - there is nothing he doesn't know about partnership law." "He is incredibly rigorous when looking at the whole factual matrix of a case, and is a fantastic all-rounder." "When the going gets tough, he is the man to go to." Recent work: Acted for the defendant firm in Castledine v RSM Bentley. This case held that a retired partner claimant did not own a share of the firm's goodwill. Jonathan Gavaghan Recommended for his solid knowledge within the partnership and LLP area, and for his excellent manner with clients. Frequently engages in partnership disputes and arbitrations, and has specific expertise in restrictive covenants and breach of fiduciary duties within the context of team moves and partner exits. Expertise: "He has a fantastic brain and never misses a trick. He is utterly charming and makes clients who are ill at ease feel comfortable. The complete package." "He is very friendly, approachable, exceptionally clever, and can take quite difficult concepts and make them simple." Naomi Winston New entrant to our tables who is hailed as a rising star with a significant practice in partnership matters. Increasingly leading her own cases in this area, she is noted for her strong crossexamination skills and her ease with clients. Expertise: "She is thorough and hardworking, and has a phenomenal brain. She keeps drilling down and drilling down until she gets the answer that she is looking for." Recent work: Led by Jeremy Callman in Castledine v RSM Bentley.