Stephen Hackett is a Commercial and Chancery practitioner who has consistently been ranked in Chambers & Partners in this category over a number of years. He has been described in the directory as, “a rising star”, “one to watch”, “incredibly intelligent” and, “a barrister who has real empathy with clients”. Further quotations from Chambers & Partners are visible to the right of this profile; links to significant cases in which Stephen has been involved are available below.
Stephen advises on complex and high value disputes concerning company law, trusts, pensions, insolvency, real property and other aspects of traditional Chancery law, as well as related professional negligence claims and costs issues. Stephen has also acted extensively in commercial disputes in a wide range of industries as well as civil fraud claims.
Stephen is one of the few barristers to have developed specialist expertise in personal property law, and particularly in obtaining, defending, and transferring ownership of valuable tangible items such as art works, cars, jewellery and other valuable objects. Stephen’s book on the subject “The Ownership of Goods and Chattels”, is published by Hart (a Bloomsbury imprint). Stephen is in high demand for cases involving disputes over valuable items, but also is able to deploy this expertise to provide innovative solutions to disputes in other areas, including especially probate, trusts, insolvency and asset recovery.
Stephen has also been particularly prominent in professional negligence claims involving tax advisors. He has represented advisors, clients and introducers in multiple disputes, including the leading cases on the negligence implications of Employee Benefit Trusts, Remuneration Trusts, and similar arrangements that have not delivered the tax benefits advertised, and the scope for unwinding such trusts.
Prior to coming to the Bar, Stephen spent five years training and practising as a solicitor at two leading commercial firms, including a six-month secondment to Barclays Wealth’s financial services legal team.
Stephen regularly acts for large businesses and individuals of high net worth and on occasion substantial public profile. He is accustomed to representing clients exposed to considerable public and/or regulatory scrutiny.
Stephen lives with his wife and four children on a smallholding in Hampshire. He enjoys cricket and other sports, cooking, the countryside and fly fishing.
