Chancery, Trust & Estates

Chambers combines deep technical expertise with a pragmatic, results-oriented approach to deliver top-tier advocacy and advisory services across the full breadth of Chancery, Trusts and Estates work – for both private and corporate clients, domestic and international. Members are regularly instructed in some of the most high-value, legally complex and multi-jurisdictional matters. Whether acting as sole counsel or as part of larger legal teams, we pride ourselves on delivering strategic, commercially astute advice.

Our members routinely advise and litigate across all key areas of Chancery, Trusts and Estate practice, both England & Wales and Offshore, including (but not limited to):

Company & Corporate Structures — shareholder and director disputes, corporate governance, corporate restructuring, partnerships and LLPs, insolvency and liquidation, company-related fiduciary and equitable claims.

Trusts & Estates / Private Client Work — contentious and non-contentious trusts, wills, probate, administration of estates, trust construction / rectification, trustee duties and removal, trusts in divorce, blessing and Beddoe applications, estate planning, inheritance disputes, cross-border and offshore structures.

Private Client & Wealth-Planning Advisory — trusts of all kinds (charitable, commercial, employment, governmental), tax-aware structuring (inheritance tax, capital gains, domicile / residence issues), work on behalf of high-net-worth individuals and families, often in conjunction with professional advisers (tax counsel, accountants, fiduciaries).

Equity, Fiduciary, Insolvency & Asset Recovery — breach of trust, knowing receipt, dishonest assistance, tracing / asset recovery, claims against company directors or trustees, insolvency-related trust or asset-protection issues, cross-over with commercial and offshore litigation.

Property, Real Estate & Related Disputes — property litigation, disputes over land and real property rights, landlord / tenant, real estate-linked trusts and estates, disputes over co-ownership or beneficial ownership, trust property, and related equitable remedies.

Cross-disciplinary & Complex Matters — situations at the intersection of company law, trust law, insolvency, cross-border issues, offshore jurisdictions, multi-jurisdictional estates, fraud and asset-tracing, and commercial Chancery litigation.

Members are consistently recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners 2026 UK Bar and Offshore Guides for their expertise and market recognition in Chancery, Trusts and Estates:

Thomas Roe KC – Leading Silk for Chancery: Commercial
Tom Poole KC – Leading Silk for Restructuring/Insolvency and Chancery: Commercial
Stephen Hackett – Leading Junior for Chancery: Commercial
Charles Sorensen – Leading Junior: Offshore UK Bar: Trusts and Private Wealth
Ben Channer – Leading Junior for Insolvency and Property litigation

Details of cases in which our members have acted, or are acting, are set out in each barrister’s profile. Notable cases include:

Lifestyle Equities CV and anor v Ahmed and anor

In which the Court of Appeal considered the principles of personal accessory liability for torts committed by a company. Read the Judgment here.

Andrew Flowers v Enterprise Insurance Company Plc (In Liquidation)

Acting for a director of a group of insurance companies that went into liquidation in Gibraltar. Liability judgment of £50m+ is being appealed to the Privy Council having been partially successful in the Court of Appeal of Gibraltar. Read the full Judgment here.

Re One Blackfriars Limited

Acted for the claimant liquidator in a £250 million claim against the former administrators of One Blackfriars for, amongst other things, selling the landmark building at an undervalue. Read the Judgment here.

Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd

The leading modern decision of the Supreme Court on the ‘reflective loss’ principle in company law. Read the Judgment here.

Official Receiver v Batmangehlidjh

In which members of Chambers successfully defended the late Camilla Batmanghelidjh against disqualification in the aftermath of the collapse of the charity, Kids Company. Read the Judgment here.

Mauger v Mauger

Acted for the successful appellant before the Jersey Court of Appeal. Reversing the decision at first instance, it was held that as a matter of customary law an heir cannot elect to “rester sur ses avances” where the value of the inter vivos gifts received exceeds the disposable third of the deceased’s movable estate.

In the matter of the representation of Z as Trustee of The A Family Settlement

Appointed by the Royal Court of Jersey as a delegate for an incapacitated beneficiary in contentious trust proceedings. The Royal Court refined its approach to blessing applications under Art 51 of the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984 in circumstances where trustees seek approval for decisions regarding the conduct of litigation.

In the Matter of the I Trust, the J Trust, the K Trust and the L Trust

Acted for the beneficiaries of four substantial family trusts to obtain disclosure from the trustee and successfully argued that the trustee’s indemnity did not apply in respect of its costs.

Barnes v Moxey

Was the Supreme Court of the Bahamas (upheld by the Court of Appeal) right to hold (a) that the executor of an estate did not have the relevant power to transfer a property to the appellant; and (b) the counterclaim seeking that declaration was not time-barred? Read the full case details here.