News & Events
News & Events
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to announce the expansion of the Middle East team. Three impressive international lawyers join us in Dubai, broadening our client specialist services in commercial law, private wealth and Islamic law. Oliver Agha brings extensive experience in Islamic Law and Walid Chiniara in ultra-high net worth (UNHW) Middle Eastern families governance. Shabana Saleem specialises in private wealth. They will work alongside our existing Dubai based members David Russell KC, Philip Punwar and Sean Yates in the International Team, covering international arbitration and commercial matters. Oliver, Walid and Shabana enhance the strong team of Outer Temple barristers already successfully working in the DIFC and Middle East markets and the wider team of international commercial specialists working from London…
News, International, Private Client 16 May, 2023
Elaine Palser acted successfully for the executors of the will of Mary Mendy in their claim to revoke letters of administration on the ground that Ms Mendy’s purported marriage was void because it was a polygamous marriage. In English law, a valid marriage revokes any will executed prior to marriage. Master Pester found that the defendant (Ms Mendy’s purported husband) was already married at the time Ms Mendy and the defendant purported to marry in Gambia. He also found that Ms Mendy was domiciled in England at the time of the alleged marriage and so English law did not permit her to enter into a polygamous marriage, even if the marriage was valid in Gambian law. The claimants said that…
News, Private Client 6 Mar, 2023
Elaine Palser will be giving the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) lunchtime lecture on Monday 6th March 2023 at Blake Morgan in London. ACTAPS (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists) is a forum for specialists in the field of contentious trust and probate law. The forum aims to exchange experience, know-how and an appreciation of the law and statutes in this specialist area. ACTAPS holds seminars, conferences and meetings for members including a series of lunchtime lectures. Elaine Palser has been invited to talk at the next lunchtime lecture, taking place on Monday 6th March in the offices of Blake Morgan, London. Her talk is entitled “Twists and Turns in Proprietary Estoppel” and will consider the…
Events, News, Private Client 28 Feb, 2023
Elaine Palser has written an article titled Proprietary Estoppel and the Position of the Stranger in Trusts & Trustees Vol. 29, No. 3, 2023, pp. 1–11 (OUP). The article examines the position of a stranger in two principal scenarios, and the implications for strangers of the possible outcomes to these scenarios. First, if A makes a promise to B that C will receive A’s property if B advances monies to A, can the promise be enforced to benefit C who is a stranger to the promise? Secondly, if A makes a promise to B that B will receive A’s 50% share in a property if B advances monies to A, but A then enters into a declaration of trust with…
Private Client & Trusts, Legal Blog & Publications 2 Feb, 2023
Outer Temple’s David Russell QC contributed to a Bloomberg Tax article called ‘Navigating Estate and Succession Planning in the Middle East’. The article explores the topic of proper estate and succession planning being key to Middle East families’ long-term financial security. David Russell QC contributed to a publication by Bloomberg Tax called ‘Navigating Estate and Succession planning in the Middle East’. The article draws upon the idea that there is a massive generational wealth transfer happening in the Middle East and that many families are unprepared for this. It then goes on to explain how wealth is distributed in different situations. Please click here to read the full article. This article was published on July 28th, 2022, and was primarily…
Private Client & Trusts, Legal Blog & Publications, International 1 Aug, 2022
In Godolphin Australia Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue, David Russell QC acted successfully for the plaintiff, with the Australian court finding that the thoroughbred horse breeding properties were exempt from land tax. Factors included, the uneconomic nature of the racing operations viewed as a stand-alone operation, as important reasoning for finding the dominant use of the land was for the maintenance of animals to sell their bodily produce. The plaintiff, Godolphin Australia Pty Ltd, is part of the global thoroughbred breeding operation and horseracing team founded by the Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Represented by David Russell QC, it sought a review under s97(1) of the Taxation Administration Act 1996 (NSW) of an unfavourable…
Private Client & Trusts, News, International 3 May, 2022
David E. Grant has published an article in the latest edition of the ThoughtLeaders4 Private Client magazine looking at the evolving concept of the protectors’ power of consent. Three recent cases in three different jurisdictions have considered a hitherto unexplored question in the law of trusts – what is the scope of a protector’s power of consent? The three cases were PTNZ v AS & Ors [2020] EWHC 3114 (Ch) in the English High Court, In the matter of the X Trusts [2021] SC (Bda) 72 Civ in the Supreme Court of Bermuda, and In the matter of the Piedmont Trust and Riviera Trust, Jasmine Trustees & Anor v M & Ors [2021] JRC24 in the Royal Court of Jersey.…
Private Client & Trusts, Legal Blog & Publications, News 23 Feb, 2022
Elaine Palser, instructed by Tees Solicitors, acted for the successful claimants in R Deceased [2021] EWHC 936 (Ch). The claim was brought by two minor children for reasonable financial provision from their father’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The children were 14 and 15 when their father died, and they had been estranged from him for several years before his death. Their father had also failed to pay any maintenance for them during the estrangement, with the children instead relying entirely on their mother and stepfather. In his will, the father left his entire estate to his new partner and his parents, and nothing to his children. The partner and parents denied that there…
News, Private Client 19 May, 2021
We are delighted to announce that David Russell QC has been selected for the Global Elite Directory 2021 in conjunction with Legal Week International. The Global Elite Directory is the list of the world’s most respected lawyers advising UHNW clients, all of whom have been recommended by their peers in the industry. The listing, published by Legal Week, serves as a highly respected global directory of the world’s top private client, trusts and estates litigation talent, as well as rising stars within the industry. The directory is used by the legal community looking for referrals, family offices and professional advisers. Launched in 2017, the Private Client Global Elite serves as a highly respected global directory of the world’s top private client and…
News 16 Feb, 2021
Claire van Overdijk has been appointed as Chair of the STEP Mental Capacity Global SIG Steering Committee and also as a Presiding Judge for the 2021/22 STEP Private Client Awards. Established in 2010, the Mental Capacity Global Special Interest Group focuses on the increasing importance and relevance of issues concerning capacity in all aspects of legal work relating to inheritance and succession planning. The group keeps members up to date with developments and encourages involvement in debates on current issues. Claire van Overdijk has been appointed as a Presiding Judge for the 2021/22 STEP Private Client Awards. She has joined the panel of 21 judges from around the world who are each recognised as experts and leaders in their own…
News 9 Feb, 2021
Jennifer Seaman has been published in the STEP Journal and the Trust Quarterly Review (TQR) for her article on the remedy of equitable compensation following the England and Wales case of Auden McKenzie (Pharma Division) Limited v Amit Patel. Auden McKenzie (Pharma Division) Limited v Amit Patel is a case of interest to common-law lawyers who understand that trusts can be used as a form of restitution and compensation. In England and Wales, equitable compensation is awarded to make good a loss caused by the breach of an equitable duty. Equitable compensation is different from a proprietary remedy and a personal remedy to reverse an unjust enrichment. It is more akin to common-law damages, but there are variances in assessment.…
News 12 Jan, 2021
Enabling legal structures that protect and grow wealth. Join David Russell QC, Vistra and DIFC on 13th May for a webinar on private wealth opportunities in the Middle East. Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) remains a top 3 global region for growth of private wealth after APAC and Latin America. Over $3T of private wealth and $3T of sovereign capital is available in the GCC alone. By 2023, the UNHW population in UAE is expected to grow by 15%. Demand for personal and family wealth continues to grow rapidly yet wealth management remains underpenetrated with a disproportionate amount of wealth still held in bank deposits. The DIFC has become one of the largest wealth centres between Europe and…
Covid-19, Commercial during Covid-19, Events, Private Client & Trusts during Covid-19 11 May, 2020
