Private Client Yearbook 2024 – Editor’s Letter

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Private Client Yearbook 2024 – Editor’s Letter

Welcome to the first-ever Private Client Yearbook from The Legal 500 and Legal Business.

This supplement, in association with London firm Hunters Law, brings together analysis of the key issues in both family law and private wealth today, as well as interviews with leading figures in the market.

In a frank and open interview with Lucy Enright, one of the country’s top divorce lawyers, and Legal 500 family Hall of Famer Ayesha Vardag, talks about everything from her personal journey into family law, to her top cases, through to why she believes the post-pandemic work from home movement is bad for both the legal profession and mental health. Vardag’s fellow family Hall of Famer, Sandra Davis at Mishcon de Reya, also shares the highlights in her ‘incredible’ career with Enright.

Meanwhile, Baker McKenzie’s London wealth management head, and private client Hall of Famer, Ashley Crossley tells Isabel Caine about the importance of personal perseverance and resilience and why the UK private client market is readying for its biggest challenge yet – the potential abolition of the non-dom regime.

It’s a topic that is explored in great depth in ‘Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty’, in which partners have their say on how high-net-worth clients in the UK can stay ahead of the curve ahead of the next General Election.

We also take a detailed look at how the law needs to change to better reflect the huge variety in what modern families look like today, with leading family lawyers having their say in ‘Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond’.

Elsewhere, we showcase the firms with the most Legal 500 private client rankings in the UK.

You can also find out what’s happening in private client law around the world in the articles from our partner firms in locations from Austria to India.

We hope you enjoy this first Private Client Yearbook, and we’d love to hear from readers about the burning issues you think we should be covering in future.

Please do get in touch if you’re keen to share ideas.

Georgina Stanley
Head of global research and reporting
georgina.stanley@legalease.co.uk

Return to the Private Client Yearbook contents

Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond

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Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond

As familial relationships become increasingly complex, the law governing these relationships does too. With the idea of the family unit extending to include unmarried, cohabiting couples and nontraditional routes to parenthood, the law surrounding and protecting all families is shifting to reflect this.

Unmarried couples were declared the fastest growing family type in the UK in 2019, with the Office for National Statistics reporting a 25.8% increase in cohabiting couples from 2008 to 2018. Despite this, and despite the fact that other countries such as New Zealand and Australia have provisions for so-called ‘de-facto’ relationships, there are currently no protections for couples in this position in the UK.
Continue reading “Breaking down silos: family law in the UK in 2024 and beyond”

Private Client perspectives: Ayesha Vardag

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Private Client perspectives: Ayesha Vardag

What made you decide to become a lawyer and, once you’d made that decision, why did you choose family law?

I wanted to be an actress, a journalist or a novelist, not a lawyer at all. I got interested in law spending time with my lawyer aunt in New York during my gap year, but still went to Cambridge to read English Lit. But I found that more of a crash course than an exploration, and felt that I might as well switch to the intellectual attractions of law. After a term I realised that studying law is terribly dull, it was the last thing I wanted as a career and I didn’t apply for any law jobs. I went straight to the BBC when I graduated. But then a scholarship that I’d forgotten I’d even applied for came through to study for a masters in European law in the French-speaking university in Brussels. I remember at the time my boyfriend told me: ‘Just because you get an opportunity it doesn’t mean you have to take it.’ But the BBC was supportive and I wanted the voyage of discovery offered by this exciting international frolic. Continue reading “Private Client perspectives: Ayesha Vardag”

Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty

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Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty

Vying political parties and a constantly fluctuating international climate are driving firms to further develop their private wealth practices in the UK in a bid to capture work from the lucrative sector.

Most recently, Addleshaw Goddard launched a private wealth finance offering in London with the addition of partner Laura Uberoi from Macfarlanes to service private bank, family office and high net worth clients around the world. The hire comes as firms including Maurice Turnor Gardner, Hunters Law, Mishcon de Reya and Stephenson Harwood are also recruiting for their burgeoning practices.
Continue reading “Planning for the unpredictable: navigating the private wealth market amid political uncertainty”

Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley

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Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley

What made you decide to become a lawyer and why private client?

My parents divorced at an early age, and I became very interested in how the law dealt with people and their relationships. That grew into an interest in law generally and how it could be used to solve problems. Having an interest in people and problem-solving meant private client work was a natural choice for me. It combines dealing with individuals’ personal issues, when they are often in a stressful or difficult situation, with helping solve their problems for them so they can move forward. Private client just seemed a natural and interesting choice for me. Continue reading “Private Client perspectives: Ashley Crossley”

Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis

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Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis

What made you decide to become a lawyer and why practise family law?

I’m naturally a problem solver, and I’ve always wanted to make a difference. Family law makes a real difference to people’s lives. We can help make a bad situation better, create calm in an emotional storm, and save children from the turmoil by early intervention. I’m motivated by providing solutions that are creative, rather than those that are formulaic. Continue reading “Private Client perspectives: Sandra Davis”