WWL brings together Morven McMillan at Maples and Calder and Tahera Mandviwala at TDT Legal to discuss issues facing private client lawyers and their clients today, including recent regulatory changes, the increased use of family offices and privacy issues. 

G Warren Whitaker, Day Pitney LLP

In this article, G Warren Whitaker of Day Pitney LLP discusses recent developments in international and cross-border estate planning.

Arabella Murphy, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP

In the latest edition of WWL: Private Client, Arabella Murphy at Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP explores the impact that Brexit will have on the private client market. 

Morven McMillan, Maples and Calder

Morven McMillan at Maples and Calder explores the impact of the growing awareness surrounding data protection on private client confidentiality. 

Who’s Who Legal brings together John Rimmer at Advocate John Rimmer and Tina Wüstemann at Bär & Karrer to discuss issues facing private client lawyers and their clients in the industry today, including recent regulatory changes, the growing importance of compliance in relation to tax work and the development of succession planning tools.

Our research for this year’s edition of WWL: Private Client has identified 642 outstanding practitioners spread across 52 jurisdictions. They warrant inclusion for their work in advising individuals, families, companies and charities on matters that range from taxation to trust structuring to asset management.

Withers continues to be the leading firm in the space, with 28 standout lawyers listed from across the world, while Ogier impresses with its work in the Channel Islands, and Macfarlanes boasts a strong showing in London.

WWL’s 2018 Private Client Trust and Advisory Services chapter features 169 of the world’s leading non-lawyer experts who are identified for their expertise in assisting private clients manage their financial and tax arrangements, family offices and businesses, and succession planning.

WWL conducted research with leading private client practitioners across more than 50 jurisdictions, gaining valuable insight into the global market. Lawyers we spoke to noted continuing changes in the legal frameworks governing the space, and highlighted the political and economic influences on the market that work to drive governmental policy. Private client continues to be an attractive and interesting area for practitioners, who, from their interviews with us, clearly enjoy the complexity and cross-border nature of the work.

This year’s edition of Who’s Who Legal: Private Client highlights 602 leading private client specialists from 287 firms worldwide. The practitioners listed assist some of the most successful and influential individuals, families and organisations in the world on their legal needs both domestically and internationally. They provide a broad range of private client services, including taxation, estate management, succession planning, onshore and offshore trust management, wealth structuring, and philanthropy and charitable giving.

International law firm Withers continues to top our listings as the pre-eminent global private client firm, with 23 lawyers listed from across London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and New York. London-based firm Macfarlanes also ranks highly this year, along with leading offshore law firm Mourant Ozannes which achieves listings across five of the major offshore jurisdictions, as well as England.

This year, we highlight 177 individuals who stand out as leaders in the trust and advisory services space, and are recognised for their expertise and great counsel as trusted guardians of private wealth and trusts.

This year Who’s Who Legal interviewed leading private client practice heads and partners from firms across the globe. Almost all reported a busy practice in line with the increasingly complex needs of clients, and noted that the legal market is expanding to meet this demand. Law firms are increasingly keen to build strong private client practices, with the “potential legal spend rivalling FTSE companies”, according to some sources. In addition, lawyers told us of the value private client work can bring as “a great entrée into wider billable corporate work”. The emergence of new technologies and regulations, the multi-jurisdictional nature of tax work, and the need to make greater efficiencies have resulted in it being, as one interviewee put it, “a very exciting time to be a private client lawyer – you have to be nimble on your feet and often operate in tough markets”.

In this year’s edition, over 500 private client specialists are listed from over 200 firms across 51 jurisdictions.

Private client specialist Withers leads our research with 17 leading lawyers listed in its London office alone and a further 10 across Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and the US. 

Baker & McKenzie’s 10 listings are spread across London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland and New York – the second largest onshore network in our research.

McDermott Will & Emery has a strong transatlantic offering with 10 individuals listed. Other leading outfits in the US include Holland & Knight and Greenberg Traurig.

London-based Macfarlanes' 11 listings illustrate its position as a world-class centre of legal advice on wealth management. Other standout outfits in London include Charles Russell Speechlys with nine listings, Boodle Hatfield and Harcus Sinclair both with six leading names and Maurice Turnor Gardner with five.

Top Swiss firms include Schellenberg Wittmer, Walder Wyss and Lenz & Staehelin who have five listings each.

Across the offshore jurisdictions, Mourant Ozannes leads with 12 listings, closely followed Ogier and Appleby both with nine, Conyers Dill & Pearman with eight, and Maples and Calder with six.

The most highly regarded individuals are also recognised in this section. 

In this section, we have identified over 140 of the leading trustees, private bankers, accountants and investment managers that service the private client industry worldwide. 

Top outfits include Butterfield Trust with 12 listings covering Geneva, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Rawlinson & Hunter is also widely recognised with 11 listings covering its offices in London, Geneva, Zurich, Cayman Islands, BVI, Jersey and Guernsey.

Other leading firms identified in this section for their strong presence in our research include Rothschild Trust, Summit Trust International, Vistra and Elian.

As tax avoidance and transparency remain prominent in both the social and political consciousness, a number of issues remain for international clients and their legal counsel. The stream of international regulatory structures introduced in the past few years has given rise to an abundance of compliance work. While issues of transparency threaten to undermine the very essence of private client work in some senses, regulation remains a hoop that must be jumped through and clients are striving to ensure that their tax and estate structures meet any and all new regulations. Contentious matters and philanthropic concerns still take up a great deal of time for many lawyers in this area, ensuring that the practice area is sufficiently diverse and busy. 

The third edition of Who’s Who Legal: Private Client lists 492 leading practitioners from 247 firms across 51 countries, ensuring that it is one of the most comprehensive resources for expertise in this field.