Edward Reed > Macfarlanes LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Macfarlanes LLP Offices

20 CURSITOR STREET
LONDON
EC4A 1LT
England
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Edward Reed

Work Department
Private client
Position
Edward advises internationally mobile families on their asset structuring, personal tax and succession planning wills, trusts and personal tax planning. Having been educated both in the UK and in France, Edward has developed an affinity for civil law issues generally. He is a bilingual French speaker and fluent in Italian.
In conjunction with overseas lawyers, he advises on cross-border estate, succession planning and complex tax investigation issues. He has a particular interest in drafting constitutional mechanisms in asset holding vehicles and has advised institutional and corporate trustees on the drafting of their standard forms, focusing on such issues as settlor reserved powers, settlor-directed investment provisions, protector committees and their appointment mechanisms and the trigger events (e.g. incapacity) for the transmission of key trust powers. Being a trustee and protector himself, he also advises trustees and settlors on fiduciary and tax issues arising out of the administration of existing structures.
Edward has been quoted extensively in the press and lectured at industry conferences, as well as publishing articles in English and French on cross-border succession and tax issues. He also advises clients on philanthropic matters.
With over 25 years’ experience in the field, he advises on UK immigration and nationality law and procedure for private and corporate clients. He has administrative oversight of the firm’s wholly-owned trust company, Embleton Trust Corporation Limited and of the Trust Administration Group.
Edward is a contributor to Tolley’s Administration of Trusts and the author of the England and Wales Chapter in The World Trust Survey (Gothard & Shah) published by Oxford University Press. He is also co-author of the “Trusts, Trustees and the UK Anti Financial Crime Regime”, chapter (C11) in Glasson, The International Trust (3rd Ed. 2011).
Most recently, he has co-authored with Iskra Doukova the UK chapter in the STEP Handbook for Advisers “Beneficial Ownership Registers” (August 2021, published by Global Law & Business).
Career
Trained Macfarlanes; qualified 1995; partner 2003
Languages
French, Italian
Memberships
Professional memberships
- STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)
- ILPA (Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association)
- Charity Law Association
Edward is also a member of the Capital Taxes Sub-Committee of the Law Society’s Tax Law Committee, attends HMRC’s Capital Taxes Liaison Group and is a past Chairman of the steering committee of the Cross-Border Estates Special Interest Group of STEP. He is also a member of the committee of the Thomas More Society.
Amongst various registered charities, he is a trustee of The Friends of the Institut Français, the David Brownlow Charitable Foundation, the Stanley Smith UK Horticultural Trust and the de Brye Charitable Trust.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
(Hall of Fame)Macfarlanes LLP ‘is the yardstick of private client advice, setting standards’. Piers Barclay heads an ‘absolutely first-rate team’, which advises wealthy clients across all aspects of private client work. The group particularly stands out for its expertise in complex international matters, typically for very wealthy clients with assets, business interests, and families across multiple jurisdictions. It has a plethora of excellent practitioners among them, including Charles Gothard who has a significant Middle East/GCC practice. Nicholas Harries‘ expertise spans international trusts and estate planning matters and he has a particular emphasis on the Far East. Edward Reed‘s practice has a large European element, while Jennifer Smithson has built up a specialism in advising financial services executives (private equity, hedge funds, and investment bankers), as well as entrepreneurs moving to the UK. Richard Giangrande is recognised for his advice on the tax treatment of fund management executives, as well as supporting entrepreneurs in the technology sector. Paul Hardwick was recently promoted to the partnership, and Mark Hunter and Sebastian Prichard Jones are among the other key members of the department.
Lawyer Rankings
- Hall of Fame London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Personal tax, trusts and probate London > Private client
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Corporate and commercial > VAT and indirect tax
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Investment fund formation and management > Hedge funds
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £500m)
- Investment fund formation and management > Retail funds
Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Investment fund formation and management > Fund finance
- Real estate > Residential property
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Finance > Derivatives and structured products
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Employment > Pensions (non-contentious)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Real estate > Property finance
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Finance > Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Private client > Court of protection
- Employment > Employers
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Finance > Securitisation
- Real estate > Environment
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£500m+)
- Employment > Immigration
- Insurance > Insurance: corporate and regulatory