Dora Clarke > Withers LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Withers LLP Offices
20 Old Bailey
LONDON
EC4M 7AN
England
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Dora Clarke
Work Department
Partner in wealth planning department.
Position
Dora specialises in all aspects of probate, succession and tax planning, both domestic and international, particularly for high net worth families and family offices. She often coordinates teams of professional advisers for major estates, both internally and externally, and deals with the non-contentious aspects of disputes relating to the validity of Wills, Inheritance (Provision for Family Independence) Act 1975 claims, construction and rectification of Wills, working closely with the Contentious Trust and Succession team. Dora specialises in international estates, in particular estates with a US and UK element, and domicile claims, including providing assistance for stress testing domicile pre-death.
Career
Qualified 1985; Withers, partner since 2008. Dora is a regular lecturer on probate, succession and tax, including various seminars in the US and UK dealing with the estates with a US/UK element, highlighting the pitfalls, and in Italy and Switzerland dealing with succession issues, as well as various seminars and webinars in the UK dealing with changes to the Non Contentious Probate Rules and UK intestacy rules. She is a contributor to the 4th, 5th, and 6th Editions of McCutcheon in Inheritance Tax by Sweet & Maxwell, in particular to the chapter on The Charge on death, Partly Exempt Transfers and Posthumous Arrangements, as well as being the coauthor of the Withers LLP publication Planning for the Future and Beyond, a guide to issues arising in the context of US/UK estates and has written articles on the same.
Memberships
Member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) UK; Practice Committee (chair 2010 to 2012).
Education
University of London, Queen Mary College (LLB), College of Law, Lancaster Gate.
Leisure
Travelling, especially exploring new destinations, music.
Lawyer Rankings
London > Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
Christopher Groves and Dora Clarke co-head the large team at Withers LLP, which has considerable international capabilities. It has long been the advisor of choice for the British and global elite and has the biggest team of US-qualified private client attorneys in London. Patricia Milner is recognised for her expertise in tax, trust and estate planning matters for both UK and non-UK resident and domiciled individuals and their families. In addition, she acts as a trustee and long-term counsel to many established families. Philip Munro’s practice centres on succession planning for international families – he also frequently acts for trustees and financial institutions on trust planning matters. Ceri Vokes is a known name for her work on complex cross-border tax planning. Claire Harris, Richard Cassell and Charlie Tee are all well-regarded. The team added Carrie Duncan to its ranks from Anthony Gold Solicitors LLP in January 2023. Nicolette Bostock joined the firm from Laura Devine Immigration in November 2022.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Private client > Court of protection
- Private client > Family
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Family: mediation
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- Dispute resolution > Public international law
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Real estate > Residential property
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Public sector > Education: institutions
- Public sector > Education: schools
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Employment > Immigration
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Employment > Employers
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)