Pump Court Tax Chambers

Andrew Hitchmough KC

Andrew Hitchmough specialises in all forms of corporate tax, VAT and Customs duties. He has a strong advisory practice but is particularly well-known for his litigation experience in the Courts and Tribunals. He lectures frequently on VAT and corporate transactions.

Barbara Belgrano

Barbara joined Chambers in October 2012 after completing her 12- month pupillage. She practises in all areas of tax law and is happy to accept instructions under the Joint Advisory Scheme and Special Advocacy Scheme. Barbara is also qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

Ben Elliott

Ben accepts instructions to act and advise in all areas of Chambers’ practice including private client, corporate, employment, VAT, property and international tax, as well as customs and excise duty. Ben is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Calypso Blaj

Calypso joined Chambers as a full tenant on 7th October 2020 after completing her twelve-month pupillage. She accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice including personal tax, corporate tax, VAT, stamp taxes, customs duties and international tax. Calypso is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Charles Bradley

Charles practises in all areas of revenue law. He regularly appears as sole counsel in the tax tribunals, for both taxpayers and HMRC. He is qualified to accept public access instructions.

David Ewart KC

David Ewart specialises in all areas of taxation, both corporate and personal, direct and indirect.

David Milne KC

David Milne specializes in both direct and indirect tax, especially litigation and dispute resolution. He also accepts appointments as Arbitrator/Mediator.

David Yates KC

David’s practice covers a wide range of tax law areas and related fields: Personal tax Corporation tax VAT Public law (particularly tax related) Professional Negligence (particularly tax related)

Elizabeth Wilson KC

Elizabeth Wilson practises in all areas of revenue law with particular emphasis on personal and corporate tax. Recent advisory work includes advice and planning on capital gains and income tax for individuals and trusts (onshore and offshore), tax issues for divorce, ATED, inheritance tax agricultural and business property reliefs, pensions and employment income, corporate tax (loan relationships, intangibles etc), and SDLT (including the scope of s75A and other anti-avoidance measures). She also advises on EU aspects of tax transactions and on the HRA 1998. She represents the taxpayer and the Crown in tax litigation. She is instructed by the Crown in the Part 8C litigation.

Emma Pearce

Emma has a broad advisory and litigation practice which covers all major areas of UK revenue law including: Personal tax Corporate tax VAT and other indirect taxes Stamp duty and SDLT Customs and excise duties

Emma Chamberlain

Emma Chamberlain specialises in tax and trust advice for private clients, trusts and charities. Her practice is focused particularly on IHT and CGT as well as advising foreign domiciliaries and trustees. She frequently advises on taxation issues in connection with divorce and family issues, on BPR and APR and on residence, remittance and domicile enquiries. In some circumstances Emma is able to accept instructions via Public Access. Emma regularly writes for Tax Journal, Private Client Business, Tax Adviser and British Tax Review.

Giles Goodfellow KC

Giles’ practice covers the full range of advisory work on direct and indirect tax issues. Particular areas of expertise cover corporate reorganisations, employee share incentive schemes, controlled foreign companies’ legislation, tax warranty and indemnity claims, professional negligence, IHT and CGT planning for family-owned businesses, high net worth individuals and onshore and offshore trusts. He has substantial experience and expertise in advising upon and negotiating compromises of Inland Revenue and Customs’ investigation cases. He also sits as an accredited Mediator and is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

James Henderson

James advises on all the major UK taxes. His work covers corporate tax, VAT and private client taxation as well as customs duties and insurance premium tax. James has extensive experience of taking cases to the tax tribunal and the higher courts. He has been instructed on some of the most significant tax cases of recent years, including for AstraZeneca in its transfer pricing dispute. James works for both taxpayers and HMRC.

James Rivett KC

James practises in all areas of revenue law. His practice includes advice and litigation in the following areas: personal tax, corporate tax, VAT and other indirect taxes.

Jeremy White

Jeremy White’s practice covers advice and litigation in both civil and criminal matters regarding international trade and Customs & Excise law. He specializes in trade barriers and trade preference, especially when involving classification, origin, customs valuation and other technical issues. He has been instructed to represent clients in disputes with the Customs Authorities of Belgium, Cameroon, Ireland, India, Kenya, Korea, Thailand, Turkey and the UK. Landmark cases have included Terex C-430/08, Pace C-288/09 and Invamed C-198/15 Jeremy is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

Jeremy Woolf

Jeremy’s advisory practice covers a wide area of both direct and indirect tax issues and a mixture of contentious and advisory work. Contentious work includes negligence, judicial review and variation of trust act and rectification proceedings raising tax issues. Jeremy is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

John Avery-Jones

John Avery Jones has sat as a judge in the Tax Tribunals for over 20 years – the latter ten years on a full-time basis. Over that time he has encountered and decided every conceivable tax dispute from small personal tax cases to the largest corporate tax disputes. He is available to act as mediator or arbitrator (sole or joint) and has chaired arbitration panels under the EU Arbitration Convention and under Tax Treaties.

John Tallon KC

John Tallon qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1970 and has been a Member of Chambers since 1976, taking Silk in 2000. John advises on all forms of revenue law. His accountancy background provides a very good base for particular areas of expertise encompassing, inter alia, owner-managed businesses and tax investigation work. He advises both taxpayers and HMRC. An accomplished lecturer, John has the ability to communicate the effects of complex legislation, and tax-effective solutions to particular problems, to lay clients in an understandable and user-friendly manner. John has appeared for both taxpayers and HMRC in the First-Tier Tribunal (previously the Special Commissioners) and for taxpayers in the High Court.

Kevin Prosser KC

Kevin Prosser is widely recognised and consulted in all types of Revenue work. He has a particularly strong litigation practice. He is the current Head of Chambers.

Laura Ruxandu

Laura joined Chambers on 2nd October 2018 after completing her twelve-month pupillage. She accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice including personal tax, corporate tax, VAT, stamp taxes, customs duties and international tax. Laura is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Laura Poots

Laura practises in all areas of taxation, acting in the course of disputes and litigation and offering planning advice. Her direct tax practice covers personal and corporate taxes and her indirect tax practice includes VAT, SDLT and landfill tax. As can be seen from her list of Recent Matters (below) she has in recent years appeared in a number of high-profile VAT, pensions and employment remuneration cases, both for the taxpayer and HMRC. Laura is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

Oliver Conolly

Oliver practices in all areas of tax law. In addition to an all encompassing advisory practice, he has a busy litigation practice, regularly representing taxpayers, HMRC and the National Crime Agency in the tax tribunals and appellate courts. He is also regularly instructed in tax professional negligence cases by both claimants and defendants. Oliver is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

Peter Nias

Peter Nias is a practising tax specialist Barrister at Pump Court Tax Chambers and former partner at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP. Since obtaining CEDR Accreditation as a mediator in 2010 Peter has been focusing his time advising clients on mediation and pre-mediation strategies for resolving tax disputes and has acted as both a mediator and facilitator in tax disputes in the UK. He is a member of CEDR Tax Panel of mediators, being one of the founding members of CEDR Tax Dispute Resolution Panel established in 2012.

Quinlan Windle

Quinlan joined Chambers on 1st October 2017 after completing his twelve month pupillage. He accepts instructions to act and advise in all areas of Chambers’ practice including private client, property, corporate, employment, VAT, international tax, and customs and excise duty. Quinlan is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Richard Vallat KC

Richard Vallat practises in all areas of revenue law. His practice includes advice and litigation in the following areas: personal tax, corporate tax, VAT and other indirect taxes, stamp duty, stamp duty land tax and tax-related litigation including professional negligence. Richard is qualified to accept Public Access instructions.

Roger Thomas KC

Roger’s advisory practice covers a wide area of both direct and indirect tax issues. Roger has a particular reputation for his technical appreciation and understanding of complex tax matters and his ability to present them in a succinct and palatable form to both court and client. His practice is evenly balanced between litigation and advisory work.

Ronan Magee

Ronan joined Chambers on 2nd October 2018 after completing his twelve-month pupillage. He accepts instructions in all areas of Chambers’ practice including personal tax, corporate tax, VAT, stamp taxes, customs duties and international tax. Ronan is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access Scheme.

Rupert Baldry KC

Rupert Baldry has been at Pump Court Tax Chambers since 1993. He specialises in tax law and its application to companies, trusts and individuals. His work is a balance between advisory work and litigation. Rupert is a highly experienced litigator and has been involved in a wide range of interesting and high profile tax cases such as Sempra Metals (compound interest), FII GLO (EU law and the corporation tax regime), Jones vs Garnett (settlements), Sinclair Collis (VAT and property), Trustees of the BT Pension Scheme (foreign dividends and pension funds).

Sadiya Choudhury KC

Sadiya was called to the Bar in 2002 and became a member of Chambers following completion of her second six pupillage in 2003. She has a broad advisory and litigation practice across all areas of direct and indirect tax law. She has appeared by herself and as a junior in several cases in the specialist tax tribunals as well as courts at all levels. Sadiya has been a member of the Attorney General’s a Panel since September 2021 and is regularly instructed by HMRC, the National Crime Agency and other government departments. She is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access scheme.

Sarah Dunn

Stephen Oliver KC

The first 25 years of Sir Stephen's professional career were spent at the tax Bar, as a tenant of Pump Court Tax Chambers. As advocate and adviser he represented businesses and private clients, dealing with the entire range of taxes. In his judicial capacity, he was required to handle and resolve disputes between the tax authorities and taxpayers over liabilities to every type of tax and duty, direct and indirect. Sir Stephen retired from the bench in 2011

Thomas Chacko

Tom has been in practice at Pump Court since October 2009 and advises on all areas of revenue and customs law, in particular on employment taxation, private client, SDLT and VAT. Tom has recently argued cases before the First-tier Tax Tribunal, Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal, with recent cases covering VAT, excise penalties, tax procedure, customs classification, human rights and proportionality.

William Massey KC

William Massey’s practice covers all areas of personal and corporate taxation, tax appeals and other tax related litigation. He is best known for his expertise in private client tax, particularly in estate tax planning, heritage property, conditional exemption, business and agricultural property reliefs, and trust tax planning (including variations of trust under the Variation of Trusts Act).

Zizhen Yang

Possessing a depth of experience across the spectrum of tax issues, in addition to experience in commercial matters, Zizhen is particularly well noted for her extensive experience in indirect tax. Her practice has spanned a number of high-profile cases, most recently in VAT, landfill tax and SDLT, in addition to other areas. As well as a wide-ranging advisory practice, Zizhen has a wealth of litigation experience in both trial and appellate advocacy, having appeared as the advocate in the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Upper Tribunal, and the First-tier Tribunal, as well as having appeared in the European Court of Justice. Zizhen is happy to accept instructions under the Joint Advisory Scheme and Special Advocacy Scheme. She is also qualified to accept Public Access instructions

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