Devereux‘s members act for taxpayers and the government across the entire spectrum of direct and indirect tax-related mandates. The set is home to Felicity Cullen KC, who regularly advises owner managed businesses, and Barrie Akin, who acted for the taxpayer in Mitchell and Bell v HMRC, a Court of Appeal case concerning whether the taxpayer was allowed to see documents relating to a business partner in Personal Liability Notice proceedings. Marika Lemos often represents HMRC in complex cases such as Carter & Kennedy v HMRC, an appeal by the taxpayer against the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal regarding the ’hypothetical officer test’, which found that the discovery assessment issued to the taxpayer was valid. Howard Watkinson is another key member of the set, which saw the addition of Max Schofield in January 2023 with expertise in representing large multinationals and start-up companies.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
'Felicity cuts through extraneous information and focuses only on the key issues which she considers from all angles. Her written opinions are well laid out and easy to understand and incorporate issues which she has registered might have an impact, even when nobody else has registered that there might be something to consider.'
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
1‘Marika is one of the best juniors at the tax Bar. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of tax law, works tirelessly, and has a wonderfully empathetic manner with clients.’
‘David is very commercial and client-friendly. He takes a strategic view, focusing on what the clients are trying to achieve overall, not just the issue that is immediately in front of him.’
‘Max is carving a name for himself in this field. He is deeply immersed in VAT and is very popular among clients; he is an excellent junior.’
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
1‘Marika is one of the best juniors at the tax Bar. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of tax law, works tirelessly, and has a wonderfully empathetic manner with clients.’
‘David is very commercial and client-friendly. He takes a strategic view, focusing on what the clients are trying to achieve overall, not just the issue that is immediately in front of him.’
‘Max is carving a name for himself in this field. He is deeply immersed in VAT and is very popular among clients; he is an excellent junior.’
