Head of Private Client Services department. Provides a full range of tax advice to individual and corporate clients. Including advice to private banks, trust companies, financial institutions, entrepreneurs and owner managers on personal and business tax. Work also encompasses tax advice on corporate and business structures; advice on offshore structures and advice on offshore and onshore trusts. Experience also includes: tax litigation/investigations; advocacy before Tax Tribunal; EIS work; non-domiciliaries and UK land; international corporate work including advice to a number of clients on international holding company structures, coupled with personal advice on trust and tax planning; corporate restructuring advice on a number of significant transactions; and the taxation of development land, including general advice to landowners.
England - London • Private client
Burges Salmon LLP
The ‘truly excellent’ John Barnett heads a large and dedicated private wealth team at Burges Salmon LLP with lawyers based in Bristol and London. The group has immense experience of complicated and cross-jurisdictional work for individuals and trusts. Suzanna Harvey provides tax advice to a wide range of clients, from high-net-worth individuals to leading private banks and other financial institutions. Jim Aveline leads the firm’s family business team. Beatrice Puoti left the firm in January 2023.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Great breath and depth of technical knowledge and a very likeable and helpful team'.
‘John Barnet and Emma Heelis-Adams are both very experienced and technically outstanding solicitors. They are also two of the nicest people that you could hope to meet'.
‘Approachable, efficient and knowledgeable. Jim Aveline: Approachable, efficient and knowledgeable. Good to have on your side'.
‘Hugely approachable and engaging team. Catherine de Maid - hugely knowledgeable and my South African clients love her!’.
‘Very approachable team very quick response time and as the firm is outside London their fees are very competitive. Advice is clear and concise’.
‘Suzanna Harvey and Ed Hayes are both excellent lawyers and very happy to discuss matters informally beforehand and are therefore good sounding boards.’
‘Knowledgeable and market leading’.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading individuals
Partner and head of the firm's Private Client Services department. Specialises in tax and estate planning for both UK and offshore clients. This includes advising landed estates and diversified farm businesses on their various tax, trust and agricultural issues. He also has a particular focus on succession planning and structuring for family business owners and heads up Burges Salmon’s Family Business team. His international work includes advising resident and non-resident clients on their global trust and wealth structuring and advising on structures to pass their wealth on to the next generation. Recent examples of work include: advising an international family with £300m+ assets on their offshore structures, innovative partnership and trust structuring to claim CGT relief on a record breaking agricultural land sale; advising the trustees of a significant landed estate following the death of its main heir; drafting and advising on a Family Charter to set out the principles of how control and ownership will pass in a large diversified family business to give certainty to the next generation. Winner of STEP President’s prize for best thesis on international issues.
Next Generation Partners
Head of the Private Wealth Sector and partner in international tax and trust unit of Private Client Services department. Specialises in international tax and estate planning for UK and non-UK clients. Advises non-UK domiciliaries on the income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax implications of UK residence, and about international estate planning. Provides UK tax advice to financial institutions, for example advising on the UK tax implications of their products. In addition, provides trust advice to numerous international trust companies and individuals, including drafting trust documentation, advising on general trust law issues and advising on policy documentation.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
John Barnett