Stone King LLP specialises in handling legacy disputes for a roster of charity clients and is noted for its cross-border contentious offering, routinely acting in cases involving trust and will claims over offshore estates. Luke Watson heads up the practice and regularly defends charities in Inheritance Act 1975 claims over high-value estates, while Daniel Harris is a key contact for many of the team’s foreign charities, as well as for UK charities receiving legacies from internationals.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Wonderful to work with. Clever, measured and calm, the paradigm of professional legal services. The team has a good range of experience and the contentious trusts and estates team and non-contentious, private international and charity teams work seamlessly.’

  • ‘Luke Watson leads the contentious trusts and estates team. Luke is highly experienced and a lovely person. Clients, the rest of the team, and opponents respect him.

  • 'Elle McDonald has been a specialist contentious trusts and estates lawyer since her training contract. She worked in 3 other well respected specialist teams before joining Stone King. At Stone King, Elle has developed into a capable and confident expert dedicated to getting results for her client's efficiently.’
  • ‘The team has a wealth of experience, and they are able to deal with all aspects of trust and probate work, providing a London-style service from a regional office.’

  • ‘They are an extremely professional team. Andrew Mortimer in particular has a keen eye for detail.’

  • ‘Dan Harris - he is a legend.’

  • ‘Clear and concise advice, usually very prompt too.’

  • ‘Andrew Mortimer is first class because he is always clear, prompt and really thinks about what is best for the client.’

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Luke Watson

Other key lawyers

Daniel Harris, Elle McDonald, Andrew Mortimer