Sam Epstein

Sam is a Senior Associate in the Private Client team, working with clients all over the world – from international entrepreneurs, their families and family offices, to professional trustees and other private wealth advisers.

What might people find surprising about the work you do?

There is a perception that private client work can be old-fashioned, focused mainly on writing wills, but that has not been my experience at all. My first seat as a Trainee was in the Private Client team and I could see very quickly that there was much more to the work than I had expected. 

In practice, we work with a very wide range of clients and their combined personal and business needs are complex. They want commercial and forward-thinking lawyers who can see the full picture of their lives and goals, their global asset structures and their businesses, and who will help advise on all of these things together. 

This means my day-to-day work is really varied. It could involve working with colleagues across the firm, from corporate to funds and corporate tax, as well as lawyers and other advisers in multiple countries. For example, one day we might be advising a private equity principal with ties to the UK and Europe on developing a family office and investment structure. The next, we’ll be working with multi-branch and multi-generational clients linked to the US, Asia, Middle East or South America on worldwide succession plans. 

You never stop learning – there’s always a new tax regime or an issue you have never seen before. 

How do you approach your client work?

I have never viewed myself as a creative person in the conventional sense, but the solutions we achieve for clients take genuine creativity and lateral thinking. This requires a deep understanding of the legislation and the client’s goals to come up with effective, long-lasting solutions. Ultimately, achieving the best outcome for the client is key, and this drives the way in which we approach client work. 

An important part of client work is learning from your team and it’s exciting to work with Partners who are at the top of their game. You get to see how they think, how they problem-solve, and where your own work can improve. This can then be incorporated into future client work. 

You joined Macfarlanes as a Trainee – what first attracted you to the firm?

What stood out – and I know it sounds like a cliché – was that Macfarlanes has a reputation as a high-quality firm for both transactional work and advisory work. I studied law without a particular view as to what kind of lawyer I wanted to be and the idea of a broad training contract was therefore particularly appealing. 

Macfarlanes is known for punching above its weight while being small enough that you get to know people across the firm, and that has certainly been my experience to date. That made a real difference when I was at the beginning of my career.