Piers Barclay Partner

Partner
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Piers is the head of private client.

Piers specialises in succession, tax and estate planning advice for individuals and their families as well as related advice to trustees and other private client service providers, such as family offices. In addition to UK-based clients, much of his work has an international element, including structuring multi-jurisdictional estates, using trusts in civil law and Sharia law countries and advising non-UK trustees on tax and fiduciary matters. 

He has experience in UK pre-entry planning for non-domiciliaries, remittance basis advice and the implementation of wills and associated mechanisms on arrival, both for entrepreneurs and for other high-net-worth individuals.

Before becoming a partner, Piers spent six months on secondment in the trusts department of a leading international law firm.

Piers is a member of the firm's probate group and has many years' experience advising on all probate related matters.

Piers is ranked as a Tier One adviser in the UK and Global editions of the independent Chambers guide and as a leading individual in the UK Legal 500 guide. He has been recognised in the eprivateclient 2021 50 Most Influential list and is recommended in the 2021 Private Client Global Elite guide. 

Professional memberships

  • STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners)

Expertise

Recent work

Consortium led by Lawrence Stroll

Advising consortium led by Lawrence Stroll on a £500m strategic investment in FTSE250 luxury British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda.

Complex succession plan

Leading a team of lawyers in six different jurisdictions on the development of a complex succession plan for a family with a significant trading business and a wide range of other valuable investments around the world.

Significant Liquid Investment Portfolio

Advising on a restructuring of an entrepreneur’s significant liquid investment portfolio in order to give a significant proportion to the client’s children who were US residents. This included detailed advice and technical input on the structuring and involving both US and UK investment guidelines and tax considerations.

Complex network of trusts

Advising an existing client in relation to changes to local legislation which had necessitated a restructuring of a complex network of trusts which hold a controlling stake in a very significant Russian business.

UK tax analysis

Advising an individual on the UK tax analysis arising from their move to the UK from Italy and the subsequent opening of a London office of their business which operates across Europe.

Significant trading business

Advising trustees on the proposed sale of their interest in a significant trading business abroad where the trustee wished to dispose of the asset before considering the distribution of the proceeds and the winding up the trust in the context of a long-running family dispute.

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What people are saying

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"He is a superstar. He is extraordinarily bright; he knows all legal issues inside out. He has a wonderful manner with clients where they rely on his judgement, clients have great confidence in him."

Chambers HNW 2020

"He is extraordinarily bright; he knows all legal issues inside out. He has a wonderful manner with clients where they rely on his judgement, clients have great confidence in him."

Chambers HNW 2019

"He is a very good private client lawyer - he really engages with his client and gains their trust. He is extremely empathetic, so charming and very bright."

Chambers HNW 2019

"Piers Barclay is 'extremely knowledgeable and has excellent commercial sense'."

The UK Legal 500 2018

"He is really brilliant, he has great judgement and is very personable."

Chambers Global 2018

"His clients are absolutely devoted to him and he really has his clients' interests at heart."

Chambers Global 2018

Quick reads

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In depth

Budget 2021: key policies for private clients

Piers Barclay, Nicholas Harries, Robin Vos 03 Mar 2021
This was a Budget of two parts. The first part was all about supporting the economy as we come out of lockdown with, as expected, a continuation of the various measures that have...
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The Wealth Tax Commission final report

Piers Barclay, Gregory Price, Thomas Schlee 10 Dec 2020
On 9 December 2020, a group of academics and tax professionals led by Arun Advani of Warwick University, Andy Summers of LSE and the barrister Emma Chamberlain, OBE, known as the...
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The Finance Bill 2020

Piers Barclay, Nicholas Harries, Mark Hunter 06 Apr 2020
The Finance Bill 2020 was published as planned on 19 March, together with a number of supporting documents.
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