What is your role at Brodies and how do you support private wealth clients?
I’m a partner in the ‘personal’ part of our Personal & Family team. I am based in our Edinburgh office and look after private clients throughout Scotland, including those with interests around the world. I advise on the full range of private client matters, from the preparation of wills and powers of attorney, through to the administration of trusts and estates, and complex tax planning. The latter might include, for example, establishing wealth structures, which provide for future generations of the family in a tax efficient way.
I also lead a wholistic ‘legal family office’ type service for some of our wealthiest clients, acting as the client’s trusted adviser and project managing advice provided on a range of complex areas of law by colleagues across our full-service firm. I also work closely with our corporate team to provide estate planning services to business owners, advising on business and personal issues under one roof.
If you could change one aspect of the law, what would you change?
The rule of law – which has never been more important – is predicated on, among other things, the law being clear and accessible. The legislation which comprises the UK tax code now spans over 23,000 pages. It was only about 1600 pages 50 years ago! You may think that more tax law is a good thing for a private client lawyer, because professional advice is needed to make sense of how it applies to your circumstances. But the UK tax system is now one of the most complex in the world, and I would like to see it simplified.
What key advice would you give to professionals advising on private wealth and estate planning?
Be thoughtful - and spend as much time as you can with other professionals. You cannot identify opportunities (or potential problems and pitfalls) for clients if they are created by something which you don’t know about. We live in a world of ever-increasing hyper-specialisation. That means no one can be an expert in everything, but the more “red flags” you are able to spot, the better the outcomes you can achieve for your clients – because you can involve experts when you need to.
A good example lies in regulatory compliance for trustees. If you look after trusts which were established a long time ago, the regulatory and tax landscape may look very different to how it looked when the trust was established. That can have unintended tax consequences, and can lead to penalties (and, in some cases, criminal penalties) for non-compliance by the trustees. I would encourage everyone to dust off those old trust deeds and make sure that the trustees understand the legal, tax, and regulatory position.
What are current trends or challenges in private wealth law that are keeping you busy at the moment?
Like everyone else, we are keeping tabs on the significant inheritance tax changes arising from the 2024 Autumn statement as they make their way through the legislative process (or, in the case of those already implemented, settle into their final form). Some of the most substantial IHT changes are coming into force in April 2026, so we are helping clients prepare for and then navigate those.
Another key trend we are seeing is the ongoing reluctance among families to discuss inheritance and wealth transfer plans, something that continues to create challenges in practice. The results of our YouGov survey show that only 39% of adults in the UK have discussed these plans with their family or beneficiaries. We are also seeing families wait until much later in life (often their 70s or beyond) before having meaningful discussions about succession, which can limit tax‑efficient planning opportunities. A growing part of our work involves encouraging clients to balance transparency with prudence and to bring families and advisers together at an early stage.
How do you spend your time outside the office?
I like to travel, and I am lucky enough to do more than my fair share of that. Last year I ran a race on a frozen lake in Sollentuna in Sweden, spent a couple of weeks driving around Slovenia and Croatia, visited the Caminito del Rey in Andalusia, and spent some time in Santander and Naples. Seeing current Croatian champions HNK Rijeka win in their 8,000-capacity stadium was a highlight!
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