A look at the most read stories on eprivateclient this week…
Monday
London family law firm Dawson Cornwell hired veteran divorce lawyer Simon Bruce as a partner. Mr Bruce, a former president of the Family Law Commission of the Union Internationale des Avocats, joined Dawson Cornwell after a 38-year career at Farrer & Co. Mr Bruce has acted in six Supreme Court cases, most notably for German heiress Katrin Radmacher in the landmark 2010 ruling that saw prenups and postnups made legally binding in England when they are fair, and for Yasmin Prest against her multimillionaire oil tycoon husband.
The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, was found by the High Court in London to have domestically abused his ex-wife Princess Haya and ruled that he will have no substantive influence over their children's upbringing. The ruling means Sheikh Mohammed will have no say as to where his children with Princess Haya are educated or which religion they practice. He will also not be able to give consent for them to receive urgent medical treatment.
Trust and fiduciary services provider Zedra is to acquire BNP Paribas' Jersey Trust Corporation Limited. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The acquisition will boost Zedra’s presence in Jersey as well as providing the BNP’s clients with access to a greater range of services both in Jersey and elsewhere within the Zedra Group. The acquisition follows Zedra’s acquisition of BNP Paribas' Singapore Trust Corporation Limited in July 2020, a deal which expanded Zedra’s existing headcount to over 500 staff across 14 countries, spanning Asia, Oceania, the Americas and Europe.
UK law firm Mills & Reeve is opening a new office in Oxford, signalling a major investment into the Oxford market by the firm. The new office will be Mills & Reeve’s seventh in the UK after Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, London, Manchester and Norwich. 40 percent of the Mills & Reeve partner group have clients and contacts in Oxford and the wider region.
Tasnoova Zaki was named as IQ-EQ’s new group head of compliance. The newly established leadership role aims to expand and strengthen the investor services firm’s group risk and compliance function in the context of an ever-evolving regulatory compliance landscape. Ms Zaki specialises in regulatory compliance in the financial services industry. Prior to joining IQ-EQ, Ms Zaki worked for a multinational investment bank as well as a regulatory advisory consultant for two global consultancies.
Officers from the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell seized a superyacht owned by a Russian national. The yacht – named Phi and moored at Canary Wharf in London – was served a detention notice after the ultimate owner of the vessel Phi was identified. This information was passed to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps MP, who ordered the first ever detention of a superyacht in UK waters.
Global offshore law firm Ogier is merging with Dublin-based commercial law firm Leman Solicitors, resulting in a combined firm offering legal services to the Irish market including corporate, real estate, dispute resolution and employment, and an international network providing banking, corporate and funds services. The transaction closed on 22 March and the merger has been announced to employees in both firms. In Ireland, the firm will go to market as Ogier Leman LLP from June 2022.
RBC Wealth Management (Jersey) reached an agreement to acquire Brewin Dolphin. RBC will pay approximately £1.6 billion for the entire share capital of Brewin Dolphin, valuing the UK wealth manager at 2.8 percent of its £55 billion assets under management as at 28 February 2022. The acquisition is subject to Brewin Dolphin shareholder approval and regulatory approval.
UK tax advisory firm RSM promoted 16 to partner, including private client tax specialist Heather Pendlebury. Ms Pendlebury is based in the firm's Preston office, and advises high net worth individuals, business owners, UK non-resident individuals and trustees on a variety of UK tax matters. These include income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
UK law firm Stone King hired solicitor Sophie Levitt-Hughes to further strengthen its immigration services. She is based at the firm’s Leeds office and will be responsible for supporting clients with all immigrations issues from sponsorship to individual immigration matters across the firm’s education, charity and social enterprise, business and private client sectors. Prior to joining Stone King, Ms Levitt-Hughes provided legal services to clients of immigration law firm Fragomen, having completed her solicitor traineeship at KPMG UK.