A rundown of the 10 most read people moves stories to feature on eprivateclient in December 2023...
1. (08/12/2023) City law firm Wedlake Bell elected Camilla Wallace as its next senior partner. Ms Wallace will take up the role on 1 January 2024 when current senior partner Kim Lalli finishes her term. Ms Wallace joined Wedlake Bell in 2007, becoming a partner in 2011. With specialisms in personal tax, offshore and UK trusts, wills and estate planning and wealth structuring, she advises both UK and global high net worth individuals and trustees. She was head of private client at the firm from 2018 to 2023. Previously a member of the firm's board while head of private client, Ms Wallace will now return to the board as she takes on her new role as senior partner whilst continuing in full time practice looking after her clients.
2. (15/12/2023) International law firm Taylor Wessing elected 2023 eprivateclient 50 Most Influential Nick Warr as its next UK senior partner. Mr Warr succeeded Dominic Fitzpatrick, who has been Taylor Wessing's UK senior partner since 2017 and has worked at the firm for over 33 years. Mr Warr has been a partner in the firm's private client group since 2006 and head of its international private wealth group since 2015. He specialises in advising ultra-high net worth individuals, with experience in advising individuals from the financial industry on all aspects of their personal and corporate structuring, and families with interests mainly on fiscal and succession planning.
3. (04/12/2023) UK law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper expanded its private client practice offering with a plethora of lateral hires, across its offices in London and Guilford. Sonia Dhesi joined the firm’s Guildford office as a senior associate. She has 15 years’ experience with a particular interest in cross-border estates, and in advising clients on succession planning and tax mitigation strategies. Ms Dhesi was joined by Mylor Beames and Sophie Spencer as associate hires to the team. Both have significant experience across a range of private client matters including trusts, probate and the administration of estates. In addition, Vaishali Kapadia joined the London team as an to associate, Ms Kapadia regularly advises clients on UK and international trust and tax planning matters.
4. (01/12/2023) EY appointed Laura Mair as the UK and Ireland’s managing partner for tax and law. Taking over from Jeff Soar, who was appointed as the company’s global head of law, Ms Mair will lead a team of more than 2,500 tax and law professionals. She joined EY as a tax graduate in 2000 after completing a law degree at the University of Glasgow and a diploma in legal practice at the University of Edinburgh. Seconded to the EY’s New York office in 2010, Ms Mair also gained experience as a senior direct tax consultant at BP from 2012 to 2014. Becoming a partner at EY in 2015, Ms Mair has since held positions as head of tax for Scotland and markets leader for UK and Ireland tax and law overseeing the practice area’s client services and business development strategy. Performing these roles alongside her client portfolio, she has been a member of EY’s tax and law leadership team since 2020.
Mustafa Hussain
5. (14/12/2023) Trust and fiduciary services provider Accuro made two executive level promotions for its group operations - including a 2023 eprivateclient Most Influential. Mustafa Hussain, managing director of Accuro's London office and a 2023 eprivateclient Most Influential, and member of the board for the Accuro Group, has taken on the role of chair of the board. Mr Hussain joined Accuro in January 2019 from law firm Taylor Wessing, where he was a corporate partner for several years. Meanwhile, Alex Petrie has been promoted to the position of chief risk officer for the Accuro Group. Ms Petrie joined Accuro in 2023 as group head of compliance, responsible for the anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance framework across all jurisdictions. In her new role, Ms Petrie will play a role in maintaining Accuro’s risk and compliance culture and participating to the digitalisation of key compliance processes.
6. (11/12/2023) UK accountancy and tax advisory firm Rawlinson & Hunter appointed three new directors – Mark Wong, Claire Osborne and Louise Catt. Mr Wong is a director in the private client services team and re-joined Rawlinson & Hunter in 2023 after previously serving with the firm from 2016 to 2022. He has also worked at Big 4 firm EY as well as at Buzzacott and Smith & Williams (now Evelyn Partners). Having worked at Rawlinson & Hunter since 2001, Ms Osborne’s client portfolio includes entrepreneurs, the family offices of ultra-high net worth individuals, various member bodies and owner managed businesses, delivering and overseeing accounting, advisory and outsourcing services for those clients as well as overseeing the firm’s delivery to those clients more broadly. Ms Catt advises both corporate and non-corporate entities, providing and overseeing the delivery of accounting, advisory and outsourcing services. Her portfolio includes entrepreneurial ultra-high net worth individuals, family offices and owner managed businesses at all stages of development, from start-ups to large trading entities.
7. (18/12/2023) Law firm Fieldfisher added Pierre Valentin to its art law team. Bringing over 25 years of experience, Mr Valentin's clientele includes art collectors, family offices, pre-eminent artists and their estates, art market professionals including galleries, dealers, auction houses and art advisers and the not-for-profit art sector. He represents clients across a broad spectrum of contentious and non-contentious matters, including ownership, provenance and authenticity disputes, fraud investigations, foreign nation recoveries and restitution, and intellectual property and new technology. His experience includes a decade as a partner at law firm Withers.
8. (12/12/2023) The former managing partner of accountancy and tax advisory firm Rawlinson & Hunter joined Lombard Odier. David Barker, who worked at Rawlinson & Hunter for over 27 years, has been appointed as a senior wealth planner at Lombard Odier. He joined Rawlinson & Hunter in 1997 after eight years at Binder Hamlyn and was named as managing partner at the former in 2018. He retired as a partner in 2021 and had worked at Rawlinson & Hunter as a consultant since then.
James Brown (left) and Andrew Breakwell (right)
9. (13/12/2023) Hall Brown Family Law appointed Andrew Breakwell as the head of its new Birmingham office. This added to the 2023 eprivateclient Excellence Award winning firm’s existing offices in London, Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester where it is headquartered. Mr Breakwell is a Resolution accredited specialist and an arbitrator having also marked Resolution accreditation core exams for more than 20 years. Helping to launch the family law practice in Mills and Reeve in Birmingham he later led the family teams at both Harvey Ingram and Shakespeare Martineau. He has worked in several reported cases including in the England and Wales High Court, the England and Wales Court of Appeal and the High Court of the Isle of Man.
10. (06/12/2023) Offshore legal and fiduciary service group Harneys promoted Andrea Moundi Savvides to global director of risk and compliance. Ms Moundi Savvides joined the firm as a compliance officer in 2018 and went on to head the firm’s Europe-based compliance department. She is a qualified lawyer and has experience in the field of financial services, AML and sanctions and regularly works with the firm’s tax and regulatory team in Cyprus. During her time at Harneys, Ms Moundi Savvides has overseen the global sanctions compliance programme and has led both offsite and onsite inspections, including a recent review in Luxembourg. She has also contributed significantly to the creation and development of internal policies and procedures for both the law firm and fiduciary business. Furthermore, Ms Moundi Savvides has created and delivered comprehensive internal training programmes and has developed external training materials for clients. Outside of Harneys, she is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association’s anti-corruption committee and committee for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing activities and breaches of sanctions.