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Head of Private Client
James Merton KC
Judgement first, statute second.
James heads the private client group, sought out for the delicate matter and the difficult conversation. He is known for reading the situation before he reads the rule.
A quiet kind
of certainty.
James has advised principals and their families for more than thirty years, from the drafting of first wills to the quiet resolution of estates that others thought certain to reach court.
Appointed King’s Counsel for his work in contentious trusts, he brings the instincts of an advocate to a practice that prefers never to need one.
He is, above all, discreet: the matters he is proudest of are the ones you will never read about.
Areas of Practice
What James leads
- iContentious TrustsVariation, removal and dispute
- iiEstate DisputesResolved, wherever possible, in private
- iiiSuccession StrategyFor principals and family offices
- ivReputation & PrivacyWhere law and reputation meet
Selected Matters
Discreetly, and on the record.
Led a family through the reform of a decades-old settlement without a single hearing.
Acted for a public figure to protect private family arrangements from disclosure.
Designed a governance structure for a family office spanning two continents.
Credentials
- King's Counsel (2014)
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales (1991)
- Ranked, Chambers UK — High Net Worth
- Fellow, ACTAPS
“He told us what we did not want to hear, kindly, and he was right.”— Family principal
In confidence
Instruct James.
Enquiries reach James directly, in complete confidence. Tell us the matter in a sentence to begin.