Corporate tax
- Research and Development (R&D) relief / disputes – advising on ongoing enquiry with HMRC;
- Corporate structuring / Earn outs;
- M&A Tax Due Diligence;
- M&A Tax / share sale;
- W v. HMRC (High court). Setting aside a tax debt / enforcement proceedings – awaiting judgment;
- Opinion on the Tax implications of a proposed settlement between two shareholders (Directors Loan; CGT on share transaction; share valuation);
- I will be appearing in the Court of Appeal with Harriet Brown in D v. HMRC – pension taxation;
- HMRC Penalty submissions ( Schedule 24 of Finance Act 2007);
- Tax treatment of legal expenses / business expense/ partnership;
- Employment related issues:
- IR35 / off payroll;
- Disguised Remuneration (Part 7A).
Private Client
- Will interpretation (Benham/Ratcliffe issues);
- Inheritance Tax / Residence Nil Rate Band. Seminar for the IPW;
- IHT planning / Gifts out of income;
- Domicile opinion/ advisory;
- Opinion on tax treatment of crypto assets / domicile/ remittance issues;
- Trust advisory.
Commercial Litigation
- M v C Advising on the merits of a commercial claim (Crypto engineering and development / token equity);
- HG v. P. Representing a party in a dispute with a payment service provider
- Data Protection – advising on subject access requests / GDPR
- Advising on minority shareholder disputes;
- Advising on the implication of an auditor resignation
In addition to the above, he has performed some discreet pieces of work for other members of chambers:
- Performing research for other members of chambers:
- Safeguarding policy review;
- Data Protection legislation in St Helena;
- Diverse litigation preparation / drafting of affidavits for ongoing disputes.
About me
I accept instructions across all aspects of tax law, data protection and related commercial matters. I am particularly interested in technology. I am qualified as an Irish barrister and in England and Wales and in addition to my Irish practice, I am a tenant in the leading tax chambers in England, Old Square Tax Chambers.
I have significant commercial experience. I was in practice at the bar in Ireland (2005-2012), appearing regularly before courts of all levels, with a general Civil practice. In 2012, I temporarily left the Bar for the commercial world, holding senior legal roles responsible for Europe and the Middle East in software and technology companies, while also leading on GDPR.
I was a computer programmer in a former life and have technical expertise and a fundamental understanding of the workings of crypto currency, blockchain and related technologies.
I am a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) and a Certified Bitcoin Professional.
I have rights of audience in the Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”).
In 2022 I was appointed to the European Data Protection Board’s Expert Panel in the areas of:
- Technical expertise in new technologies and information security, and
- Legal expertise in new technologies.