About
He has learned a huge amount about the laws of many countries from his experiences as a Partner with Baker & McKenzie and as Managing Director with Barclays Wealth Advisory where he was also a member of the Management Committee of the International Trusts business.
Many of his cases arise from deteriorating relationships and the complex and technical legal issues that follow in relation to taxation matters. Jonathan can quickly assess what needs to be done and is known to be intuitive and commercially pragmatic. His core practice area includes a wide-ranging discipline incorporating tax, trusts, foundations and corporate structures and succession planning.
Jonathan frequently works with business owners and wealth owners in relation to solving their cross-border legal and tax issues. He often advises on the structuring and management of capital across borders, associated immigration issues, investments in real estate or businesses in the UK, tax-related issues and multi-jurisdictional estate planning. His practice has a particular focus on Africa, the Middle East, and the USA, which constitutes a substantial portion of his core work. Jonathan has recently been extensively involved in working on the abolition of the remittance basis and the introduction of a residency only based system in the UK.
He has developed a reputation as a leading expert in devising coherent plans and finding technical solutions across various jurisdictions. He is ranked in Band 1 in Chambers for Private Wealth Law and the Hall of Fame in Legal 500 for Tax, Trusts and Probate. Jonathan won the 2025 Citywealth Career Achievement Award. The award honours individuals who have demonstrated exceptional skill, leadership, and dedication throughout their careers.
The legal directories report that he is “very determined to get to the answer, leaves no stone unturned and provides innovative solutions" and that he “has a way of resolving complex problems and is driven to finding solutions”. The directory sources report that he “helps articulate things with clients, ensuring this is done in a positive way” and that he is “fiercely bright and a really good asset to have on board."
Experience
- Working as part of a team of international advisers on the affairs of a resident non-domiciled family who moved from the USA to the UK. Jonathan advised on the UK tax aspects of the move and on restructuring a trust which held part of the family’s assets.
- Advising a Middle Eastern entrepreneur who settled business assets onto trust structures to enable trustees to control the businesses after his death and manage the long-term devolution of his wealth to members of his family. Jonathan advised on the establishment of a private trust company to manage the assets.
- Advising a Swiss based entrepreneur regarding UK tax residency and domicile to create a cohesive plan leading to his retirement with control of his assets being vested in a board of trustees going forward.
- Advising a bank trust company in relation to exchange of information programmes and tax compliance in the UK. This involved reviewing files in light of the requirements to ensure that the trust company’s system was picking up the relevant information which it had to report.
- Advising the executors of a persons’ estate in relation to the consequences of tax planning schemes into which the deceased had entered many years ago.
