Members of Three Stone are regularly involved in high-value cases, where we act both as advocates and as arbitrators in arbitrations conducted under the rules of prominent arbitral bodies or institutions, or pursuant to ad hoc procedures agreed by the parties. In addition, members have experience of arbitration-related proceedings (enforcement, challenges to awards, and applications for stays and anti-arbitration/anti-suit injunctions) either under the Arbitration Act 1996 in England or under similar jurisdictions overseas.

Members have extensive experience of arbitrations under the UNCITRAL and arbitration rules of a wide range of bodies and institutions including:

• the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC);
• the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA);
• the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) (including annulment proceedings) and the ICSID Additional Facility;
• the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA);
• the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA);
• the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW);
• the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb);
• the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and Nominet in domain name proceedings.

Our experience of arbitration covers a varied range of subject matters in the fields of aviation, banking, marine salvage, insurance and reinsurance, public international law (including both traditional inter-State and investment protection disputes), company and commercial law including energy, oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, sales of armaments and product liability), partnership, intellectual property, competition law, IT and telecommunications disputes as well as partnership disputes.

Members have been involved in arbitrations having their seat in many different jurisdictions including in Europe, the Caribbean, the Far East and Africa.

A number of members are Associates, Members or Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Some are also members of the London Court of International Arbitration.  We also have members who sit as arbitrators, adjudicators or in expert evaluations.

How Three Stone can assist

Members of chambers have experience of a wide range of institutional and ad hoc arbitrations from investor-state to commercial disputes.  Members are also available to sit as arbitrators or provide expert evidence as to English law.

Members of Three Stone are regularly instructed to appear before the Court of Protection at all stages of litigation in that specialist tribunal.  They have experience of acting for lay parties as well as for professionals appointed as deputies.  As well as having experience of lasting powers of attorney and deputyships, members of Three Stone also have experience of dealing with statutory wills.

Complementing our excellent broader practice in trusts and estate cases, members of chambers also provide advice in relation to cases where one party is a Patient, or where the capacity of one party is in question, engaging a detailed knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Members of Three Stone handle a wide range of private client taxation matters, providing both advice and advocacy.

Advisory work

Three Stone’s specialist Private Client Tax Advisory practice provides clear and practical advice to solicitors, accountants and foreign lawyers on all UK tax issues affecting individuals, and their businesses, estates, and trusts. Areas of expertise include advice on:

• Inheritance Tax;
• Capital Gains Tax;
• Stamp Duty Land Tax;
• Income Tax;
• Residence, domicile and the remittance basis of taxation;
• The taxation of onshore and offshore Trusts;
• The taxation of Wills and Estates, including cross-border Estates;
• The taxation of privately-owned UK businesses, including Farms and Landed Estates; and
• The tax efficient structuring of international privately-owned businesses with a UK link.

As well as providing written advice (Tax Opinions), and advice in conference, our members are adept in drafting the key documentation required to implement the proposed tax planning.  While the subject matter of advice given is often complex, the guiding principle is that what clients need is clear practical advice as to their options.

Advocacy and disputes

Three Stone’s specialist Private Client Tax Advocacy practice assists taxpayers when their disputes with HMRC have reached the litigious stage.  Our members have experience in taking cases to the First Tier Tax Tribunal and beyond on appeal.

Given the private nature of private wealth, many wealthy individuals and families do not wish to engage in public litigation with HMRC.  Members specialise in providing written advocacy for private clients in disputes with HMRC before litigation commences.  Taking specialist advice on the content of initial reporting and subsequent correspondence with HMRC can often lead to early and discreet settlement in the taxpayer’s favour; examples including the settlement of domicile disputes, and the mitigation/avoiding of penalties on reporting historic unpaid tax liabilities to HMRC.

Private client tax issues are often at the heart of litigation not involving HMRC.  Members specialise in providing advocacy and advisory support in the context of:

• Contentious probate and trust litigation, including claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, particularly in relation to the tax efficient structuring of Settlement Agreements and Court Orders. Members also provide joint tax advice to both parties in dispute seeking to find the most tax efficient settlement;
• Matrimonial litigation. Specialist tax advice on both divorce and in the preparation of Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements can often be the key to unlocking agreement between the parties; and
• Professional negligence litigation regarding tax advice. The UK tax code is highly complex and the issues involved on both making and defending negligence claims, but also on how the tax position of those affected might be mitigated, can benefit from specialist advice.

Three Stone has outstanding expertise in the field of trusts which we use extensively in both the private client and the commercial Chancery work that we undertake.

Members of chambers are frequently instructed in disputes relating to trusts, both domestically and in various offshore jurisdictions, including disputes about the existence and validity of trusts, the interpretation and rectification of trust instruments, claims relating to breaches of trust and the exercise of trustees’ powers, and applications under the Trust of Land and Appointments of Trustees Act 1996.

We also undertake a wide range of non-contentious work relating to trust such as advice on the setting up, operation and termination of trusts, the drafting of all necessary trust documentation, and court applications for the variation of trusts and the blessing of trustee decisions.

Some members of Three Stone have particular experience of charitable trusts and are often asked to advise in relation to the creation and operation of such trusts.

We also have significant experience of trust-related professional negligence claims.

We have a comprehensive knowledge of wills, probate and estates matters.

Members of Three Stone are often instructed on disputes relating to the succession of property, including questions relating to capacity, undue influence, breach of trust, estoppel and fraud, validity of wills (including undue influence and capacity issues), the construction and rectification of wills, the administration of estates, the duties and removal of personal representatives, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and professional negligence claims arising out of the defective drafting of wills and estate administration.

We also have significant experience of non-contentious probate matters (such as applications for the removal of caveats, applications for grants of administration, and applications under section 116 of the Senior Courts Act 1981).

Members of chambers also frequently advise on the drafting of wills and deeds of variation.