Areas of Practice
Track Record
Most of Mark’s work is private and details are not in the public domain.
Reported decisions in the courts include:
Acted for the Second Claimant (alongside colleagues representing the First Claimant) in a matter concerning claims for possession, proprietary estoppel, undue influence and trustee removal in Gladstone & anor v White & ors [2023] EWHC 329 (Ch).
Advising two of the beneficiaries of offshore structures with assets worth in excess of US$350m seeking the removal of the protector ([2022] JRC086 Representation of B and C).
Advising the co-trustee and a beneficiary of a pension scheme, in a contested application to bless the trustee’s decision to appoint the client the death benefit from the scheme (Punter Southall Governance Services Limited v (1) Nigel Benge and (2) Kay Barrett [2022] EWHC 193 (Ch))
Acting as litigation friend for minor beneficiaries in an application for the approval of a trustee decision to benefit an illegitimate child (PQ and anor v RS and ors [2019] EWHC 1643 (Ch))
Advising claimants and defendants in claims for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, including Cowan v Foreman & Ors [2019] EWHC 349 (Fam) / [2019] EWCA Civ 1336
Advising trustees seeking to set aside a disposition with adverse tax consequences on the grounds of mistake (Smith v Stanley [2019] 2 WLUK 174)
Advising the trustees of a valuable landed estate in a will dispute (Wesley v Chantler & Ors [2018] EWHC 21(CH))
Advising the trustees of a valuable landed estate in relation to claims based proprietary estoppel (Fielden v Christie Miller) [2015] EWHC 87 (Ch), [2015] EWHC 752 (Ch) and [2015] EWHC 2940 (Ch))
Advising a beneficiary of offshore trust structures worth more than £500m (In the matter of the R and RA Trusts (Gsy C.A.) [470/2014])
Advised a foreign charitable foundation in connection with litigation in England and the Netherlands, successfully resisting an application for an anti-suit injunction and freezing order in the English court (Nabil Tadros & anor v (1) Simon Barratt & ors [2014] EWHC 2860 (Ch))
Mark’s other experience includes:
Hostile and non-hostile applications in the Court of Protection, including applications relating to statutory wills, tax-planning and removal of attorneys
Advising trustees and beneficiaries in connection with professional negligence claims against solicitors and other advisers
Variation, interpretation and rectification of wills and trust deeds
Trust applications and proceedings in, amongst other jurisdictions, Jersey, Guernsey, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Bermuda
International probate, including the re-sealing of foreign grants and administration of UK assets in foreign estates
Awards & Rankings
Legal 500, Leading Partner, 2025
Private Client Global Elite, Excellence, 2024
Chambers HNW, Ranked Individual, 2019 – 2024
Legal 500, Leading Individual, 2022 – 2024
Legal 500, Next Gen Partner 2017 – 2021
Legal Week Private Client Global Elite, 2018, 2019 & 2021
Conference Speaking
Trusts and Estates Litigation Forum 2022: Privacy: Is it alive and well, on life support, or dearly departed
Trans Trust Bermuda 2020 (Virtual): Fixing Settlor and Trustee Mistakes
Trusts and Estates Litigation Forum 2020: Legitimate children, trusts and human rights
TransTrusts Bermuda 2019: Crociani Revisited
ConTrA: Trusts In Litigation 2019: Estate Planning & Succession – Freedom of Disposition
STEP Isle of Man Annual Conference 2018: Practice and procedure in applications for the court’s blessing of momentous decisions by trustees
Publications
International Trust Disputes (Co-author with Andrea Zavos)
Planning and Administration of Offshore and Onshore Trusts (Co-author, with Simon Rylatt and Clare Pooley)
Business Families and Family Businesses – STEP Handbook for Advisers 2018
Tolley’s Estate Planning
Memberships
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
STEP Contentious Trusts
Estates SIG Global Steering Committee
Registered Contentious Trust and Probate Specialist (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists)
STEP Advanced Certificate in International Succession and Probate
ConTrA (Contentious Trusts Associates)
Education & Qualification
University of Exeter
Qualified as a solicitor in 2008
Recommended by Mark
Private Client analysis: Mark Lindley, partner at Boodle Hatfield, discusses the new rules in the Wills Act 1837
Read more 5 min read 17 Jul 2020 Inheritance disputes rise as families go to war over estatesNumber of contested wills at an all-time high as rising house prices and complex family structures drive competing claims.
Read more 2 min read 18 Sep 2024 James Woods-Davison to speak at the ThoughtLeaders4 Contentious Trusts Next Gen SummitSenior Associate, James Woods-Davison will be speaking at the Contentious Trusts Next Gen Summit on a panel looking into how trustees can manage their risks and liabilities alongside Aidan Briggs at New Square Chambers and Jemma Goddard at Stewarts.
Read more 2 min read 23 Aug 2024 James Woods-Davison speaks at the ThoughtLeaders4 & ContTrA event on ‘Investments & ESG’Senior Associate, James Woods-Davison is speaking at the 4th annual ThoughtLeaders4 & ConTrA Private Client Summer School: ‘Ultimate Insider’s Guide to All Things Private Client’, taking place at Downing College, Cambridge on 21 – 23 August.
Read more