Josh Lewison

Barrister at Radcliffe Chambers

Speaker

Josh specialises in dispute resolution in the fields of private client and insolvency. He has extensive court experience including High Court trial experience and appeals at all levels up to the Court of Appeal. In addition, Josh has experience of non-contentious private client matters, particularly trusts and tax. He provides prompt and accurate advice, recognising that clients want answers, not just options.

Josh specialises in contentious trusts and estates, trust advisory work and insolvency. He is instructed at all stages of litigation. In relation to trusts and estates matters, he has experience of acting for entitled beneficiaries, disentitled and disappointed beneficiaries and personal representatives. Josh has advised and represented trustees, including offshore trustees. In insolvency cases, he usually acts on behalf of office holders, but has also acted for creditors, contributories and others with claims in company assets.

In addition to his litigious practice, Josh has extensive experience of non-contentious trusts work and is often asked to advise in relation to variation of trusts and resettlement, including the potential tax consequences of such transactions. He has particular expertise in matters concerning the PSC Register, including arrangements intended to relieve individuals with significant influence or control over companies of the need to be entered on the register. Recently, he has been advising offshore trustees in connection with PSC Registers in complex and high-value corporate structures. Highlights have included:

• Advising a Guernsey trustee as to how to respond to a PSC Register notice from a company at the bottom of the corporate structure held on the terms of the trust.
• Advising Jersey trustees of two substantial related trusts as to the status of the protector of the trusts and the enforcer of the purpose trusts on which the shares in the PTC trustees are held.
• Advising the Swiss PTC of a substantial trust as to the status of various individuals concerned in the administration of the trusts, including the protector.

Josh has been admitted to the Bar of California and is able to give advice in relation to California and cross-border issues.

Josh has undertaken secondments in England and in Jersey. Most recently, he was seconded to the trusts team at Ogier in Jersey, where he worked on a large trust harmonisation project among other matters.

He is a keen supporter of pro bono work. Josh reviewed cases for the Bar Pro Bono Unit from 2013 to 2017. He is also an enthusiastic participant in the CLIPS Scheme. In 2013, Josh was nominated for the Bar Pro Bono Award. He was nominated again in 2015.