Member Profile
Phyllis Townsend
Partner | Baker McKenzie
Office Location: England and Wales
Jurisdiction
England and Wales, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United States
Top Specialisms
Family Office
Trusts: Planning
Tax Advisory
Connect
Professional Biography
Phyllis Townsend is a London-based Partner in the global Wealth Management practice at Baker McKenzie. Phyllis is the Firm’s EMEA Wealth Management practice group lead. Phyllis advises ultra-high net worth individuals and the family offices, trustees and banks that service them on cross-border tax and wealth management issues, with a particular focus on investment structures. Phyllis advises on pre-immigration and investment strategies for UK resident non-UK domiciled clients (and those coming to, remaining in or leaving the UK under the replacement regime). Phyllis has clients with connections to the Middle East, Europe and the US. Phyllis’ principal clients are from the Middle East and she travels to the region. Phyllis provides tax and restructuring advice to trustees and beneficiaries of substantial contentious trust structures. Phyllis is a member of the firm’s global Alternative Capital team that provides best-in-class investment solutions for family offices, founders, sovereign wealth, and other sources of private capital. Phyllis is ranked Band 1 for “Family Offices and Funds Structuring”, as a "Foreign expert in Middle East-wide" and for "Private Wealth Law" in Chambers HNW Guide, as well as being a Next Generation Partner for "Private Client (Personal Tax, Trusts and Probate)" in Legal 500.
Question : What drew you to specialise in private client law/ wealth advisory?
Answer: The incredible clients with whom I get to work and the nature of the work. No two client situations are the same, which means the work I do tends to be varied and interesting.
Question : For lawyers entering private client law, what are key skills you think are essential?
Answer: I think it is very important to be technically excellent and also to build business links with people of the same generation. Your contemporaries may become your clients or great sources of work and so investing in these relationships early can help to ad
Question : With the evolving landscape of the private client world, what are recent trends or shifts you are excited to explore?
Answer: The changes to the tax regime for UK resident non-UK domiciliaries, including planning opportunities and relocations to/from the UK, will have a big impact on our practices. It remains to be seen if there is a net loss or gain to the UK. The other key tre