Natasha is an Associate in the firm's Private Wealth Disputes team in Mishcon Private. The team was ranked Tier 1 (London) by the Legal 500 in 2023 and Natasha was named as a "key lawyer".
Natasha is instructed by several ultra-high-net-worth families as their trusted adviser, providing advice on a range of private wealth disputes that are connected to trust disputes. Natasha also possesses experience in advising on contractual disputes, such as shareholder disagreements, commercial contracts, and private agreements.
Natasha handles a broad spectrum of high value private client litigation, representing trustees (both individual and corporate), personal representatives, beneficiaries, and other parties involved in private client disputes. Her expertise encompasses a variety of trust and estate disputes, including intricate cross-border trust issues, claims related to intestacy and will validity, Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims, estate administration matters, lifetime gifts, and proprietary estoppel claims. Her work mostly involves an international component and she has cases regularly involving: Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Switzerland, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the British Virgin Islands.
Natasha is adept at advising clients on various forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediations and Financial Dispute Resolution hearings. She is an ADR-ODR International accredited Civil-Commercial Mediator.
Natasha is a committee member of the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA"), a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists ("ACTAPS"), an affiliate member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners ("STEP"), a member of Resolution (a community of family justice professionals who work with families and individuals to resolve issues in a constructive way), and a qualified Mental Health First Aider.
Key Experience
- With Peter Steen, Natasha acted for the successful Claimant in Perez v Equiom Trust Corporation (UK) Ltd & Anor [2022] EWHC 2996 (Ch) (29 November 2022) and Perez v Equiom Trust Corporation (UK) Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 615 (Ch) (24 March 2023), where a trust worth cUS$50m was declared as validly revoked and the former trustees’ indemnity rights were curtailed to 70% due to improper conduct.
- With Peter Steen, Natasha served as a general advisor to beneficiaries on various issues involving multi-jurisdictional offshore structures, including trusts and foundations valued at over US$2 billion. Provided guidance on succession planning, trust distributions, contested trustee and protector resignations and appointments, trust restructuring, and family governance.
- With Peter Steen, Natasha represented trustees in the variation of an approximately US$500 million trust and the transition of trusteeship, in a case where a beneficiary requested the entire trust fund be distributed to her and then terminated.
- With Mark Keenan, Natasha successfully negotiated a favourable settlement in relation to: our client's claim for the rectification of the deceased's will or, alternatively, its construction; and the deceased's spouse's competing claim for the will's construction or, as a second option, for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ("the 1975 Act").
- With Jessica Medus, Natasha secured a favourable settlement through mediation for the defendant adult children of the deceased in a multi-jurisdictional spousal claim for financial provision under the 1975 Act, and a proprietary claim related to the family home.
- With Mark Keenan, Natasha successfully contested the validity of the deceased's purported last will without court proceedings, based on lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, and undue influence. The earlier will favouring our client was admitted to probate.
- With Peter Steen, Natasha successfully defended a challenge to the validity of the deceased's will on behalf of the sole beneficiary. No settlement was paid, and the challenger withdrew their claim before court proceedings commenced.
- With Simon Style, Natasha achieved a favourable settlement through mediation for the defendants in a multi-million-pound claim by a prominent company in the leisure sector alleging breach of warranties in a share purchase agreement.
- With Kate Clark, Natasha reached a favourable settlement in a private Financial Dispute Resolution (FDR) for the respondent husband in financial remedy proceedings involving assets across multiple jurisdictions and international parties.
Qualifications, Memberships and Awards
- Member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists ("ACTAPS") (since December 2023)
- STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Disputes (completed December 2022, Distinction)
- Affiliate Member of STEP (since August 2022)
- Committee member of the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") (since March 2022)
- Member of Resolution (since 2021)
- Qualified as a solicitor (September 2019)
- ADR-ODR International Accredited Civil-Commercial Mediator (since June 2017)
Career History
Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Cripps LLP
Trainee Solicitor, Cripps LLP
BPP University, Legal Practice Course
University of Sussex, LLB (Hons)
Articles and Publications
- Author, "Looking for a rhyme, looking for a reason: reasonableness and the trustee"- Trusts & Trustees, June 2024
- Author, "Modern families - Issues that may arise for trustees"- EPrivateClient, October 2021
- Speaking, Thought Leaders 4 Contentious Trusts Next Gen Summit in Dublin, September 2024: Analysing angles of attack and the importance of stress testing for mitigating risks.
- Speaking, In Conversation with Andrew Brooks, March 2024.
- Speaking, ConTrA and Informa Trusts in Litigation conference in Budapest, March 2024: Tips for trustees onshore and offshore dealing with matrimonial proceedings.