Our Estates Group looks after some of the largest estates in the country, working from our London, Oxford and Cambridge offices.
The next generation of landed estate lawyers
We stand apart from other law firms in this space, being capable of providing a genuinely full service to landed clients. Like others, we have exceptional private client and rural property teams. Unlike others, we have expertise to handle the full range of risks and challenges that modern estates face and identify opportunities for them, making our Landed Estates offering unique.
We understand that an estate is more than land; a historic house more than bricks and mortar. Instead they are living homes and businesses, integral to the fabric of our landscape, heritage, and economy. Our partners not only provide the traditional elements of legal advice, helping clients steward their estate, but they also draw on our renowned entrepreneurial experience, helping clients protect and enhance their wealth, navigate the ever-increasing regulatory burden and diversify their businesses to help them become resilient and relevant for the future.
Landed estates are always evolving, but there is more changing now than ever before. Estate owners are managing their estates differently to their forebears. Many are investing in the environment, whether via new grant schemes, rewilding areas or reintroducing native species, or by embracing new farming practices such as regenerative agriculture. They are often more commercially imaginative and willing to look for income from a wider range of projects; all whilst being more engaged with their community, from running events to social media. If things go wrong, not only do they want to defend their family and their interests, but they know the importance of reputation in the modern world. At Mishcon, we understand all this. We work hand in glove with our estate clients on both strategy and execution, no matter what they need.
With teams in Oxford and Cambridge and cutting-edge legal technology, we pride ourselves on efficiency and being proactive in finding ways to design and deliver cost effective solutions without compromising on providing the highest quality of legal advice. Our clients include some of the highest profile members of the peerage and landed gentry, as well as those newly investing in heritage properties, sporting and equestrian estates and agricultural land.
We never take for granted the privilege we are afforded by our clients to sit alongside them and be entrusted with their most complex and personal problems. The work we do is never just business, it is always personal.
How our landed estate lawyers stand out from the crowd
- We can carry out health checks on estates, covering the practical risk areas of shooting and other fieldsports, employment, physical and cyber security, health and safety, art and chattels, and reputational and confidentiality risks. When things do go wrong, we can step in to protect the family: from hacking and press leaks to water leaks damaging Old Masters; from fatal accidents to firearms licensing.
- We can stress-test trusts and family governance arrangements, considering risks for trustees and beneficiaries in existing structures, succession and inter-generational issues, and potential third party attacks on structures (including creditors, tax authorities and transparency and reporting issues).
- Our use of PropTech, from mapping tools to AI and live databases, allows us to work faster and more efficiently. Our systems can work hand in glove with an Estate Office, with live matter and cost reporting and our Land Registry digital mapping platform.
- We understand that art and chattels can be a highly valuable and integral part of a family’s history or the fabric of an estate. We are one of the only firms with a team of art law specialists that covers everything from sales and loans of art to disputes over its insurance, copyright, and provenance.
- We understand the importance of brand, reputation, and privacy. We can advise on how to protect and promote an estate's brand and the family's reputation in print and online, and have significant expertise on filming, image rights, and drones.
- We have renowned litigation and family teams, famous for acting for high-profile beneficiaries, divorcing spouses, and trustees; we understand not just how to litigate but how best to avoid and resolve potential claims too.
- We have a unique advisory team specialising in Natural Capital and ESG for farms, estates and collective landowner bodies like farm cluster groups, providing advice on environmental schemes and renewables through to sustainability across all elements of the estate business.
- We are at the forefront of the law on diversification – whether drawing on our expertise in eco tech, glamping, CBD, food and drink start-ups, or vineyards.
- Led by an ex-senior Charity Commission lawyer, our Charities, Social Ventures and Philanthropy team can bring an inside perspective to navigate sensitive philanthropic issues.
- We have a trust corporation – a special company that can act as a sole trustee of estates, supported by an advisory board, protecting individuals on that board from personal liability as trustees, providing privacy, and saving the costs and hassle when individual trustees change.
- We have handled some of the highest profile transactions of shooting estates and advised on the legalities of running a shoot. Our team handle firearms licensing, planning and nuisance issues, shoot contracts, employment, leases and licences.
In short, we can help with everything that a modern estate owner needs.