Jessica is a Partner in the firm's Private department, specialising in complex and high value disputes concerning families, their private wealth and the professionals connected to them.
She acts on a broad range of matters relating to trusts, inheritance and mental capacity. She acts for private individuals, family businesses, trustees (both individuals and trust companies) and other fiduciaries, such as executors, deputies, attorneys and protectors.
Jessica's work is often multi-jurisdictional and she has recently been involved in cases in Jersey, Guernsey, Bermuda, Switzerland and Monaco.
Jessica is recognised as an 'Up and Coming' Partner in the Chambers & Partners High Net Worth guide to leading high net worth lawyers and she has been selected as a 'Rising Leader' in Legal Week's Private Client Global Elite Directory. She is described in Chambers & Partners as "one of the top players in this area" and as "a hungry and experienced litigator. Legal 500 describes her as " everything you want: serious, very capable, and a master of detail".
Jessica is a member of the firm's Mental Capacity group.
Key Experience
- Jessica, Mark Keenan and Janet Tobin acted for various members of the Dellal family in a family dispute brought under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (Dellal v Dellal and Others [2015] EWHC 907 (Fam)).
- Jessica acted for a property PLC defending a constructive trust claim arising out of the purchase of a multi-million pound property.
- Jessica acted for a charity and family members to successfully recover assets from a substantial estate from which they had been disinherited. The dispute concerned issues of lack of capacity, want of knowledge and approval and undue influence.
- Jessica and Mark Keenan acted for the charity PDSA in defending claims for proprietary estoppel and under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 to a farming estate they had inherited by Will.
- Jessica acted for an UHNW family in defending sham trust claims against trusts in multiple jurisdictions including Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Jersey.
- Jessica and Anthony Julius acted for an UHNW individual in an international family dispute concerning the applicable succession law to her late husband's estate, a key issue of which was the ongoing management of the family owned business.
- Jessica assisted with the establishment of a private office to manage the multi-billion pound inheritance of a client following the death of her husband.
- Jessica and Mark Keenan acted for Henry van Moyland in the successful defence of claims concerning the estate of Lord Raglan.
- Jessica acted for a trustee in the successful removal of his co-trustee under s.50 of the Administration of Estates Act.
- As a trainee, Jessica was part of the team acting for Dr Gill in the successful Court of Appeal decision overturning her mother's Will, which had left her estate to the RSPCA (Gill v RSPCA [2010] EWCA Civ 1430).
CAREER HISTORY
Partner, Mishcon de Reya, LLP
Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Trainee, Mishcon de Reya
LPC, BPP Law School, London
GDL, BPP Law School, London
BA (Hons) History, University of Bristol