Zoë is a private client lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience. She advises on wealth and succession planning and provides UK tax and trust advice to families based both within and outside of the UK.

Zoë is a trust expert and also advises on the use of companies and partnerships as alternative family wealth and business holding structures. For many of her client families, philanthropy and responsible business practices are an integral part of their planning and, in response to this demand, she has been developing the knowledge and contact base to help families with their philanthropic and social goals.

Prior to joining Harbottle & Lewis, Zoë was a founding partner of New Quadrant Partners and helped to develop its strong UK/US team and entertainment offering.

She has been listed as a 'Leading Lawyer', a 'Prominent Figure' and a 'Power Woman' in the Citywealth Leaders List. She has also been recognised as an outstanding practitioner in Who’s Who Legal: Private Client, recommended in The Legal 500 guide and ranked for private wealth law in the Chambers HNW guide.

Alexa is a partner whose practice spans a broad range of UK and cross-border estate planning and wealth structuring matters.

Alexa has a particular focus on clients in the entertainment and creative industries, as well as entrepreneurs and business owners. Clients often seek Alexa’s expert advice on philanthropic and charitable matters as part of their estate planning.

Alexa has a substantial amount of experience in tax and estate planning for individuals and families with US connections. She is sought after by clients and intermediaries as a specialist in this field.

Alexa won the eprivateclient Top 35 Under 35 award in 2019, the Citywealth Future Leaders Award (Bronze – Senior/Managing Associate) in 2020 and was named as an eprivateclient NextGen Leader in 2024.  She was also a finalist for the Future Leader in Private Client Services Spear’s award in 2024.

Alexa joined the firm in 2020, having previously worked at other firms in the UK and in the Channel Islands.

Siena advises individuals and family offices, trustees and financial institutions representing them on wealth and succession planning, family governance, philanthropy and cross-border tax.

She has particular expertise in assisting internationally mobile individuals and helping clients with a presence in multiple jurisdictions who have substantial interests in Europe, North America and the Middle East. She especially enjoys helping clients address particularly complex issues or difficult family dynamics where they are looking to avoid litigation.

Siena won the UK rising star of the year award at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards in 2021. The judges noted she “continues to establish herself as one of the London market’s leading private wealth lawyers” with their sources saying she is “absolutely one to watch; she is really fantastic.”

Chris is a private client adviser to individuals, families and trustees. He helps clients transfer wealth between generations, protect it from third parties, plan for death or incapacity, and manage complex cross-border tax and legal issues.

He has significant experience acting for trustees in international disputes and also conducts the administration of estates which are the subject of dispute. He advises on will planning and probate, particularly those which involve multiple jurisdictions, and acts as executor and administrator of estates.

He advises both international and domestic clients, with a particular focus on US-connected clients and those from LATAM and Africa. He has an interest in the ‘next gen’ of wealth owners and speaks extensively on the topic of transitioning wealth to millennials and Gen Z. He is globally recognised as a leading expert on trustees engaging in ESG, sustainable and values-aligned investing.

Chris has acted as an expert witness on English tax and legal questions in both UK and international disputes.

David is a corporate tax and share incentives partner in our corporate group.

He has a wealth of experience providing corporate and personal tax advice to the full range of the firm’s clients and his core practice involves tax advice for entrepreneurs and their businesses. David has considerable experience advising on the tax aspects of M&A transactions and expertise in all aspects of share incentive arrangements.

David works closely with businesses at varied stages of growth and size, advising both investors and investee companies on tax efficient fundraising, including EIS and SEIS, through to an exit.

He also advises on a range of employment tax issues, including share based incentives and option schemes ranging from the implementation of EMI and CSOP share schemes to highly tailored share-based arrangements for senior management such as growth shares. He also advises on the use of employee benefit trusts (EBT) and employee ownership trusts (EOT).

As the head of the charities and philanthropy group, he advises not-for-profit organisations and individual philanthropists on all charity law issues, including commercial arrangements and corporate governance issues, as well on specific charity tax issues.

David is member of the International Tax Specialist Group (ITSG).