James Kirby is a Chancery barrister specialising in trusts and estates, mental capacity, inheritance claims and private client taxation.
James appears regularly in the High Court, County Court and Court of Protection, and has also been instructed in the Court of Appeal, the Upper Tribunal and First-tier Tribunal. He is equally happy being instructed on his own account or as a junior within a wider team.
James is an editor of Williams on Wills (11th edition, 2021).
Before becoming a barrister, James was a Research Fellow in History at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Private Client: Non-Contentious
James regularly advises trustees, personal representatives and beneficiaries on matters concerning trusts and estates, including tax matters. His experience includes:
- Variation of trusts:
- Re T: Representing the minors in an application under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958.
- Drafting deeds of variation.
- Advising on tax issues arising from variation of trusts.
- Advising on the interpretation of wills, including:
- Class gifts.
- Charitable legacies and cy-près.
- Effect of a conditional revocation clause.
- Advising personal representatives on the administration of estates.
- Drafting trust documents, including trust deeds, deeds of appointment and deeds of variation.
Qualifications
- Bar Professional Training Course (Outstanding), City Law School (2017)
- Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction; Equity & Trusts Prize), City Law School (2016)
- DPhil in History, Balliol College, Oxford (2014)
- MSt in History (Distinction), Balliol College, Oxford (2011)
- BA in History (First Class – highest of year; Gibbs Prize and Arnold Prize), Balliol College, Oxford (2010)
Associations & Memberships
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
- Member of the Court of Protection Bar Association
- Member of ConTrA (Contentious Trusts Association)
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Publications
Williams on Wills (11th edition, 2021) (with Francis Barlow KC, Susannah Meadway and James MacDougald).
‘Statutory Wills and Probate Disputes: Contested Wills in the Court of Protection’, Private Client Business, 2022, 3, 104-111 (with Richard Dew).
‘Tax Planning in the Court of Protection’, Lawskills (Sep. 2018).
James has also published a number of articles in leading historical journals and a book (on Victorian historiography) with Oxford University Press.
James Kirby is a self-employed, independent barrister whose practice is regulated by the Bar Standards Board [Bar Council Ref 69244]. He is fully insured with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [BMIF Ref 2360/079] to provide legal services, please refer to the BMIF website for full details of the world-wide cover provided. He is registered for VAT under the reference 304589790.
