James Kirby is a Chancery barrister with a particular interest in private client work (both contentious and non-contentious), Court of Protection and capital taxes.
James appears regularly in the High Court and County Court, and has also appeared in the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) and the Court of Protection. He is equally happy being instructed on his own account or as a junior within a wider team.
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:
- Advising on class gifts in wills, including the rules governing the closing of classes
- Advising trustees on the scope of a power of advancement
- Advising on the effect of a conditional revocation clause in a will
- Advising on the construction of a will directing executors to pay tax on property subject to a testamentary power of appointment
- Advising an executor on conflict of laws issues relating to foreign assets
- Advising trustees on terminable life interests in residential property (including tax consequences)
- Drafting deeds of variation under s.142 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984
- Drafting trustee resolutions relating to beneficiary loans
Qualifications
- Bar Professional Training Course (Outstanding), City Law School (2017)
- Graduate Diploma in Law (Distinction; Equity & Trusts Prize), City Law School (2016)
- Princess Royal Scholarships, Inner Temple (BPTC and GDL)
- DPhil in History, Balliol College, Oxford (2014)
- MSt in History (Distinction), Balliol College, Oxford (2011)
- BA in History (First Class – highest in university), Balliol College, Oxford (2010)
Associations & Memberships
- Member of the Chancery Bar Association
- Member of the Court of Protection Bar Association
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Publications
James is an editor of the forthcoming edition of Williams on Wills (11th edn)
‘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 19th-century religious history) 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.
