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Simon Taube KC

"Simon is intensely intelligent and highly focussed. His attention to the finer details is a joy to behold."
(Chambers UK 2025)

Simon Taube KC is our Head of Chambers and his practice covers the broad range of Chancery activities in both litigation and advisory work. He also conducts cases abroad in other common law jurisdictions.

He is regarded as “the brightest of his generation” and a “Star Individual” in Chambers UK.

His special expertise includes the fields of UK and foreign trusts and estates, capital tax planning and trust taxation, and fiduciary duties generally. He also has wide experience in charity, property, securities, partnership, professional negligence and family provision matters.

Ranked a Star individual in Chancery: Traditional and is in Band 1 for Trusts and Offshore in Chambers UK 2022.

Ranked in Tier 1 (Leading Silks) in Charites and Private Client: Trusts & Probate and in Tier 2 (Leading Silks) in Offshore in Legal 500 2021.

Ranked as a Star Individual for Chancery: Traditional for Chambers UK HNW 2021.

 

Practice Areas


Charities

Simon Taube KC is experienced in all aspects of Charity Law both litigious and administrative relating to charitable companies and trusts. He is regarded as “absolutely first class and one of the very big names at the Chancery Bar.” Legal 500 2016 (Charities).

Reported Cases:

  • Re Nina Wang [2015] HKCFA: Charitable trust and company law.
  • Re Warburg Institute – London University v Prag [2014]: Construction of Warburg Institute’s Trust Deed.
  • A-G’s Poverty Reference [2011]: Meaning of public benefit in charity law.

Trusts & Estates

A specialist onshore and offshore  chancery litigation expert.  Simon Taube KC appears in the courts in England, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman and Hong Kong and frequently advises in relation to other jurisdictions including Jersey and Guernsey.

“He has a superlative command of the law, is an incredibly clear communicator, and has an infallible sense of the right way to argue a case. An excellent advocate and adviser.” Chambers HNW 2016

“He’s top of the tree. He is very good at strategic masterminding. If you want an opinion that’s likely to squash your opponent and stop something in its tracks, Simon Taube is go-to.” Chambers UK 2017 (Chancery)

Reported Cases:

  • (1) Investec Trust (Guernsey) Ltd (2) Bayeux Trustees Ltd (Respondents) v (1) Glenalla Properties Ltd (2) Thorson Investments Ltd (3) Eliza Ltd (4) Oscatello Investment Ltd (5) Rawlinson & Hunter Trustees SA (Appellants) (Guernsey) [2018] UKPC 7: successfully acted for Investec Trust (Guernsey) Limited, a trustee subsidiary of the Investec banking and asset management company, in its eight-year case against the current trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust and the liquidators of Investec Trust’s former subsidiary BVI Companies.
  • Dawson-Damer v Taylor Wessing [2017] EWCA Civ 74, [2015] EWHC 2366: Data Protection Act and trusts.
  • Davidson v Seelig [2016]: Protector’s powers and court’s trust jurisdiction.
  • Crociani v Crociani [2014] PC: Trusts jurisdiction clauses.
  • Buzzoni v HMRC [2014] 1 WLR 3040 (CA): IHT – Gift with Reservation of Benefit.
  • Labrouche v Frey [2012] CA, [2016]: Abuse of process, breach of trust.
  • Fattal v Walbrook [2010]: Trustee exoneration clause.
  • Helmsman v BNY [2009] Cayman: Trust jurisdiction clauses.
  • AB v Barclays Private Bank [2006] Cayman: No contest clause.
  • Sieff v Fox [2005]: Trustees’ mistake.
  • Ingram v IRC [2000] HL: IHT and leases.
  • X v A [2000]: Trustees’ rights of indemnity.
  • Public Trustee v Cooper [1999]: Court’s trust jurisdiction, conflicts of interest.
  • IRC v Berrill: Income tax.
  • Re: Trafford: CTT.
  • Sinclair v Lee: ICI demerger.
  • Keene v Martin: Company law – rectification of register.

Private Client

Simon Taube advises on a wide range of issues including private wealth planning, tax and the drafting of trust documentation. “He’s phenomenally bright, has impeccable judgement, and his advice is always concise and clear.” Chambers UK 2015.

Reported Cases:

  • Law Society [2015]: Advising on Law Society’s guidance to solicitors concerning contentious probate matters.
  • In the Matter of the A Trust [2012] Bermuda: Trust jurisdiction clauses.

Taxation

Simon undertakes capital taxes matters within the UK and in offshore jurisdictions.

Recommendations


“Very nice and a pleasure to work with, he’s a pragmatic barrister who inspires confidence. Clients like him.”

“He’s well respected and excellent on strategy.”

“Simon is a pleasure to work with as he’s solution-focused and pragmatic.”

Chambers UK 2025

“Simon is excellent in his field, technically astute and very responsive.”

“Simon is intensely intelligent and highly focussed. His attention to the finer details is a joy to behold.”

Legal 500 2025

“He is the backbone of the trusts and estates world. He is involved in everything.”

“Simon is extremely commercial and brings a very common sense approach. He is someone who will give you a realistic and calm headed analysis of a difficult scenario. He is one of the standouts in the traditional chancery world.”

“Extremely knowledgeable and the one to go to if you have an extremely complicated case.”

“Simon is the leading light of the trust litigation world. He’s a real star in the field.”

“Simon is very user-friendly. He’s comfortable with giving you a view initially and working as a team.”

“Very experienced, he’s excellent at giving clear, simple and client-friendly advice. He’s extremely quick and responsive and a most elegant draftsman.”

“Very user-friendly and a team player.”

Chambers UK 2024

His insight, technical analysis and practical approach provides huge value.’

Legal 500 2024

“I can’t praise him enough. He is great, technically brilliant and just amazing. He is just so smart and so nice.”

“He is highly regarded.”

“Simon Taube is a solid trust lawyer.”

“He is genuinely fabulous. He has a fantastically razor-sharp mind and is incredibly crisp and clear in all of his advice. He is a Godfather of the profession at that level.”

“Simon is very precise and methodical. He is a smooth advocate, who is very knowledgeable and thorough in his approach.”

“Extremely bright and a very nice individual.” “Simon has a great understanding of his clients’ needs and provides clear and insightful advice. He’s also very approachable.”

Chambers UK 2023

“He has a good mix of commercial and charity work. He does big-ticket private client commercial and charity, and his knowledge for that is robust.” “I rate him highly; he is analytical in approach and is a good courtroom advocate.”

“Simon really has that knowledge of trust law as well as a practical knowledge of what the courts will do. He is an astonishingly clever lawyer who is terribly good at finding clever solutions to problems.”

“Simon is really impressive. He’s very clever and authoritative.”

“He is able to navigate extremely complex matters smoothly and has a real eye for detail which enables him to spot things that others would not notice. He is also technically brilliant.”

Chambers UK 2022

‘Very knowledgeable and user-friendly’ 

‘He is an excellent advocate with a razor-sharp intellect. Able to put lay clients at ease and explain complex tax and trust issues in a way they can understand.’

‘Simon has a powerful brain and great analytical skills.’

‘Very good with clients and has the ability to provide both strategic and technical, fact specific advice at the same time.’

Legal 500 2022

“Absolutely outstanding.”

“He’s such an indisputable authority that standing against him is basically impossible. Just having him there is so valuable.”

“The most affable man on the planet, he is really, really charming.”

“He’s just incredibly experienced and phenomenally bright.”

Chancery: Traditional - Chambes UK 2021

“A real polymath and a man with a tremendous intellect, who homes in on the detail in a case.”

“A strong advocate in court.”

Charities - Chambers UK 2021

“He is an extremely thoughtful and intellectual practitioner. He is very detail-oriented and is always extremely well prepared.”

“Technically outstanding.”

Offshore - Chambers UK 2021

“Technically brilliant and a lawyer with a fine mind, he is a thoughtful silk whose written opinions are excellent. He understands clients and is very practical in his approach.”

Trusts - Chambers UK 2021

Is very experienced and incisive and looks ahead as to what is likely to happen later in a case.

Is helpful, authoritative, logical, measured and commercial. He is attentive with clients and solicitors and directional (as opposed to abstract) in his advice.

He has a calm and measured demeanour, coupled with technically brilliant advocacy.

Legal 500 2021

The “absolutely outstanding” Simon Taube KC has a commanding presence in the traditional chancery space, and is especially well known for handling heavyweight trusts cases.

“He’s such an indisputable authority that standing against him is basically impossible. Just having him there is so valuable,” says one interviewee, who also describes him as “the most affable man on the planet and really, really charming.”

Another source says: “He’s just incredibly experienced and phenomenally bright.”

Chambers HNW 2020

“Clearly one of the leading silks when it comes to charity law, he is able to digest the brief very quickly and has an instinctive sense of how to pitch the advice.”

“A brilliant advocate, he has a major talent for seeing the wood from the trees and a manner that clients warm to.”

“He has a huge forensic ability to dissect complex matters of trust law and discern a pattern that is not always immediately obvious to the rest of us. He pilots you through a complex maze of trust issues – where you get yourself into a technical knot, he will untie it.”

“Very thoughtful and very good at working alongside others. He has a good sense of tactics and strategy.”

“A brilliant advocate. He has a fantastic manner and a very incisive brain. He was brilliant. I really had the sense that the judge listened carefully to everything he said.”

“He is my go-to when I need a silk on the trusts side – he’s immensely bright, experienced and excellent at dealing with clients.”

Chambers UK 2020

“Very much a go-to counsel for serious trust law issues where the court is being asked to consider novel points or enters uncharted territory”

“A supremely clever silk”

“An immensely bright and vastly experienced silk”

Legal 500 2020

“Sheer knowledge of technical trust law, and his amazing ability to explain it”

“He has the ear of the court.”

“He has a huge forensic ability to dissect complex matters of trust law and discern a pattern that is not always immediately obvious to the rest of us. He pilots you through a complex maze of trust issues – where you get yourself into a technical knot, he will untie it. One of the leaders of the chancery Bar, he is utterly tenacious, and really goes to the end of the world to resolve the issues.”

HNW 2019

“Fantastic”

“Elder statesman of this world”

WWL UK Bar 2019

“Absolutely regarded as a star of the Bar, he is a most impressive senior practitioner whom you feel very comfortable with.”

“His mastery of paperwork is unrivalled. and he has a great track record at the Bar.”

Chambers UK 2019

“Insightful and incisive. Superbly tactical.”

Legal 500 2018

“Thoughtful and diplomatic with clients, but always willing to give his advice.”

Legal 500 2018

“He is able to explain highly technical issues in a comprehensive and logical manner.”

Legal 500 2018

“An extremely skilled wordsmith, who can get to the core of an issue and analyse it correctly within minutes, even when others have spent hours ruminating on the point.”

“He is everything you want in a silk and a leader in this field. He is strong strategically and allows his team to work well together and to the best of their abilities.”

HNW 2018

Ranked as a “Star Individual“, Simon Taube KC is described as  ‘ “one of the most authoritative silks” who has been “long-regarded as one of the top chancery KCs for trusts and estates.”

He has extensive experience handling significant trust disputes on both a domestic and international basis and is widely admired for tackling complex matters. One lawyer reports: “His mastery of paperwork is unrivalled and he has been proved right on many occasions. He has a great track record at the Bar.”

Another source adds: “His written advice is impeccable and his line of argument was one of the most reasonable and persuasive things I have ever read.” Taube is also praised for his “persuasive advocacy style” and for being “outstanding in court.”

Chambers UK 2018 - Chancery: Traditional (Band 1)

‘A go-to silk for major trusts, estates and tax issues’.

“Undoubtedly one of the best KCs technically in terms of contentious trusts.” “He is absolutely outstanding and one of the brightest performers at the Chancery Bar.”

Chambers UK 2018 - Offshore

“For trusts law he is head and shoulders above the vast majority at the Bar. He is phenomenally clever, and clients regard him as an obvious choice for the really, really big cases.”

Chambers Global 2017 - Offshore

“One of the most prominent trust practitioners and involved in some very high-profile cases.” He deals with a range of complex and high-value matters, both in the UK courts and overseas, and is further described as “extremely intellectual and one of the best advocates you will come across.” One legal insider enthuses: “He is extremely good at thinking about overall strategy. He is an extremely skilled wordsmith and can get to the core of an issue and analyse it correctly within minutes; even when us other lawyers have spent hours ruminating on the point.” Another market source comments: “He is everything you want in a silk and is a leader in this field.” His overall understanding of the market is also praised and a wealth expert remarks: “He is hugely knowledgeable about the industry and his expertise of the whole trust world is very impressive.”

Chambers HNW Guide 2017

“Remarkably erudite and authoritative,” he is “brilliant at masterminding the strategy in a case.” “He knows the law backwards and if he says something is right you’d be unwise to challenge it.”

Chambers Global 2017

“Undoubtedly one of the best KCs technically in terms of contentious trusts.” “He is absolutely outstanding and one of the brightest performers at the Chancery Bar.”

Chambers UK 2018 - Offshore

“An extremely skilled wordsmith, who can get to the core of an issue and analyse it correctly within minutes, even when others have spent hours ruminating on the point.” “He is everything you want in a silk and a leader in this field. He is strong strategically and allows his team to work well together and to the best of their abilities.”

Chambers UK 2018

“Hugely experienced and respected barrister who is an expert in both contentions and non-contentious trusts cases, and has appeared in a wide number of jurisdictions”.
”Remarkably erudite and authoritative,” he is “brilliant at masterminding the strategy in a case.” “He knows the law backwards and if he says something is right you’d be unwise to challenge it.”

Chambers UK 2017 - Trusts (Band 1)

“A go-to silk for major trusts, estates and tax issues”, “For trusts law he is head and shoulders above the vast majority at the Bar. He is phenomenally clever, and clients regard him as an obvious choice for the really, really big cases.”

Chambers UK 2017 - Offshore (Band 1)

“Star individual instructed to handle high-value litigation and top-quality advisory matters.” “He’s top of the tree. He is very good at strategic masterminding. If you want an opinion that’s likely to squash your opponent and stop something in its tracks, Simon Taube is go-to.”

Chambers UK 2017 - Chancery: Traditional (Star Individual)

Leading silk who frequently represents parties in some of the most prominent charity litigation in the UK and other common law jurisdictions. “He is extremely knowledgeable and provides comprehensive and clear advice.”

Chambers UK 2017 - Charities (Band 1)

“Absolutely first class and one of the very big names at the Chancery Bar.”

Legal 500 2016 - Charities (Tier 1)

“Simply the brightest of his generation at the Bar and always a pleasure to instruct.” “An outstanding trusts lawyer with excellent depth of knowledge.” “He is one of the biggest cheeses of the Chancery Bar and you know you have a serious case if he is involved.”

Chambers UK 2016 - Chancery: Traditional (Star Individual)

“Simply the brightest of his generation at the Bar.”
“A big name at the chancery Bar.”
“Very able, bright and technical. Forceful and thoughtful.”
“He is great! He takes it all in his stride and keeps things running smoothly.”
“He is phenomenally bright and has impeccable judgment. His advice is always concise and clear.”

Chambers HNW 2016

“Absolutely first class and one of the very big names at the Chancery Bar.”

Legal 500 2016 - Charities

Sought after by city solicitors for his litigation and advisory work in relation to UK and foreign trusts and estates. He focuses on trusts, tax planning and personal taxation and handles disputes in a range of common law jurisdictions.”If you want very top-notch, far-sighted advice then he is your man. He is the best chancery draftsman I know, as he understands all aspects of trusts and carefully crafts complex documents with the right outcomes.”

Chambers Global 2016 - Private Wealth: Trusts (Band 1)

“Simon Taube is amongst the very top flight of chancery silks: erudite, responsive, excellent judgement and a very persuasive but authoritative advocacy manner. You absolutely want him on your side whether for advisory or contentious work.”

Citywealth 2016

Simon Taube KC is a “top name” at the bar whose “impressive breadth of expertise allows him to turn his hand to all chancery matters”. He is a “standout individual” who is praised for his “analytical mind” and “ability to get to the heart of the problem”.

Whos Who Legal 2016

“Determination, massive intellect and a nose for his opponents’ weaknesses make him both a brilliant advocate and adviser.”

Chambers UK 2015 - Chancery: Traditional (Star Individual)

He continues to receive frequent mandates in relation to charities cases, particularly those of a contentious nature.
“He got to grips with some very complicated issues in an extremely limited timescale” “An effective and able advocate who has a top practice.”

Chambers UK 2015 - Charities

Qualifications


  • Modern History (First), Merton College, Oxford (1978)

Associations & Memberships


  • ACTAPS
  • Chancery Bar Association
  • International Academy of Trust & Estate Law
  • STEP

Publications


Simon has contributed regularly to legal books and journals including most recently:

Speaking Engagements


Simon is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences.

For more information and advice

Call: +44 (0)20 7405 0758

Email: clerks@tenoldsquare.com

Pricing Policy

Unless otherwise agreed my Clerk will calculate my fees based on my current hourly rate. My rates are reviewed annually and details can be obtained from my Clerk. Once a rate is set for any particular case the hourly rate will only ever be adjusted with express agreement between my Clerks and those instructing me. All fees are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate where applicable.

Awards


simon_taube_legal_500_winner-2015

Winner of the Legal 500 2015 ‘Silk of the Year’ award for Private Client: Trusts and Probate.

Simon Taube KC is a self-employed, independent barrister whose practice is governed by the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales. He is regulated by The Bar Standards Board [Bar Ref 17569] and is fully insured with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [BMIF Ref 2360/035] 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 362388437.

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