Call: 2011
"James is first class. He is unflappable, incredibly user-friendly and someone who deals with matters in a very timely fashion."
Chambers UK 2025
James regularly delivers talks (in seminars and webinars) on a wide range of topics relating to his core practice areas.
James MacDougald 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 22569] and is fully insured with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [BMIF Ref 2360/071] 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 170343630.
James MacDougald is a chancery barrister specialising in trusts, estates and private client tax. He enjoys a balanced diet of litigation and non-contentious advisory work. He appears regularly in the English courts and is often instructed to assist parties to offshore trust litigation.
In the Chambers UK Bar guide James is ranked in the categories of Trusts (Band 1) and Chancery: Traditional (Band 3). In the Legal 500 guides he is ranked as a Leading Junior (tier 3) for both Private Wealth and Probate (London Bar) and Trusts and Private Wealth (Caribbean: English Bar Offshore).
James is an editor of Williams on Wills (11th edition) and Mellows: Taxation for Executors and Trustees and he regularly delivers talks and webinars on his core practice areas.
James advises on all aspects of charity law including charitable legacies in wills. He acted for the successful charity trustees in Shergill v Khaira [2017] EWHC 769 (Ch), a two-week trial about the trusteeship of Sikh temples in which he was led by Francis Barlow QC.
James is regularly instructed in contentious trust and estate litigation. His experience ranges from relatively straightforward probate and Inheritance Act 1975 claims and trustee/executor removal applications to more complex breach of trust claims.
James has extensive experience of offshore trust litigation (both contentious and non-contentious), especially in the Channel Islands and the Bahamas. He enjoys working with local counsel in the offshore jurisdictions and supporting the legal team as an adviser and draftsman.
James regularly advises on trusts, wills and estate administration. He has particular experience of applications to court to vary trusts (under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958), to extend trustees’ powers or to set aside or rectify mistakes in the administration of trusts.
He is an editor of Williams on Wills (11th edition).
Notable Cases
James specialises in private client tax, with a particular focus on capital taxes. He regularly advises on the tax treatment of trusts, estates and individuals and on communications with HMRC.
He is an editor of Mellows: Taxation for Executors and Trustees.
James advises on the law of mental capacity and appears in the Court of Protection in applications relating principally to P’s property and financial affairs.
Ten Old Square will hold a live webinar with Q&A featuring James MacDougald and Tom…
Chambers has been highly ranked again in the Chambers and Partners 2025 UK Bar directory….
‘A fantastic chambers, full of the brainiest barristers.’ ‘Ten Old Square is a great set,…
