Call: 2019
"He has excellent attention to detail and is very thorough in his technical research."
Legal 500 2025
Thomas Arnull is a self-employed, independent barrister whose practice is regulated by the Bar Standards Board [Bar Council Ref 72245]. He is fully insured with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund [BMIF Ref 2360/081] 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 355 5120 15.
Thomas Arnull has a successful and varied practice spanning the entirety of Chambers’ specialist areas. He is ranked as a “Rising Star” in the Legal 500 and as an “Up and Coming” practitioner in Chambers and Partners for Partnership Law, where his work is described variously as “fantastic” and “excellent”.
He is both a highly skilled legal analyst, and a compelling advocate, who regularly appears in the High Court and the County Courts. He is meticulous but practical, and tactically astute, with a friendly and empathetic manner with clients.
He regularly provides advice and representation to clients on the full range of issues arising in the areas of Partnerships and LLPs, Contentious and Non-Contentious Probate, Wills and Trusts (including in relation to tax planning), the Court of Protection, Real Property and Landlord and Tenant.
Prior to joining Ten Old Square, Tom received an LL.M from Harvard Law School, where his dissertation won Harvard’s Federico Giuseppe Mancini Prize, and where he also appeared as an advocate before the Massachusetts courts.
Tom regularly acts in Court of Protection matters, involving a wide range of issues, from those relating to the appointment of deputies, to the conduct of deputies and attorneys, and making, supporting or opposing various best interests applications. He writes regularly for Practical Law on Court of Protection matters as a part of the “Questions for Counsel” series. He has also advised on the role of deputies and attorneys in litigation on behalf of a protected party.
Tom has a wide range of experience in the field of insolvency, having acted in a number of different matters related to both personal and corporate insolvency, including acting in relation to applications to appoint administrators, to set aside statutory demands, to obtain injunctions prohibiting the presentation of winding up petitions, to extend administrations and for the leave of the Court under s 216 of the Insolvency Act to use an otherwise prohibited Company name.
Tom regularly advises on inheritance tax and capital gains tax, particularly as these apply to trusts and estates, including in cases of considerable complexity. He is often instructed to advise on and to draft documents (including wills, trusts, deeds of variation and appointment etc.), with a view to efficient tax planning.
Tom has a broad and successful commercial chancery practice. He has acted in a large number of cases relating to contractual disputes including breach of contract and debt recovery cases, unjust enrichment and professional negligence cases, across a wide variety of commercial contexts (e.g. residential care homes, shopping malls, and professional water installation maintenance firms).
Tom regularly acts in Partnership and LLP cases, both independently and as a junior working as part of a wider counsel team. He was recently involved in a long-running and high-value arbitration relating to partner exits and dissolution (led by Jeremy Callman). He also has experience advising off-shore partnerships. He writes for Practical Law on Partnership and LLP matters as a part of the “Questions for Counsel” series and has given a number of talks and seminars on Partnership and LLP law, including for MBL.
Tom has extensive experience of acting in contentious Trusts and Estates matters, including contentious probate, Inheritance Act disputes, Beddoe applications, disputes as to the construction of wills and trusts, applications to remove executors and trustees, and advising as to trustees’ and executors’ duties and liabilities. He regularly acts both for beneficiaries of estates or trusts and for executors, personal representatives and trustees.
His recent article entitled “Sham trusts and the requirement that a shamming intent be shared: Administrators of the Estate of Hanson v O’Leary and Ors” appeared in Volume 28 Issue 5 of the journal Trusts & Trustees.
Tom frequently acts in non-contentious private client matters in connection with both trusts and estates. He is often instructed to advise on and to draft a wide variety of legal instruments including Wills, Trust Deeds, Deeds of Appointment and Variation and Deeds of Retirement and Indemnity. He has often advised both beneficiaries and trustees concerning the construction of wills and trusts and the exercise of powers thereunder, and has acted in a range of non-contentious applications including applications for the rectification of wills. Tom is also experienced in advising in relation to the taxation of trusts and estates, and in drafting legal instruments to achieve tax efficient outcomes.
Tom has extensive and wide-ranging experience in Property law. He regularly acts in matters involving both real property and landlord & tenant disputes. The matters on which he advises are often highly complex, and he has acted for many different types of client, including landlords, beneficiaries and trustees of land. Tom is also experienced in managing the complexities that can arise when property disputes intersect with other areas of law (for example, probate and trusts, or insolvency).
Ten Old Square will hold a live webinar with Q&A featuring James Egan 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,…
