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Gateley Legal announces two key private wealth appointments

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Gateley Legal

We have announced two new senior appointments from within our private wealth team.

Partner Sean Williams has been made National Head of Private Wealth with responsibility for teams across London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. His role also covers family matters and private wealth disputes.

Sean commented: “The private wealth team at Gateley Legal is a full-service, tax-driven unit that is closely aligned with other teams within the Group. We work with high-net-worth individuals, professional fiduciaries, business owners and entrepreneurs on a wide range of services including family legal matters, the fast evolving digital asset world and not-for-profit/ philanthropy. I am extremely proud of the work undertaken by the team to provide exceptional, second-to-none services and results for our clients. As we move forward we will be actively looking to grow and develop the team to expand our private client offering.”

The announcement follows the appointment of partner Ravi Francis as Head of Private Wealth in London. Ravi joined Gateley Legal in 2019 and has over 14 years of experience in providing tailored tax and legal advice to professional fiduciaries, wealthy individuals and their advisers. His appointment is part of a strategic growth plan for Gateley Legal in London. 

Ravi said: “I’m looking forward to building on the success of the private wealth team in London by working closely with our clients, both in the UK and internationally, many of whom have complex tax affairs and wealth structuring requirements. I’m also proud to lead a team of bright, experienced and highly capable professionals who deliver a high-quality service to support our clients’ personal and business lives.”

One example of expanding Gateley Legal’s private wealth offering is through a new not-for-profit and philanthropy service line. The offering helps clients in this highly regulated space, which often brings with it new and complex problems for the organisations and individuals to deal with. The team works seamlessly with other teams across Gateley to provide reassurance and assistance to clients whatever their issue may be. The range of services available are extensive and cover everything from dispute resolution to safeguarding.

More recently in London, the private wealth team announced the launch of a new, holistic personal tax service for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, covering the breadth of taxation from ongoing tax compliance to planning.

The new offering provides a premium, client-focused tax compliance service for high-net-worth individuals, which ensures that clients’ tax returns and other UK filings are completed to the highest standards with appropriate disclosure being made. This means that tax planning, wealth structuring and compliance can integrate seamlessly.

With the introduction of the new offering Gateley Legal has expanded its tax team with two new hires. Tom Le Santo joined as a senior tax manager from Evelyn Partners (formerly Smith & Williamson), where he held the same role; while Manoj Synghal was appointed as a tax consultant from EY Frank Hirth, where he was an assistant manager in the private client team.

Working closely alongside the private wealth team in London will be new head of immigration, Rebecca Tester. In her new role, Rebecca will lead the immigration practice at Gateley in advising businesses and private individuals on a full range of UK immigration matters, including applications under the points-based system, settlement applications and nationality law. She will also advise on right to work requirements, securing and maintaining a UK sponsor licence and the immigration implications of corporate restructuring.

Gateley Plc is authorised and regulated by the SRA (Solicitors' Regulation Authority). Please visit the SRA website for details of the professional conduct rules which Gateley Legal must comply with.

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