Joe joined JMW in July 2019 in the Private Client Department, having spent ten years at Addleshaw Goddard. His expertise relates to providing tax, estate and succession planning to ultra-high net worth individuals, institutional clients and entrepreneurs, with a focus on owner-managed businesses and corporate vehicles. He also has extensive experience advising on trust formation and administration, high value and international estate administration, and contentions trusts and estates.
Joe’s experience includes the following:
- Advising as to the restructure and sale of numerous family owned businesses taking into account ownership by family trusts, taxation considerations and the corporate issues which arise.
- Advising high net worth clients as to the formation of Family Investment Companies for tax mitigation.
- Administration of a complex, multi-million pound, international and litigious estate. Acting for the Executors in IPFDA proceedings brought against the estate and advising the Executors in relation to a number of offshore and contentious issues.
- Advising non UK resident high net worth individuals on funding the purchase of UK properties and tax efficient structures, including advising on income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax implications of purchasing and owning assets personally or through various corporate structures.
- Acting as panel adviser to a number of trust companies established by UK high street banks and offshore trust advisers, providing advice on all manner of trust and tax matters.
- Incorporation and registration of a new charitable companies and the establishment and registration of charitable trusts.
- Advising a national charity with a turnover of c. £13m as to various contentious charitable trusts issues.
- Drafting of various bespoke settlement deeds to hold group life assurance policies for corporate clients.
- Advising clients with disabled family members as to tax and succession planning issues.
- Advising the trustees of family settlements with assets valued at c. £300m as to taxation, devolution and succession planning.
Joe is a full member of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Joe graduated from Manchester University in 2008, having studied law, completing his Legal Practice Course in Manchester. He trained and qualified with Addleshaw Goddard, spending ten years with the firm, and he has nine years’ experience advising private clients in relation to tax and succession planning.
Joe spent many years employed as a full time rugby league referee, officiating at the highest professional leagues in the UK and the Northern Hemisphere (the Super League) and internationally (including several test matches involving the world's top teams – England, New Zealand, Australia – and the World Cup of 2013). He has travelled to officiate internationally across the world, including trips to South Africa and Jamaica to assist in the development of local officials in those jurisdictions, and has officiated at multiple professional finals, including three successive Challenge Cup Finals at Wembley Stadium (2013, 2014 and 2015). He formally retired from this role in March 2017 to focus on his legal career, but maintains a keen interest in the sport.
Joe also sits as a Magistrate in the West Yorkshire area (where he lives), sitting in the criminal courts to hear trials and to pass sentence.
Away from work, Joe enjoys international travel, and has travelled to many countries around the world, including North Korea!
