Melissa leads the national Private Wealth team. Melissa has over twenty years experience advising clients on the long-term protection and devolution of their assets. She uses sophisticated structures to mitigate tax and safeguard wealth for successive generations, but she is also dedicated to protecting and preserving the values that generated that wealth.
Her key strength is in understanding her clients, who say that Melissa’s “delightful interpersonal skills… win her high praise and loyalty”.
Melissa has also created a niche advising business entrepreneurs, directors, property owners, and developers as part of corporate deals, as well as advising companies on life assurance and pension schemes.
She is ranked in both Chambers High Net Worth directory and Legal 500, which note Melissa’s “ability to take legal jargon and make it quite accessible” and comment that “she is highly technical, and her knowledge is unsurpassed”.
Melissa is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
After completing a music degree at Cardiff University, Melissa undertook her legal qualification at the College of Law in Guildford. She went on to train at niche London firm, Rooks Rider, where she remained until 2005. Melissa has also held positions at Henmans Freeth (now Freeths) and Hedges Law where she was a director and Head of Private Client. More recently, Melissa was a partner at national law firm Shoosmiths.
Professional highlights:
- Successfully co-ordinating a rectification claim in respect of a Will which was incorrectly drafted by the deceased’s advisers, resulting in an Inheritance Tax saving of circa £60m for the client.
- Working in conjunction with offshore trustees and HMRC to vary wording in an existing Employee Benefit Trust to bring it within legislative requirements and negate a substantial (circa £10m) tax charge.
- Advising on the structuring of a property transaction in order to protect the anonymity of a high profile ultra-high net worth family.