Josh Lewison

TRUSTS

Josh has a broad experience of contentious trusts work. He has acted in the full range of claims, including breach of trust claims, applications to remove trustees, Beddoe applications and applications for accounts and disclosure of trust documents.

On the non-contentious and semi-contentious side, Josh has acted in blessing applications, variations under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 and s. 57 of the Trustee Act 1925 and compromises.

Josh has considerable experience of drafting trusts, including will trusts. He also advises trustees in relation to their duties in administering trusts, particularly discretionary trusts.

Josh has a special interest in beneficial ownership registers. He has advised extensively in relation to reporting requirements and has provided advice on structuring and restructuring with a view to managing information risk.

He has experience of offshore trusts work, particularly from Jersey and Guernsey. Josh was seconded to Ogier Jersey in October 2016 where he worked on a number of non-contentious trust projects. These included an exercise to harmonise the terms of a series of family trusts, designing a structure to hold high risk assets and establishing a charitable Jersey foundation.

Josh also completed a secondment to a well-known Jersey firm of advocates to assist in long-running litigation.

Josh’s recent trusts cases include:

Re Aggregated Micro Power Infrastructure 2 (28^th July 2020 – Chancery Division) – Application under s. 57 of the Trustee Act 1925 to add a power of sale to a trust deed under which sale of the trust assets was expressly forbidden.
Ball v. Ball [2020] EWHC 1020 (Ch) – Defending a claim for an account on the basis that the trustees had already given a sufficient account.
Volpi v. Delanson & Volpi [2018] 1 BHS J. No. 195 (Bahamas) – Application by a trustee to set aside a freezing injunction on the basis of jurisdiction and an arbitration clause. Led by Brian Simms KC and Gilead Cooper KC.
Macintyre v Oliver [2019] W.T.L.R. 215 – Representing an NHS Trust in a case raising issues of construction of a gift in a will and the rule in Lassence v Tierney, where a gift was left to a hospital ostensibly for certain purposes, but those purposes had ceased.
English v Keats [2018] W.T.L.R. 91 – Representing the trustees in a case confirming the continued existence of an equitable jurisdiction under which the court could correct a formal error in execution where only three of the requisite four trustees executed a deed of appointment.
Representation of RBC Trustees (Guernsey) [2017] JRC 135 (Jersey) – Providing an English law opinion as to the effect of a sole trustee exercising an express power to retire and, following the failure of the settlor to appoint a successor, retaining the trust property. The Royal Court of Jersey considered and accepted Josh’s opinion as part of its decision as to whether to re-appoint the former trustee.
Hand v George [2017] Ch. 449 – Representing the defendants in a trial in the Chancery Division considering whether the Human Rights Act permitted adopted children to benefit under a trust under which they would otherwise be excluded. The Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal, but the appeal was compromised before it could be heard.
Re A – Advising in a Jersey case concerning assets misappropriated from an estate, which also raised issues as to whether Bankers Trust v Shapira relief should be sought.
Hanspaul v Ward [2016] EWHC 1358 (Ch) – Acting in an ongoing dispute over the costs consequences arising out of an application to remove trustees and the correct approach for the court to take.

WILLS AND ESTATES

CHARITIES

TAX

INSOLVENCY

Josh is regularly instructed in matters arising out of corporate insolvency, including cross-border insolvency. He has particular experience of the conduct of administrations, including applications to extend the term of office, to be discharged from liability, to disapply the prescribed part and for directions.

He has often appeared in claims relating to preferences and transactions at an undervalue and in property claims related to companies that have become insolvent, particularly forfeiture claims. He also has experience of applications for delivery up of books and papers and for oral examination.

Josh also acts in bankruptcy matters. He has represented creditors, debtors, bankrupts and trustees in bankruptcy. His experience includes applications for validation orders and to set aside statutory demands and claims relating to transactions defrauding creditors.

Recent cases include:

Re G (2020 – ICC) – a bankruptcy in which the identity of the bankrupt is in dispute;
Re FD (2020 – British Virgin Islands) – giving expert evidence on English company law for the Commercial Division of the BVI High Court on a company restoration application.
Lynch v. Cadwallader (2020 – ICC) – s. 303 application challenging a trustee’s decision not to defend proceedings to enforce a security.
Re L (2020 – Guernsey) – advising the trustees of a Guernsey retirement annuity trust following the bankruptcy of the member in England.
Re F (2019 – ICC) – resisting recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding on various grounds including fraud and public policy.
Armstrong v. Maud (2019 – QB) – proceedings arising out of the bankruptcy of Glenn Maud.
Conqueror Holdings [2019] GRC039 (Guernsey) – Advising the liquidators of a Guernsey company in an opinion for disclosure to the court concerning equitable security rights in a property development in England.

He is the author of the Insolvency Division of Butterworths Civil Court Precedents, a loose-leaf, which is regularly updated. In 2020, it was the first work to publish commentary and a suite of precedents for the new Moratorium introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020.

He contributed to “Insolvency Litigation: A Practical Guide”, which was authored by a number of members of Radcliffe Chambers and published in October 2016. Josh wrote the chapters about fraudulent and wrongful trading, applications to restrain presentation and advertisement of winding up petitions and the conflict between the insolvency jurisdiction and the matrimonial jurisdiction.

INTERNATIONAL

Josh’s international experience is principally in trusts and insolvency in the offshore centres. Recently, this has included:

Re FD (2020 – British Virgin Islands) – giving expert evidence on English company law for the Commercial Division of the BVI High Court on a company restoration application.
Re L (2020 – Guernsey) – advising the trustees of a Guernsey retirement annuity trust following the bankruptcy of the member in England.
Re F (2019 – ICC) – resisting recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding on various grounds including fraud and public policy.
Conqueror Holdings [2019] GRC039 (Guernsey) – Advising the liquidators of a Guernsey company in an opinion for disclosure to the court concerning equitable security rights in a property development in England.
Volpi v. Delanson & Volpi [2018] 1 BHS J. No. 195 (Bahamas) – Application by a trustee to set aside a freezing injunction on the basis of jurisdiction and an arbitration clause. Led by Brian Simms KC and Gilead Cooper KC.

He also has experience of non-contentious work involving trusts administered in Jersey, raising questions both of English law and Jersey law. He has given talks in Jersey and Guernsey about the beneficial ownership registers and their implications for individuals who organise their affairs through offshore trusts and other structures.

Josh has appeared in applications challenging the jurisdiction of the courts of England & Wales under the Brussels Regulation, including the recast Regulation.

Josh is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He has been appointed in a number of arbitrations, principally in property-related claims.

Josh speaks French, Spanish and Italian, which is often useful when there has not been sufficient time or justification to translate every available document. He is able to offer assistance from chambers or locally.

Josh was admitted to the Bar of California in November 2015, having passed the notoriously difficult July 2014 bar exam. He continues to practise from Radcliffe Chambers in London and is able to give advice in relation to Californian and cross-border issues.

MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION

RECOGNITION

“An effective counsel for charities, contested trust and probate work. He’s very reliable and turns around his work quickly.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2023)
“Josh is a very gifted technical lawyer who is go-to on trust matters, particularly those with a foreign element and jurisdictional issues. He always makes himself available and is very collaborative in moving a case forward.” (Private Client: Trusts and Probate, Legal 500 UK Bar 2023)
“Josh is extremely bright and knowledgeable, and has been very accommodating in responding on urgent points and in a commercial manner.” and “He is very knowledgeable about charities and wills. He’s very good with clients, thorough in his advice and very personable.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2022)
“A fantastic junior who’s always reliable and quick to turn around advice. He has excellent technical ability and knowledge of his practice areas.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers UK Bar 2022)
“Extremely responsive and the quality of his work is second to none.” (Offshore, Legal 500 UK Bar 2022)
“He is responsive, thorough and easy to work with.” (Charities, Legal 500 UK Bar 2022)
“He is really good on his feet, his advocacy is excellent and he’s a really good, practical chancery barrister” and “Excellent technical ability and knowledge of his practice areas, which translates to being quick on his feet in court.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers HNW London Bar 2021)
“Has good attention to detail. He shows great commerciality, and is able to identify the key points for the client.” “He’s very responsive and often goes above and beyond what he’s asked to do.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers UK Bar 2021)
“Very good under pressure, he’s calm, methodical, and someone who picks up information very quickly; he produces the advice you need within the time allotted.” “He’s approachable and doesn’t deal in legalese. Instead he provides practical solutions that you can implement quickly.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2021)
“Accessible, thorough knowledge of charity and company law, gives clear and practical advice.” (Charities, Legal 500 UK Bar 2021)
“His command of the subject area enables him to be a real blue-sky thinker.” (Offshore, Legal 500 UK Bar 2021)
“He has good attention to detail. I like his commerciality, and he’s able to identify the key points for the client.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers HNW London Bar 2020)
“He’s very responsive, and he often goes above and beyond what he’s asked to do, providing further insight to his views.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers HNW London Bar 2020)
“He is very good on highly technical matters. He drafts well and explains matters coherently to clients.” “He is very switched-on and precise.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2020)
“He provides a good, practical common-sense approach and clear advice.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers UK Bar 2020)
“Hugely knowledgeable.” (Charities, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020)
“He has a track record of notable Channel Islands work.” (Offshore, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020)
“Really bright and very good on technical points.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2019)
“A really bright barrister in the trust dispute world.” “He makes concise points and comes up with memorable comments in court that really resonate with the judge.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers UK Bar 2019)
“Responsive, commercial and to the point.” (Offshore, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2019)
“Strong knowledge of subject area and attention to detail.” (Charities, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2019)
“He stands out for his accessibility and his ability to grasp a problem very quickly. He is very quick to adapt to changing situations.” He’s very bright and knows his subject inside out.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2018)
“You are sure he will get it right as he knows his way around everything. He attends to matters speedily and can deal with the most technical aspects of a case with ease.” “Very quick on his feet and very eloquent in presenting his cases.” (Chancery: Traditional, Chambers UK Bar 2018)
“He knows his subject very well and is a good strategist.” (Charities, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2017)
“He is always happy to help, and his advice and manner are both excellent. He is also quite robust; you don’t get ‘I’m not sure’ answers with him.” (Charities, Chambers UK Bar 2017)
“He has good common sense and quickly breaks down a seemingly complex scenario.” (Charities, The Legal 500 UK Bar 2016)

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