Philip Baker, Patrick Way, Patrick Soares and Imran Afzal launch Field Court Tax Chambers

Former Gray’s Inn Tax barristers have launched a new tax chambers – Field Court Tax Chambers.

To view the new website please click here

The founding members are:

Patrick Soares

Patrick Soares was called to the Bar in 1983. Previously he was a tax partner in a leading firm of London solicitors.

He obtained his Masters Degree in Taxation from University College, London and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Mr Soares advises on all areas of taxation, with particular emphasis on the taxation and structuring of property transactions, value added tax, trusts and offshore tax. He acts for many high profile clients and large commercial enterprises. He lectures on a great variety of topics and chairs annual London conferences on Optimum Tax Structures for Land Transactions, Corporate and Personal Taxation and Taxation of the Family Business and Overseas Trusts and Companies.

He is the Tax Editor of the Property Law Bulletin and was the author of a number of tax books, including “Value Added Tax Planning for Property Transactions”, “Offshore Investment in UK Property” and “Non-Resident Trusts”.

Patrick Way QC

Patrick Way QC has strong advocacy and advisory practices. He has successfully represented clients at all levels of the UK court system and he acts for both taxpayer and HMRC alike in cases where the tax at stake may run into hundreds of millions of pounds. He has also advised on some of the biggest UK takeovers. His clients include major corporates as well as famous celebrities, charities, wealthy individuals and businesses of all types whom he has advised in relation to virtually every form of UK tax.

He has written and edited books and chapters on the taxation of commercial transactions including in particular the taxation of corporate groups, on joint ventures, the Business Expansion and Enterprise Investment Schemes, inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning for individuals and on stamp duty and stamp duty land tax.

Before being called to the Bar he was a solicitor during which time he was an equity partner in two leading London law firms, first becoming a partner at the age of 31.

He aims to bring to clients an approach which is both practical and pragmatic. Practical, since, having been a commercial solicitor he is well aware of the realities of business transactions and the need for sensible advice; and pragmatic since his court experiences have shown him the way in which courts are likely to react and he factors this experience into his advice.

Throughout his career he has only ever appeared as lead or sole counsel.

Philip Baker QC

Philip Baker QC began practice in 1987, having been a full-time lecturer in law at London University from 1979 until then. He has maintained some links with academia, and is now a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London. He took silk in 2002.

He specialises primarily in international aspects of taxation, which covers both corporate and private client matters. He has a particular interest in taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights, and is the author of a book on Double Taxation Conventions. He has appeared in cases before courts and tribunals at virtually every level from the Special Commissioners (now the Tax Tribunal) to the House of Lords, Privy Council and European Court of Justice.

He is a former member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and remains a member of several committees of the CIOT and of the International Tax Sub-Committee of the Law Society. He is a member of the UK Committee of the International Fiscal Association and a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of IFA.

Imran Afzal

Imran read Law at Oxford as an undergraduate and postgraduate, coming top of the university on both occasions. He studied tax as part of both his BA and BCL degrees, winning prizes in all the tax exams he sat. He was called to the Bar in 2008. In 2014 he founded Field Court Tax Chambers with three colleagues, having previously practised in another set of tax chambers.
Since commencing practice Imran has been involved in a range of domestic and international matters, acting for companies, private-clients and tax authorities. In addition to advisory work he is regularly involved in litigation. Indeed he first made oral submissions, shortly after commencing practice, before the Privy Council in Mauritius. In 2012 he was appointed to the Attorney-General’s C Panel.

Imran is often instructed in high-profile and high-value matters. By way of example, he has: (1) advised in relation to a multi-billion dollar settlement; (2) assisted a foreign company in a matter involving over £1 billion; (3) acted for an oil company in a foreign dispute; (4) appeared for HMRC in the “Littlewoods” compound interest litigation; and (5) been instructed by HMRC in relation to various partnership loss appeals (e.g. the “Icebreaker” litigation).

From 2007-13 he taught tax part-time at the LSE, and during the 2013-14 academic year he was one of the tutors on the MA in Taxation at the IALS. Outside of work his interests include travelling, politics, reading, and cars.

 

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