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He advises on domestic and international private wealth disputes (or on how to minimise the risk of these disputes arising).
He is recommended in the leading legal directories, previously described in one as "Super-bright and personable and deserves recognition as a partner of the future, one to watch".
The private wealth disputes on which Richard advises typically involve trusts, wills, probate and inheritance, legacies for charities, asset tracing, claims under England's Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, shared ownership, informal promises of property, the conduct of professional and non-professional trustees, executors, attorneys, deputies and litigation friends, and the English Court of Protection's supervision over the property and financial affairs or health and welfare of vulnerable adults.
Richard's work often has international elements, including connections to Scotland, Northern Ireland, Monaco, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, France, Spain, BVI, Belize, Nevis, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US. He is experienced at project-managing and collaborating with local advisors. He has appellate court experience, including of the English Court of Appeal and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
He is co-author of the final chapter of the second and third editions of International Trust and Divorce Litigation and has spoken at conferences, including on English executors' responsibilities over foreign assets and the impact of human rights law on inheritance. Richard is also a member of ACTAPS.
Prior to Withers, Richard interned at the United Nations in Geneva, assisting with the periodic appraisal of member states by the Human Rights Council. He also worked as a Legal Advisor for a leading international commercial property developer, with particular responsibility for retail assets in England and Northern Ireland. Richard has also taught the law of trusts at King's College London, University College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Me in a minute
I think deep down it is the sense of justice that motivates me in my work
I was always very creative as a child and had aspirations to be an author, recording artist, or the number 10 that the England football team still crave. However, my friends and family would probably say that my tenacity for playing Devil's Advocate means I'm well-suited to life as a dispute resolution lawyer.
I specialise in trust and inheritance disputes. I enjoy how technical it is practising in this field and am lucky to have had the privilege of teaching my specialism at London's leading universities. I am able to draw upon my academic knowledge of trusts to my clients' advantage.
I have fond memories of graduate life at University College London, where a group of friends and I set up a student-led human rights group which appraised the then Government's record on human rights, receiving national press coverage in the process. I think deep down it is this sense of justice that motivates me in my work.
I'm not sure my wife would always agree, but I'm told I also have a good sense of humour and tend to have a smile on my face.