Our Barristers
  • Overview

    Shortlisted by Legal 500 as ‘Chancery Barrister of the Year’ and described by Chambers & Partners as ‘an exceptional barrister’, Aidan Briggs has established himself as a specialist advocate and advisor for trusts, estates and property disputes. His regular trial experience in the High Court gives him the edge in the courtroom and makes him a favourite for factually complex cases where effective cross-examination may be the difference between winning and losing.

    Aidan’s practice covers the full range of private client and property matters: contested probate and 1975 Act claims, partnership disputes and contentious trusts work (both on- and offshore) as well as proprietary estoppel, commercial landlord and tenant disputes and trusts of land. His cases often involve multiple jurisdictions and issues of domicile.

    Aidan is fully versed in the tax implications of private client disputes and regularly advises in relation to Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp Duty Land Tax matters, particularly as they affect farmland and farming families.

    Aidan is an Associate Editor of Lewin on Trusts (20th Ed.) and a contributor to Williams, Mortimer & Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate (21st Ed.). His writing has appeared in Trusts & Trustees, the Wills & Trusts Law Reports and the New Law Journal.

    Aidan is sought-after as an accredited mediator and as an arbitrator in his main areas of practice.

  • Trusts, Wills & Estates

    Aidan’s trust work includes some of the leading authorities in developing areas of trust law, such as da Silva v Heselton [2022] EWCA Civ 880 (trustees’ rights to remuneration), Amnir v Bala [2023] EWHC 1054 (1975 Act claims by disabled adults) and Rokkan v Rokkan [2021] EWHC 481 (Ch) (interplay between foreign forced heirship rules, the Hague Convention on trusts and UK inheritance law).

    Aidan advises in domestic and offshore trust disputes, including applications for the removal of trustees, Beddoe applications and VTA claims. He is often instructed by professional trustees facing contentious trust claims, or appointed to act as independent administrators. He continues to be instructed for the personal representatives of pension magnate Israel Perry in competing claims by Lichtenstein trustees and Delaware, BVI and Cayman companies (amongst others) concerning a £300 million art collection.

    Aidan is often sought out for contested probate actions and claims under the Inheritance Act 1975 for his in-depth legal knowledge and skill as a cross-examiner, particularly where capacity is in issue or there are allegations of undue influence. He has appeared in several of the key decisions in this area: Ashkettle v Gwinnett [2013] EWHC 2125 (Ch) on solicitors’ assessments of capacity, Re Chin [2019] EWHC 523 (Ch) on non-English speaking testators and Gardiner v Tabet [2021] EWHC 563 (Ch) on those with fluctuating capacity. His recent experience has particularly involved estates spanning several jurisdictions with multiple fora of litigation and competing probate proceedings.

    Aidan is competent to advise on the capital gains and inheritance tax consequences of most onshore trust transactions, particularly where these overlap with variations to estates. He is advising several beneficiaries of ‘home loan’ and reversionary lease schemes.

    Aidan stays at the sharp end of legal developments as an Associate Editor of Lewin on Trusts (20th Ed.) and contributes to Williams, Mortimer & Sunnucks on Executors, Administrators and Probate (21st Ed.).

  • Property

    Aidan’s property practice is focused on trusts of land, proprietary estoppel, property fraud and injunctive relief. The son of farming parents, Aidan brings a familiarity with how farming family partnerships work and is regularly instructed on proprietary estoppel or probate claims involving farmland.

    Recent matters include advising the trustees of the 1,750-acre Quex Park estate in Kent, disentailing the Settled Land Act trusts of a well-known landed estate in Hertfordshire and advising on Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies of a large estate in Cornwall.

    He is also confident preparing and presenting applications for injunctions relating to property. He recently acted against Thames Water in High Court injunction proceedings seeking to stop a major residential development. He acts in all manner of boundary and right-of-way disputes.

  • Commercial Litigation

    Aidan is comfortable in commercial disputes of all shapes and sizes. He acted in the Blacklisting litigation with probably the largest disclosure exercise in history, and successfully defended a £7m claim by former socialite Koo Stark against her ex-partner in Stark v Walker [2020] EWHC 562 (Ch). He is often instructed to defend the spouses or beneficiaries of alleged fraudsters against s.423 applications to recover assets, or in tracing claims.

    He is presently instructed to pursue the estate of a Chief Operating Officer to a large architectural practice, who is accused of defrauding the business out of over £3 million.

    Aidan is above all a pragmatic and commercially-minded advisor, able to make swift tactical decisions to get disputes resolved. His in-depth knowledge of property, insolvency and trust law allow him to take an holistic view of his clients needs and to advise accordingly. He is happiest in cases with a complex factual matrix against which to cross-examine.

  • Mediation

    Aidan is much sought-after as a mediator of private client, property and commercial disputes. He was trained by the ADR Group in 2018.

    His expertise covers a range of disputes including the following:

    • Contentious probate
    • Claims under the Inheritance Act 1975
    • Claims for breach of trust and for removal of trustees / executors
    • Professional negligence.

    Aidan brings to the mediation room a calm, constructive attitude focused upon understanding the needs and motivations of the parties and seeking creative paths to a compromise. He is willing to be forthright and challenging where necessary and brings the weight of his experience at the bar and his in-depth knowledge of the law to assist in resolving disputes.

     

  • Qualifications / education

    • 2007 – BA (Hons) Durham
    • 2008 – GDL (City University)
    • 2009 – BVC (BPP)
    • Major Scholar – Inner Temple
  • Memberships

    • Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP) – full member
    • Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists (‘ACTAPS’)
    • Chancery Bar Association
    • Court of Protection Bar Association
    •  Property Bar Association
    • Contentious Trusts Association
  • ADR

    • Yes
  • Professional appointments

    • Accredited Mediator (ADRg)
  • Judicial appointments

    • Deputy District Judge
  • What the directories say

    “Aidan is extremely bright, responsive, articulate and excellent with the clients. He is personable and user-friendly, and his advice is succinct and accessible. He is excellent on his feet, well prepared, articulate and persuasive.”

    Legal 500 2023 – Agriculture: Tier 4

    “Aidan is extremely bright, responsive, articulate and excellent with the clients. He is personable and user-friendly, and his advice is succinct and accessible. He is excellent on his feet, well prepared, articulate and persuasive.”

    Legal 500 2023 – Trusts & Probate: Tier 3

    “Aidan is extremely clever, responsive and articulate. He is also excellent with clients, very personable and his advice to them is succinct and comprehensible.”

    “He inspired confidence in his client. Aidan was both very good at the written work and at cross-examination.”

    “Aidan is not only very bright, but also very good with clients.”

    Chambers & Partners 2024 – Trusts: Band 1

    “Aidan Briggs is a go-to barrister for complex matters which require practical solutions. He is very results-oriented and has a great bedside manner with clients.”

    “Prompt, intelligent and masterful in his advice. He’s also hugely personable.”

    Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2024 – Chancery Traditional: Band 3

    “Aidan quickly gets to grip with instructions and comes up with effective solutions. He is user-friendly and goes through everything in a clear and logical way. His turn around time is quick, and can meet short deadlines. He is very persuasive in his advocacy and quickly gets judges on his side.”

    Legal 500 2023 – Trusts & Probate: Tier 3

    “Aidan is an exceptional barrister. He offers very pragmatic advice and is excellent with clients.”

    Chambers & Partners 2023 – Chancery Traditional

    Aidan Briggs is “an exceptional barrister” who “offers very pragmatic advice and is excellent with clients.”

    “Aidan Briggs is really affable and gets to grips with even the trickiest of cases with ease.”

    Chambers & Partners UK Bar 2022

    “Bright articulate and authoritative. Grasps complex points and finds highly effective solutions: but legal and practical.”

    Legal 500 UK Bar 2021

    “Incredibly bright with an approachable down-to-earth manner.”

    Legal 500 UK Bar 202o

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