Clare Stanley KC

Professional liability

Clare specialises in professional liability claims against solicitors, accountants, brokers, directors and trustees.

• Accountants: negligent tax advice, negligent valuations.
• Directors: negligence, breach of fiduciary duty cases, fraud claims, tracing claims.
• Investment professionals: negligence, breach of fiduciary duty cases, fraud claims, tracing claims.
• Property professionals: negligent valuations.
• Solicitors: negligence claims, and also fraud and trust claims against solicitors.
• Trustees and fiduciaries: acts for beneficiaries, third-parties, trustees in claims for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty cases, fraud, constructive trusteeship and asset tracing.

What the recent Directories say:

‘Clare Stanley KC is an absolute superstar on cross-examinations in difficult circumstances. She gets to grips with a huge amount of information and personalities quickly’, (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Professional Negligence)

‘Clare is exactly what you want from a silk in spades: she’s a fantastic strategist who is able to stand back from the complexity and plot a course through’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Professional Negligence)

‘Clare is masterful at cross-examination of well-prepared and hostile witnesses, and at adapting on her feet as the case requires.’ (Legal 500, 2026, Professional Negligence)

‘Clare holds the ear of the court. She is better prepared than any of her opponents. She adds real value by thinking outside the box.’  (Legal 500, 2025, Professional Negligence)

‘The thing that stands out for her is that clients absolutely love her. She has a killer instinct in court and is a strategic mastermind.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Professional Negligence)

‘She is a real fighter and really pulls all the stops out for her clients, alongside being very technical and commercially minded.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Professional Negligence)

‘She is amazing and is so good on her feet.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Professional Negligence)

Recent cases (where parties are confidential, names have been anonymised):

• X Ltd v A firm of accountants – acting for claimant company in a negligence claim against its auditors for negligently failing to notify the directors of a massive fraud being perpetrated by third-parties. Claim raised issues of illegality, attribution, and ‘wilful default’.
• The Trustees of the A fund v A (a firm): acting for the trustees of a high value Guernsey trust suing well known private client firm of solicitors for negligent drafting of a trust instrument.
• Mrs X v B (a firm): acting for West End firm of solicitors in relation to allegedly negligent tax planning and restructuring work done in connection with a number of offshore structures.
• C & D v E (a firm): acting for well-known private client firm defending a claim that they gave negligent tax planning advice in relation to setting up of a disabled person’s trust.
• advising solicitors in a threatened claim by non-clients arising out of the solicitors acting for another party in litigation.
• advising solicitors in a claim that they had received money from non-clients on trust for the non-client, and paid it out in breach of trust.

Download Professional liability CV

Trusts, probate and estates: contentious

Particular areas of expertise:

• Contentious trust litigation between beneficiaries and trustees, and claims by third-parties.
• Disputes involving wills, estates and family provision.
• International cross-border trust litigation.
• Trust arbitration
• Court of Protection

Recommended in the Directories as a Leading Silk for:

• Chancery Traditional (Band 1 – Chambers & Partners)
• Trusts (Band 1 – Chambers & Partners)
• Private Wealth and Probate (Tier 1 – Legal 500)
• The English Bar Offshore: Trusts and Private Wealth (Tier 1 – Legal 500)
• Offshore (Band 1 – Chambers & Partners)
• Private Client (‘Among the highest-ranked barristers’ – Who’s Who Legal)

What the recent Directories say:

‘Clare is nothing short of exceptional; she’s incredibly sharp and brings deep expertise to every trust dispute.  Her advocacy is powerful and precise, with a real ability to pitch arguments in exactly the right way for the court. Clare has an encyclopaedic knowledge of trust law and leaves no stone unturned in her preparation.’ (Legal 500, 2026, The English Bar Offshore: Trusts and Private Wealth – Tier 1)

‘Clare is technically brilliant and able to see her way through a myriad of issues very easily. A pleasure to work with, she is unflappable and exceptional when before the court.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Trusts – Band 1)

‘Clare is great to work with and is a silk at the top of her game. She’s highly technically skilled and a great advocate.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Trusts – Band 1)

‘A barrister with a phenomenal brain, she really thinks things through and explains things to clients in a way that they can understand.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Trusts – Band 1)

‘Clare is fun, hardworking and incredibly bright. What sets her apart is how calm she stays throughout.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Trusts – Band 1)

‘Clare has got a great reputation, is robust in her views and is willing to take a position. She doesn’t sit on the fence and that comes from experience.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Trusts – Band 1)

‘Clare is an academically brilliant lawyer and excellent on her feet. She does a really good job bridging private wealth and corporate matters.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare is absolutely fantastic. She is tireless in her dedication to a case and she is a great communicator. A huge amount of work and energy goes into every aspect of her advocacy.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare Stanley knows how to get the judge on her side. She is very good at putting her case across with the right balance of assertion and empathy.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare Stanley is a silk at the top of her game. She is highly technically skilled and a great advocate.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2026, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare is cool, calm, collected, smart, savvy and strategic.  She is the key player in any offshore litigator’s team, and she is a go-to silk whenever a client seeks a smooth operator with gravitas.’ (Legal 500, 2025, The English Bar Offshore: Trusts and Private Wealth – Tier 1)

‘She is very highly regarded, especially for offshore matters. Working with her is always smooth sailing, as she is an elite litigator but also at the same time so compassionate.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare brings a huge amount of experience and breadth of knowledge to bear, and really knows her stuff on offshore trusts. She is so robust and so full on in protecting the client’s best interests.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare is an absolute pleasure to work with and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law. She is also superb on her feet and can pitch an argument perfectly.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Chancery Traditional – Band 1)

‘Clare is a force to be reckoned with and just an absolutely formidable advocate. She is technically brilliant, really forensic in her approach and someone who leaves no stone unturned.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Trusts – Band 1)

‘Clare is commercially minded, very easy to deal with and so good on her feet. She provides insightful advice in all situations.’ And ‘Clare is a leader in trusts work. She is very capable and always responsive to our needs.’ (Chambers & Partners, 2025, Trusts – Band 1)

Recent cases (where parties are confidential, names have been anonymized):

• LA Micro Group (UK) v LA Micro Group Inc [2025] 2 WLR 1 – UK Supreme Court – vendor purchaser constructive trusts; s. 53 Law of Property Act 1925.
• In the Matter of the G Trust [2025] CIGC (FSD) 59 – Grand Court of the Cayman Islands – STAR trusts, issue estoppel, costs of Beddoe proceedings.
• Re the Estate of X – BVI – powers of administrator ad colligenda bona, interim distributions, sanction to bring proceedings.
• Bond v Webster [2024] EWHC 1972 (Ch) – probate dispute; want of knowledge and approval; capacity.
• Re Hosein Deceased: Wedgwood v Hosein & Another  [2024] EWHC 1836 (Ch) – Beddoe relief; order under s. 284 Insolvncy Act 1986 where estate is arguably insolvent.
• In the Matter of the L Trust – Grand Court of the Cayman Islands – Court’s inherent jurisdiction to remove and replace investment manager of a unit trust.
• In the Matter of the T Trust – Royal Court of Jersey – setting aside distributions of trust assets on the basis of fraud on a power.
• Halabi v Equity Trust [2023]  AC 877 – Privy Council. Leading case on distribution of trust assets in an insolvent trust. Trustee’s lien, priorities between former and present trustee in relation to claims for exoneration and reimbursement.
• Re the Estate of S. Advising executor of a high value estate in relation to the proving of a copy codicil which incorporated the terms of an (invalid) will by reference. Presumption of revocation where the original will cannot be found.
• Equity Trust v Velarde [2021] EWHC 1528 (Ch).  Isle of Man trust, whether a provision in the will of the life tenant was the exercise of the power of appointment under the trust in favour of all three of her children.
• Re X Trusts (2021) advising trustees as to the role of a protector in the context of a trustee’s application for blessing.
• PTNZ v AS [2020] EWHC 3114 (Ch).  English law trusts with Jersey trustees. Dispute as to whether a new protector had been validly appointed.
• Ali v Taj [2020] EWHC 213 (Fam): power of the Probate Registrar to order executors to file an inventory and account of the administration of an estate under the Administration of Justice Act 1925 s.25.
• Re LG and others (2020): English trusts holding majority shareholding in a privately owned trading company, seeking court blessing for a sale of all of the trusts’ shares to a third-party.
• Re E Trust (2020): English trust, momentous decision of trustees to appoint some of trust assets to the other beneficiaries, and thereafter to exclude them from benefiting.
• Y v C (2020): acting for beneficiaries in a 1975 Act claim by the Deceased’s former partner claiming share of a high value estate which comprised illiquid non-majority shareholding in a family company. Executors did not remain neutral and were ordered to pay the claimant’s costs.

Download Trusts, probate and estates: contentious CV