Jonathan Shankland
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7th Floor, 85 Fleet Street
London EC4Y 1AE
Email: jonathan.shankland@rlb-law.com
Jonathan is a trust, tax and estates lawyer and deals with all aspects of personal estates, wills and tax planning for UK-based and international clients.
Jonathan leads our Tax and Private Client team which is ranked in Chambers HNW, Legal 500 and as one of ePrivateclient’s ‘Top Law Firms’. Jonathan is ranked as a Leading Lawyer in both Chambers and Legal 500. He also features in CityWealth’s Leaders List and its 2021 list of Top 100 Private Client Lawyers.
“Right up there as one of the best operators in London” […] “Jonathan is a very nice person but he also really does know his stuff. He is very technically able and seems always to come up with a solution to complex arguments. He has been very impressive when pitted against what I am told are other renowned lawyers in this field, he more than holds his own. I am always confident when going into a meeting with Jonathan and into the many rounds of mediation that we have been through; he is a powerful lawyer to have on your side.” Legal 500 2022
“I would say Jonathan Shankland is very talented at almost anything he does,” states a source, adding: “He’s good to bring in when things aren’t black or white. He weighs up all the pros and cons, he comes up with solutions and he provides an expert opinion.” Several interviewees praise his client care, with one interviewee noting: “You won’t find another lawyer like Jon who is willing to move heaven and earth for his clients.” Chambers HNW 2021
‘Jonathan Shankland is a quality operator at the top of his game. He is commercial, responsive and a lawyer you want on your team. He is an outstanding professional, knowledgeable and client friendly’. Legal 500 2021
Jonathan Shankland leads the firm’s international private wealth team. One industry adviser says: “He is very responsive and has very good experience with international matters.” Another commentator remarks: “He has good communication skills and the ability to make complex issues understandable.” Chambers HNW 2020
‘I trust Jonathan Shankland greatly which I think is so important when someone is dealing with your financial affairs and I know that if he is handling work for me that it will be done both diligently, efficiently and on time’. Legal 500 2020
‘He advises on lots of cross-border matters’… ‘one of the most hugely driven people’… ‘He goes out of his way’… ‘He is an experienced, skilled tactician and negotiator who is ethical and trustworthy’… ‘He is extremely quick to understand and focus on the key legal issues and has in depth knowledge of offshore issues. He has superb interpersonal skills, is impeccably polite, very thorough and well prepared. He is also approachable and easy to talk to, and inspires confidence.’ Chambers and Partners HNW 2019
Jonathan Shankland is ‘highly responsive, proactive and leads from the front – he is willing to go that extra mile and it is very clear that clients hold him in very high esteem’. Legal 500 2019
‘He’s incredibly good to work with, he’s been fantastic. He’s very pragmatic, straightforward and business-like about things’… ‘Jonathan is a fountain of knowledge in the tax and planning sense, and he is innovative while maintaining a sensible and traditional approach.’ Chambers and Partners HNW 2018
What is refreshing about Jonathan is that he’s extremely responsive, very clever and very creative. He’s very diligent and he has good emotional IQ in the sense that he puts himself in the client’s shoes. Chambers and Partners HNW 2017
Jonathan Shankland has ‘a high standard of technical knowledge and is very proactive. He is able to explain complex situations simply to clients and is very kind and thoughtful. He is a thorough young lawyer with a terrific grasp of estate planning and international taxation.’ Legal 500 2017
RadcliffesLeBrasseur is ‘an established practice with a dynamic offering and very impressive levels of service’. Standout figures include … the ‘really excellent’ Jonathan Shankland. Legal 500 2016
A solid private client team that advises landed estates, people in business and international, wealthy families on tax and estate planning. … [Jonathan Shankland is] ‘enthusiastic, with an intelligent and thoughtful approach.’
Areas of Expertise
Jonathan has a wide and complex client base dealing with high net worth private clients with international tax and planning considerations, corporate and trust structuring both onshore and offshore, as well as traditional pragmatic succession planning, tax planning and large multi-jurisdictional probate matters.
Jonathan prides himself in the personal service that his team provides and counts amongst his client base royalty, leading business figures and prominent families.
Experience
- International Tax and Estate Planning
- International Succession Planning
- Personal and Trust Tax planning
- Complex Will planning
- Offshore Tax Planning
- Swiss/UK/Worldwide Tax Co- op Agreements
- International Succession Planning
- Double Tax Treaties
- Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility
- Worldwide Disclosure Facility
- Trusts
- Business Affairs
- Corporate Estate Planning
- High Net Worth Tax Planning, Wills and Probate
- Court of Protection
- Mental Capacity Issues and Elderly Client Matters
- Cross-Border Estate and Tax Planning
- International Tax Disputes
- Residence and Domicile planning and tax matters
- HMRC Tax Investigations: Domicile, Residency and voluntary disclosure
- Estate Administration and Probate
- Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED)
- Non-Resident CGT
- HMRC Anti-Avoidance Provisions/Attribution Rules etc.
- Offshore estate planning structures
Membership
Jonathan is a member of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and its International Tax and International Private Client special interest groups. He is also a member of the Law Society.
- Assessing exposure to tax as a non-UK resident
21 March 2022 | Tax and private client - Homes for Ukraine
17 March 2022 | Tax and private client - Residential Property Developers Tax – The full picture
9 November 2021 | Tax and private client - A New ‘Residential Property Developer Tax’: What we know so far
22 October 2021 | Property | Tax and private client - The Britney Spears case – What is a conservatorship and could it happen in the UK?
3 August 2021 | Tax and private client - Clitheroe v Bond [2020] – Testamentary capacity revisited?
12 May 2021 | Tax and private client - Tax Day 2021 – Don’t Worry About Blinking, There Isn’t Much To Miss
25 March 2021 | Tax and private client - Reduced rates of SDLT for residential properties
11 March 2021 | Property | Tax and private client - New SDLT Surcharge for Non-UK Resident Purchasers of UK Residential Property
10 March 2021 | Property | Tax and private client - Budget 2021 – Key points
4 March 2021 | Corporate | Employment | Property | Tax and private client - Budget 2021 – what to look out for
2 March 2021 | Corporate | Tax and private client - Wills can now be legally witnessed virtually via video technology
18 September 2020 | Tax and private client - Covid-19 and Wills: Government confirms Wills can be witnessed by video link
29 July 2020 | Contentious trusts and estates | Tax and private client - How could Covid 19 affect my Tax Residency Status?
26 June 2020 | Tax and private client - Covid-19 Update: HMRC provide further time for second property purchasers to reclaim the higher rates of SDLT
22 June 2020 | Property | Tax and private client - Tax and Private Client newsletter – January 2019
18 January 2019 | Charity | Contentious trusts and estates | Tax and private client - Tax Journal: The trust registration service one year on
11 September 2018 | Charity | Tax and private client - Tax Journal – Tax liability on the gift of (ungiven) objects
9 January 2018 | Tax and private client - How to handle the residence nil rate band
6 June 2017 | Tax and private client - Finance Bill 2017 – Dropped by Select Committee
25 April 2017 | Tax and private client - Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB) – Additional points to remember
6 April 2017 | Tax and private client - Supreme Court unanimously allows the charities’ appeal in Ilott v The Blue Cross & Others
17 March 2017 | Charity | Contentious trusts and estates | Family | Litigation and dispute resolution | Tax and private client - Key points from the Spring Budget 2017
8 March 2017 | Tax and private client - Residence Nil Rate Band – Where are we?
9 February 2017 | Tax and private client - Non-dom reforms: April 2017
29 January 2017 | Tax and private client - Key points from the Autumn Statement 2016
23 November 2016 | Tax and private client - EU succession rules
7 September 2016 | Tax and private client - Ten year inheritance dispute to be determined in UK Supreme Court
11 April 2016 | Contentious trusts and estates | Litigation and dispute resolution | Tax and private client