Lawyers in the London Tax Practice provide a broad spectrum of advice to clients, both domestic and international, who wish to invest in or from the UK.
The practice works closely with colleagues from other practices, particulary Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Real Estate, and Banking & Finance, in structuring and executing our clients transactions in the most tax-efficient way. Our lawyers regularly advise on cross-border transactions and are responsible for coordinating tax advice from many other jurisdictions.
We seek to involve trainees as much as we can on transactions because we believe that experience gathered in the course of transactional work is immensely valuable to young lawyers. Where possible, the trainee will assist on all aspects of the transaction and not just the tax aspects. While research and reading are central to the work of any tax lawyer, regardless of seniority, we do not treat trainees as glorified research assistants. We aim to allow them to play a full role in the transactional team.
Examples of recent transactions include:
- TNK - Advising Russian vertically-integrated oil company TNK in its joint venture with BP.
- Pfizer Inc - Advising Pfizer on the sale of its US consumer healthcare business to Johnson & Johnson.
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Anthony Whall Girton College, Cambridge, Philosophy
Like most Jones Day trainees, I spent the first few weeks of my training contract getting a feel for the kind of work carried on by each of the practices. I worked on several large cross-border M&A deals and a variety of real estate transactions. However, I had always suspected that I would be interested in tax and was given the opportunity to work with the Tax Practice. At the time, I was working on a corporate deal, but due to my interest I was able to focus my attention on the tax elements of the deal. This involved establishing a European group of companies and working on the related tax and financing documents. Also, I was involved at every stage with the client, with whom I am still in contact two years later and who often contacts me directly on various matters in relation to the deal.
In the early stages of my training contract, I also was able to pursue a particular interest in the taxation issues of employee share schemes, and worked on the establishment of several approved and nonapproved share option schemes. The Firm encouraged me to develop an interest in this area, and it was extremely rewarding when qualified lawyers would ask me questions and discuss legal issues with me at such an early stage.
This theme continued throughout my training contract. I was able to work for many other practices, gaining knowledge in each of the practice areas, but developing my knowledge of the taxation aspects of those areas each time. In retrospect, this was extremely important, as I was able to develop my knowledge over two years rather than six months. I think it would have been disruptive to my training if I were to essentially drop tax for possibly 18 months, only to return to the practice as a qualified lawyer.
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