header-logo header-logo

24 April 2024
Categories: Movers & Shakers , Profession
printer mail-detail

Russell-Cooke—Sarah Arnold

Firm grows contentious trust & estates team in London

Law firm Russell-Cooke has welcomed Sarah Arnold as a partner in its contentious trust and estates team, based in its central London office on Bedford Row.

Sarah advises on a wide range of domestic and international estate and trust litigation, including will validity disputes, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, validity of lifetime transactions, disputes between executors and/or personal representatives, and claims based upon estoppel and/or constructive trusts. She also specialises in contentious issues relating to the Court of Protection.

Sarah qualified in 2010 and joins from Penningtons Manches Cooper, where she was previously a senior associate. She holds the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists diploma.

Alison Regan, partner and head of the contentious trust and estates team at Russell-Cooke, said: ‘It’s an exciting time for our fast-growing team. We are expanding our central London contentious trust and estates practice to support our wider private client and family office offering, and Sarah’s arrival adds further strength in depth and additional specialist expertise for our clients to draw on. Sarah’s experience across all aspects of contentious trusts is incredibly valuable and we all look forward to working with her. Welcome, Sarah!’

Commenting on her appointment, Sarah said: ‘I’m very pleased to be joining such a well-respected and established team, and from my first conversations with Alison and everyone at Russell-Cooke, I’ve been impressed with the firm’s clear growth strategy and fantastic breadth of support for its people and its clients. I know first-hand that the people here are not just excellent lawyers, but great people too.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
back-to-top-scroll