Adrian Shipwright
Adrian Shipwright
Called in 1993
Irish Solicitor: September 2020

Adrian is a distinguished advisor with deep experience across a wide range of sectors and business types. His practice focuses on complex tax matters, including corporate transactions and restructurings, land development, trusts and estates (particularly in relation to intangibles), and cross-border issues involving high-net-worth individuals and public figures.

Adrian’s career spans senior roles as a partner at two leading City law firms and many years as a tenant at a leading London Tax Chambers. He also brings academic distinction as a former lecturer at Oxford and as Professor of Business Law at King’s College London. For over a decade, Adrian served as a judge in both the First-tier Tax Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber).

Known for his ability to advise on tax, financial, and compliance matters with strong commercial insight, Adrian is regularly consulted for strategic and innovative solutions to unique or high-stakes issues. His approach is trusted by clients across the private, public, and third sectors.

He is the author of several leading texts and numerous publications on tax and related areas, and has lectured widely in the UK and internationally. Educated in France, Adrian is fluent in French and also speaks conversational Swedish, along with working knowledge of German and Italian.

Associate Member

  • Trusts and private client
  • Offshore and international
  • Land development
  • Intangibles
  • Heavy corporate tax
  • International tax

He has been involved in tax litigation as a solicitor, barrister and tribunal judge.

  • Westmoreland (HL avoidance case) [led by David Milne QC]
  • Foulser (CA avoidance and EU Law case) [led by David Milne QC in higher Courts]
  • Pendragon
  • News Datacom (Corporate residence)
  • The Trustees of the Peter Clay Discretionary Trust (Trust Expenses)
  • Lee Barrett (residence)
  • Burton (Offshore Trusts and capital payments)
  • Ebsworth (transactions in securities)
  • Next (Capital Allowances)
  • A number of MTIC IR 35 and penalty cases
  • BAT bid
  • DRG bid and reconstruction for “unbundling”
  • Rugby World Cup

Many cross-border transactions involving IP, celebrities and athletes, land development and restructuring.

  • Lifetime Fellow Royal Society of Arts
  • Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation
  • Full Member of STEP
  • Member of the Association of Tax Technicians
  • Associate of the Institute of Indirect Tax
  • Member of Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group
  • Judge First and Upper Tier Tribunal, 2002 – 2015
  • Tenant Pump Court Tax Chambers,1993-2004 and 2008-11
  • Professor, King’s College London, 1992 – 2010
  • Partner SJ Berwin
  • Partner Dentons
  • Official Student (Fellow) and Tutor in Jurisprudence, Christ Church, Oxford, 1977-1982
  • Textbook of Revenue Law
    Numerous editions (with Elizabeth Keeling) published by Blackstone, now OUP
  • Trusts and UK Taxation
    Numerous editions, published by Key Haven
  • UK Taxation and Intellectual Property
    New expanded edition commissioned and being written to include material derived from particular expertise on Image Rights etc.
  • UK Taxation and Land Development
    Numerous editions published by Key Haven
  • The GAAR
    Report commissioned by [Butterworth]
  • Land Development Report
    Commissioned by ICAEW
  • Tax Avoidance and the Law : Sham Fraud or Mitigation (editor)
    Collection of essays with contributions from Lords Hoffman and Templeman cited in a number of reported cases
  • CCH British Tax Reporter
    Original text of Volume 5 Capital Gains Tax
  • IFS
    Striking the Balance – Joint editor (with Malcolm Gammie QC) and author of Introduction – papers from IFS Residential Conference including papers by Lord Oliver, Stephen Oliver QC, John Prebble and Brian Arnold
  • BTR
    Many contributions over the years
  • ITELR (International Trust and Estate Law Reports)
    Joint editor with Rupert Baldry QC
  • Strategic Tax Planning 2 Volume Loose-leaf
    Gee & Co/Sweet and Maxwell
  • Oxford Companion to Law
    Contributor OUP