PCS makes further strides with HNW ranking

Private Client Solicitors (PCS) has reinforced its position as one of the leading advisors to the UK’s wealthiest individuals in a prestigious legal ranking.

The firm’s inclusion in the top tier of the latest High Net Worth classification compiled by Chambers and Partners means that it has now featured on the list every year since its launch in 2021.

It is one of only two boutique firms classed as a National Leader in its field and the only one based in the North West.

Furthermore, PCS has become the only specialist in the region to have all of its most senior solicitors – founder and Managing Partner Tasnim Khalid, along with partners Nicola Walker and Paul Gotch – singled out for recognition.

Ms Khalid said that the Chambers’ High Net Worth ranking underlined why PCS was highly regarded by clients and legal peers alike.

“We may still be a relatively young firm but we have been fortunate enough to gather together hugely capable individuals.

“In doing so, we have been able to bring in high value, complex work, sometimes extending over multiple jurisdictions.

“That underlines how we are very much considered as one of the country’s leading private client practices and able to compete with much longer established and much larger firms.

“This latest ranking is certainly no cause for resting on our laurels, however. We have plans to grow the business and further improve the services which we offer clients.

“We believe that augurs very well for the future.”

The Chambers’ High Net Worth Guide is drawn up following in-depth research and focuses on the firm’s most able to address the needs of wealthy clients at home and abroad.

It concluded that PCS had succeeded in building a “close-knit group of not only friendly staff, but also people who are excellent in their field” with “extensive experience in relation to wills, trusts, tax, estate planning, succession, wealth preservation, probate, mental capacity law and philanthropy”.

Ms Khalid was highlighted as “a sector expert”, who is “extremely knowledgeable”, while Ms Walker was described as “a superb practitioner…highly technical, personable and efficient”.

Mr Gotch, meanwhile, was identified as being “an excellent lawyer”, able to explain “complex concepts in easy-to-understand ways”.

The latest ranking is further evidence of the progress made by PCS since its launch in August 2021.

In October, the firm featured in a list of the 250 best law firms in England and Wales compiled by The Times newspaper.

Earlier this month, the firm was named Private Client Team of the year in the Manchester Legal Awards.

Ms Khalid has herself won a string of awards, including being chosen as Private Client Partner of the Year in March’s Northern Powerhouse Awards.

Organised annually by Legal 500, they recognise the “hard work and accomplishments” of firms across the entire north of England.

That triumph followed her winning another notable title, the ‘One To Watch’ category for emerging female entrepreneurs in the latest edition of the Northern Power Women Awards.

In April this year, she was also appointed to the board of the Charity Commission by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

Much of the PCS’ workload is made up of complex probate work, business succession and estate planning but it is considered the North West’s foremost authority on sharia-related Private Client law.

Its client list features many of the region’s wealthiest individuals and most notable entrepreneurs, and its recent workload has extended to Spain, Hong Kong, the Middle East and North America.

During 2024, its most significant cases included the restructuring of a family office worth £100 million and a business succession planning matter extending across a number of different jurisdictions.

The PCS team also successfully dealt with a complex probate dispute worth more than £10 million, acting in their capacity as professional trustees.