Law firm Charles Russel Speechlys LLP (Speechly) was taken to the High Court for damages of over £1m following negligent advice involving the creation of a discretionary trust.

Speechly gave inheritance tax advice to Stephane Etroy, a non-domiciled individual, on the scope of work included in the creation of a new discretionary trust.

On 22 September 2009, Charles Gothard of Speechly and Etroy discussed an existing trust, named the Helios April Trust (HAT) that had been set up in 2002 in Jersey.

As Etroy was not domiciled or deemed domiciled in the UK when he established HAT in 2002, it stood that the trust held excluded property for inheritance tax (IHT) purposes.