Crowe Clark Whitehill has increased its number of partners working on tax investigations by 100%, welcoming investigations specialist John Cassidy to the team on 2 April.
John, who joins the firm from PKF, is a high profile figure in tax investigations, with wide-ranging experience in the field covering offshore evasion, fraud investigations, the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility, disputes with HMRC, professional negligence claims and expert witness work. A regular writer and lecturer, he wrote chapters on tax investigations in the Zurich Tax Handbook and ICAEW’s TAXLine Tax Planning, and sits on a number of tax committees.
John joins Crowe Clark Whitehill partner Sean Wakeman, whose team won last year’s Lexis Nexis Best Tax Investigations team award – with John’s team at PKF coming in as hotly-contested runners up.
John says: “I am very pleased to be joining Crowe Clark Whitehill at what is clearly a great time in the firm’s development. I hope that my experience will complement the sterling work done by the tax investigations team, and that my appointment will be beneficial for both the firm and its clients. The Crowe Clark Whitehill team is already of the highest quality as demonstrated by them winning the Lexis Nexis tax award last year, and I hope to add to that.”
Sean Wakeman says: “I am delighted that John and his team are joining us. Their arrival marks another step in our strategy to build on our success by recruiting the very best tax investigations talent. John is at the very top of the tree in terms of his knowledge, experience and ability to deliver first class solutions to clients”.
“John’s recruitment to jointly head the team will help us to continue our positive trajectory. John is a well-known industry figure and a first class tax partner with whom I am looking forward to working for many years to come.”
DLA Piper today announced the appointment of Jayne Newton as a Tax Investigations Director in its Litigation & Regulatory Group. Jayne joins DLA Piper from Lloyds Banking Group where she was Head of Operational and Employee Taxes.
Jayne spent the last 21 years at Lloyds Banking Group where she led the team responsible for managing the financial and reputational risks facing the Group relating to compliance with HMRC regulations on all operational and employee tax issues. This involved influencing regulatory developments through chairing the BBA Operational Tax Issues Working party and also being a pro-active member of the BBA US Tax Issues Working Group
During her career, Jayne has acquired considerable experience in the banking business. This has resulted in a deep understanding of product development and the commercial benefits of effective operational tax risk management. Additionally, Jayne has extensive expertise in the mitigation of the practical impact of UK, European and US regulations on global financial institutions, the management of operational and employee tax risks on mergers, acquisitions, business restructuring, divestments, and market changes/challenges, as well as media management relating to operational tax risks.
Stephen Sly, DLA Piper International Head of Litigation & Regulatory, said: “Jayne has an insight into the banking community that will prove invaluable to our clients in this sector. Her appointment will enable us to combine the legal expertise of a global law firm with the operational tax, commercial and risk management experience she brings. At a time when regulation is on the rise, and changes are being made to tax law at a local and global level, Jayne will be an asset to our market leading Tax Investigations and Disputes team.”
Jayne Newton, added: “I am delighted to be joining the Litigation & Regulatory Group at DLA Piper. During my career at Lloyd’s I have gained a thorough understanding of the practical impact of compliance obligations and am adept at providing solutions that are commercial, achievable and risk focussed. The Tax Investigations & Disputes team has an excellent reputation in the market and I look forward to putting my expertise to good use advising the firm’s local and global clients on compliance.”
Maurice Martin joined Withers from Irwin Mitchell on 1 December to launch a tax investigations practice.
Maurice’s work focuses on business and personal tax investigations on behalf of high profile individuals as well as corporations. He often works in conjunction with leading accountancy firms to minimise the client’s risk of prosecution and the amount of tax properly payable.
Known for his contacts and experience, he has been involved in many of the major cases of the past 30 years. These began with the famous nationwide Richmond Rendezvous group of Chinese restaurants in 1981, at the time the largest tax prosecution ever and the first combined operation by Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise (before they merged in 2005).
