Toby Graham

Partner

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Practice areas

Trust, Will and Estate Disputes

A Question of Trust: the capacity conundrum in global trusts

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Toby leads Farrer & Co’s Contentious Trusts and Estates group and has over 30 years’ experience handling disputes involving trusts and estates. His cases are many and varied, ranging from domestic estate/probate claims to trust or estate disputes with international elements sometimes involving parallel proceedings in London and offshore jurisdictions. He has been involved in many leading cases, including Weisfisch, Alhamrani and Rybolovlev. He is consistently recognised by the major legal directories as a leading practitioner in this area.

Over the course of Toby’s career, trust and estate disputes have grown in number, value and complexity. This stems in large part from the growing number and scale of UHNW families whose personal and business affairs are structured through complex vehicles which are heavily dependent on the patriarch; his or her departure creates a vacuum leaving uncertainty and confusion.

Frequently, trust and estate disputes require experts in related fields such as tax, divorce and family provision and charity law. Farrer & Co is recognised for expertise in such related fields and the firms prides itself on its collaborative culture.

Toby was editor of Trusts & Trustees (published by OUP) between 2008 and 2024. He a member of the advisory board of the International Tax Planning Association, winner of the STEP outstanding achievement award, Private Client Lawyer of Year (Who’s Who Legal), member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and is author of the STEP Trust disputes course and other titles.

Awards and accolades

Toby has been ranked for over nine years in Band 1 of Chambers and Partners’ Private Wealth Disputes coverage, and is ranked in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for Private Client: Contentious Trusts and Probate. He was ranked Private client lawyer of the year by Who’s who Legal.

Reported cases

Weissfisch v Julius and others: [2006] EWCA 218
Alhamrani v Alhamrani
Re Patarkatsishvilli, Deceased
Rybolovleva v Rybolovlev
Q v Q [2010] SC (Bda) 40 Civ
Wingate v Butterfield Trust (Bermuda) Limited [2008] WTLR 543
Gomez v Gomez-Monche Vives: [2008] EWHC 259 (Ch) and [2008] EWCA Civ 1065
Stiftung Salle Modulable et al -v- Butterfield Trust [2014] SC (Bda) 13 Com.
Kea v Watson [2018] EWHC 2016 (Ch), [2019] EWCA 1759, [2022] EWHC 5 (Ch)

Memberships and affiliations

Editor Emeritus of Trusts & Trustees (published by Oxford University Press)
Member of STEP (former Chair of the Trust and Estates Special Interest Group; author of the STEP Trust Disputes Course; co-editor of the STEP Estates Disputes Course)
Member of the Advisory Board of the International Tax Planning Association
Member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law
Member of the Editorial Board of Wills and Estates Law Reports
Member of the Trust Law Committee

Testimonials

"Toby Graham is brilliant at moving a case forward, and despite his seniority will get his hands dirty in the detail." (Legal 500 2025)

"Toby Graham is tenacious and methodical holding years of private client trust and probate litigation experience. Toby is an outstanding leader in the private client trust and probate litigation realm." (Legal 500 2025)

"I've been extraordinarily impressed by his savvy and tactical grasp. He instils massive confidence in the clients, he has got good judgement and he's very committed." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"He has extensive knowledge and experience, is constantly creative and hard-working, and always has the client's interest firmly at the forefront of his mind." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"Toby Graham is a very sound strategist and extremely experienced. Very nice to work with." (Legal 500 2024)

"Toby Graham has a wealth of knowledge and experience and offers a highly effective client-focussed approach." (Legal 500 2024)

"Toby is a superb solicitor at the top of this field. He is extremely focused on the needs and wishes of the client and works hard and intelligently to deliver on them. He would be my go-to partner in this field." (Chambers HNW 2023)

"Toby Graham is a stellar litigator, with a habit of identifying left-field arguments which advance cases very significantly." (Chambers HNW 2023)

"Toby Graham – massive experience and knowledge, combined with a debonair charm." (Legal 500 2023)

"Toby Graham is one of the best known partners in this field – he is hands on, really knows his trust law, has great judgment and is very good at managing very large scale litigation." (Legal 500 2023)

"Toby is simply a star performer. He brings a wealth of academic and practical knowledge and experience ... He is also extremely dedicated to achieving the client’s goals" (Legal 500 2023)

Publications

Editor of Trusts & Trustees (published by Oxford University Press) from 2007 to 2024 and now Editor Emeritus
Co-editor of A Practical Guide to the Transfer of Trusteeships (3rd edition, published by Globe Law and Business)
Author of the course notes for the STEP Certificate in Trust Disputes
Author and co-editor of the course notes for the STEP Certificate in Contentious Estates
Editor of the International Guide to Money Laundering Law and Practice (2nd edition, Butterworths)
Co-author (with Nicholas Elliott KC and Evan Bell) of Money Laundering (2003, Butterworths Compliance Series)