London
+44 (0)20 7826 4581 P
+44 (0)20 7588 0555 F

Simon Whitehead

Partner

Head of the Trial group in London practicing in actions for the recovery of damages against UK revenue authorities for the imposition of taxes and duties incompatible with international treaty obligations such as the EU treaty or relevant double taxation conventions; general tax litigation; commercial litigation.

Representative Litigation

Selected as the lead and test case solicitor in almost all the current group litigation orders in the Chancery Division of the High Court of England and Wales in which multinational company groups challenge the lawfulness of various UK corporate tax imposts including:

the ACT group litigation;
the Loss Relief Group Litigation;
the CFC and Dividend Group Litigation;
the Thin Cap Group Litigation;
the FII Group Litigation

Admissions

England & Wales
Solicitor of the Australian Federal Court and the Australian High Court (1999)
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales (1992)
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (1987)

Honors

Ranked top among "the best of the UK" for contentious tax, Chambers UK Directory 2008 & 2009 ed.s
Ranked as a “leading individual” for corporate tax, Legal 500, 2009 ed.
Winner, “ECJ Award 2008”, International Tax Review European Awards 2008
Winner, "European Tax Litigation Firm of the Year," International Tax Review European Awards 2007
Winner, "Tax Team of the Year," Legal Business Awards 2006
Winner, "Editor's Award," International Tax Review European Awards 2006
One of the world’s leading 250 tax advisors, Legal 500 (2009 ed)
"First class" Legal 500 (2006)
"hailed by clients and barristers as 'excellent, with an amazing ability to manager the most complex litigation'. His 'responsiveness, clarity and hard work' have made him popular with claimants whilst his 'unmatched knowledge and experience' enable him to retain a pre-eminent role on large GLOs." (Chambers UK Directory 2009 ed).
"One of the most important people in UK corporate tax" (Accountancy Age January 2007)
Head of the team ranked top for contentious tax, Chambers UK Directory 2008 & 2009 ed.s
Head of the team "Highly Commended for Legal Expertise", in Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Report, June 29 2006
Finalist, "Best Tax Team in a Law Firm, Lexis Nexis Awards 2008, 2007 and 2006
Finalist, "Tax Team of the Year," Legal Business Awards 2007
Lawyer of the Week, Times (January 2006)
Finalist, "Litigation Team of the Year 2005," The Lawyer Awards
No. 6 in the "Top 50 Financial Power List 2007" (Accountancy Age)
The Tax Business "50 Most Influential Figures in the Tax World," (2004 and 2006)
"Hot 100 Lawyers," The Lawyer (2004)
Lawyer of the Month, Times (April 2002)

Education

University of Sydney
B.A., 1984, First Class Honours
University of Sydney
L.L.B. 1987, Ph.D., 1993

Related Practices