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Elizabeth Sainsbury

Partner

Elizabeth Sainsbury lawyer photo

Elizabeth advises individuals, families and family businesses in times of dispute. Working closely with specialist private client, family and corporate law colleagues, she is known for "going the extra mile", and for her collaborative and pragmatic approach. Clients value her technical ability, responsiveness and thoughtful manner. Elizabeth is also an accredited mediator.

Elizabeth advises on a wide range of complex commercial, trust, succession and private wealth disputes, which often involve multi-jurisdiction issues. She has a busy and thriving practice and has assisted on a number of well-known and high-value cases. Elizabeth’s clients include trustees (onshore and offshore) and beneficiaries; high net worth individuals and families with complex international assets, entrepreneurs and substantial family businesses.

Elizabeth has experience of all stages of the litigation process, from initial pre-action advice up to trial, and also in appeals, including Supreme Court appeals. Her experience extends to alternative forms of dispute resolution, such as arbitration and mediation.

In 2020, Elizabeth qualified as an accredited mediator in England and Wales, and also by the State Bar of California. Using her mediation skills, her focus is on finding the best solutions for her clients, resolving disputes, mitigating risk and trying to reach a consensual outcome where possible.

Elizabeth is listed as a Next Generation partner and a Rising Star in the Legal 500 directory and as a notable practitioner in Chambers High Net Worth. Elizabeth was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2022 in recognition of her work in the contentious trusts and probate sector.

Expertise

Family Businesses

Elizabeth advises family businesses on a range of legal issues. Notable recent work has seen her advising a claimant in relation to a disputed will concerning a substantial estate and two successful family businesses; advising the majority shareholders of a well-known and highly successful family business in relation to an unfair prejudice petition by a minority shareholder; and advising the beneficiaries of a family trust holding shares in a family business worth approximately £300m concerning a complex buy-out and restructuring of the family’s offshore trusts.

Individuals & Families

Elizabeth acts for individuals and families in complex probate, trust and commercial disputes. She has significant trial and courtroom experience. Notable trial experience in recent years includes taking the lead on advising a family on a 10-day trial concerning a disputed attack on its offshore trust assets in Lichtenstein worth in excess of £100m; acting for the family members in a seven-day trial defending a claim for breach of trust; and acting for the claimant in a five-day trial to challenge his mother’s will.

Trustees

Elizabeth regularly advises trustees who find themselves in difficult and complex disputes with beneficiaries, co-trustees, and external third parties. Her cases often have an international dimension, and she frequently works with trustees and advisers who are based offshore. In recent years this has included cases with trusts that are based in Hong Kong, Lichtenstein, Jersey, the Caribbean and New Zealand. Elizabeth has acted in and advised on a number of high-profile trust cases, including the notable Pugachev litigation.

Memberships & Accolades

Elizabeth is a member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists (ACTAPS) and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

Elizabeth was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2022.

Testimonials

"Elizabeth Sainsbury is a brilliant new partner who has proven herself fully able to lead the very biggest trusts cases. She is incredibly efficient, on top of the detail, and a wonderful team manager." (Legal 500 2025)

"She's a very competent litigator with excellent client management skills." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"Elizabeth Sainsbury is very impressive." (Chambers HNW 2024)

"Elizabeth Sainsbury is truly amazing for her qualification and there is no wonder they have made her up to partner, while on maternity leave.  She is serene in her style of work and leaves the client feeling that she is always on their side, even if the point raised is perhaps not relevant." (Legal 500 2024)

"Elizabeth has an incredible attention to detail and understanding of often complex technical and commercial matters relevant to a dispute and cutting through them." (Chambers HNW 2023 - Private Wealth Disputes)

"Elizabeth...is absolutely superb... I can't speak highly enough of her, she is unbelievably organised and is brilliant at running big litigation, she is absolutely delightful to work with." (Chambers HNW 2022 - Private Wealth Disputes)

"Lizzy Sainsbury – a rising star who will surely be a partner before long: she is effectively operating in that role already. A brilliant manager of litigation, great team player, with excellent analytical skills." (Legal 500 2022)

"Absolutely superb, she's obviously going to be a complete star in this field. She's incredibly on top of the detail." (Chambers HNW 2021)

"Elizabeth Sainsbury is a star of the future and will be a leader in the field. She is exceptionally good at running complex cases and her client manner is second to none." (Legal 500 2021)

"Elizabeth Sainsbury is calm and collected, and knows her stuff inside out." (Legal 500 2021)

Recent Cases
  • AF v MF & Ors [2016] EWFC 65
  • JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshelenniy Bank & Others v Sergei Viktorovich Pugachev & Others [2017] EWHC 2426 (Ch)
  • GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Ltd v GB Minerals Holdings Ltd
  • Kaki v Kaki [2015] EWHC 3692 (Ch)
  • Woods Bagot Holdings PTY Ltd & Others v Earle Arney & Others
  • HMRC v Forde & McHugh [2014] UKSC 14 This case went to the Supreme Court on appeal, and concerned the treatment of NICs in respect of an employer company's contributions to a Funded Unapproved Retirement Benefits Scheme (FURBS).
  • Sheffield v Sheffield [2013] EWHC 3927 (CH)
  • Gupta v Gupta [2018] EWHC 1352(Ch)
  • Smith v Faulkner-Smith
  • Wagner v Bothy Investments Ltd

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