Citywealth Leaders List, 60 seconds interview – Matthew Duncan, Druces
This week’s 60 seconds Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Matthew Duncan, Partner and Head of Private Wealth at Druces.
Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role
I’m Partner and Head of Private Wealth at Druces, where I lead a team advising UK and international high-net-worth individuals, trustees, family businesses and entrepreneurs on complex tax, succession, trust and estate matters. A meaningful part of my practice is cross-border — I’m registered as a will draftsman with the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry in Dubai, where I was the first non-Dubai-based solicitor to be granted that authorisation. I also act as a professional deputy for the Court of Protection and hold a number of Executorship and Trustee appointments.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There isn’t one — and that’s the appeal. A typical day might run from a call with an entrepreneur restructuring their estate ahead of a sale, to advising trustees on a contentious probate matter, to a DIFC will instruction with a client based in the Gulf. Add in team supervision, business development and the occasional Court of Protection deputyship issue, and no two days look alike.
Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received
Recent work has included multi-jurisdictional succession planning for a family with assets across the UK, the Gulf and Asia; advising the next generation of a long-established family business on a structured wealth transfer; and a particularly intricate contentious trust matter where competing beneficiary interests had to be navigated alongside live tax exposure. The DIFC wills practice continues to attract new instructions, particularly from clients with UK and UAE footprints who need both jurisdictions to work in harmony.
What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?
The single biggest theme right now is uncertainty — the recent overhaul of the UK’s non-dom regime, sustained pressure on Inheritance Tax reliefs, and an ever more interconnected international tax environment. Clients want clarity, optionality and a plan that survives political weather. We help by stripping the noise out, modelling the realistic scenarios, and putting in place structures that are both robust and flexible. Increasingly we’re also dealing with digital assets, cross-border family dynamics, and the rise in contentious probate that comes when generational wealth changes hands.
What is your proudest professional achievement?
Becoming the first non-Dubai-based solicitor authorised by the DIFC Wills and Probate Registry to draft DIFC-compliant wills. It opened a meaningful international dimension to the practice and reflected years of building a reputation that travels well across borders. More broadly, I take real pride in the long-standing relationships I’ve built — being described in Legal 500 as “a true rock in any situation” by a client matters more than any single transaction.
What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?
Judgement, calm under pressure, and the discipline to listen before deciding. In private client work especially, leadership isn’t about having the loudest voice — it’s about creating the space for clients and colleagues to think clearly when everything else feels urgent. Integrity is non-negotiable; everything else flows from it.
Who do you most admire and why?
I tend to admire people quietly rather than publicly — but if pressed, the practitioners I most respect are those who have built deep expertise over decades and remain unfailingly generous with it. Closer to home, the clients I’ve acted for over many years — particularly the entrepreneurs who built something from nothing — never stop teaching me about resilience and judgement.
Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?
Jersey, last week — a combination of client meetings and time with our trusted advisor network on the Island. Jersey continues to be one of the most important jurisdictions for the work we do, and there’s no substitute for being there in person. The conversations you have over a coffee in the Royal Yacht Hotel tend to be the ones that actually move things forward.
If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?
Probably something that still involved problem-solving for people at pivotal moments in their lives — perhaps in education or in a family-business advisory role. The constant in everything I enjoy doing is human complexity; I doubt I’d ever drift far from that.
How do you relax after a long day?
Time with my dog on a long walk in the Surrey Hills whilst listening to my favourite heavy metal playlist!
Matthew Duncan’s Citywealth Leaders List profile
Druces’ Citywealth Leaders List profile
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