Citywealth Leaders List, 60 seconds interview – Phyllis Townsend, Baker McKenzie

Date: 24 Jun 2025

Karen Jones

This week’s 60-second Citywealth Leaders List interview is dedicated to Phyllis Townsend, Partner, Wealth Management, Baker McKenzie.

Tell Citywealth readers a bit about your role.

I am a Partner in the Wealth Management practice in London and lead Baker McKenzie’s EMEA Wealth Management practice group. I advise on a broad range of wealth management matters with a particular focus on advising trustees, high-net worth individuals and their family offices on cross-border tax, succession, asset protection and investment structures, including via trusts. I provide ongoing advice to former UK resident non-UK domiciled individuals and those coming to the UK under the new UK “FIG regime”, together with families with connections to the Middle East, Europe and the US.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My work is very international.  I am often dealing with complex tax, succession and asset protection issues, having to look at client problems holistically across multiple asset classes, jurisdictions and areas of expertise in order to draw up a plan for clients. No two client situations are the same, which means the work I do tends to be varied and interesting. I feel very fortunate to work for clients alongside some of the most professional colleagues in the industry.

Tell us about some recent, interesting client instructions/requests you have received.
Clients are seeking more sophisticated advice and professionalising and institutionalising their private wealth, especially as families grow. Many clients are establishing investment offices, private equity style funds and incentive structures to centralise investments and attract the best talent to manage and run them. This plays well to our strengths. As a firm, we are well equipped to give clients that sophisticated and commercial advice.

What challenges do your clients face and how are you helping your clients to overcome them?

The end of the tax regime for UK resident non-UK domiciled clients presents huge challenges for clients with many of them having to make the difficult decision to stay or go. For those who decide to relocate, Baker McKenzie, as a full-service law firm with a global presence, is ideally placed to help our increasingly global client base. We are now also seeing clients come to the UK, particularly from the US, as those clients are able to take advantage of the new FIG regime and, in some cases, benefit from applicable double tax treaties.

What is your proudest professional achievement?

My proudest professional achievement was my promotion to Partner at Baker McKenzie in 2022 and at the same time being promoted to EMEA Wealth Management lead. More recently, I was delighted to win the “Lawyer of the Year” Award at the Citywealth Magic Circle Awards. 

What do you consider to be the most important attributes for a leader?

The ability to build a successful and cohesive team, who are talented and get on well, and take your team with you.

Who do you most admire and why?

I admire fellow Baker McKenzie Partner, Ashley Crossley, for how he built the practice that we developed from a Russia/CIS practice to a Middle East practice in the time since I joined the team in 2012. He is a good mentor, which I hope I am too to the team.

Where was the last place you travelled to for work or pleasure?

I have just returned, via Bermuda, from our private capital event in New York, which followed a European series in Barcelona and Thun.

If you weren’t in this industry, what else might you be doing?

I love art and architecture so something to do with art or property.

How do you relax after a long day?

I like to spend time with family and/or friends. I exercise in the morning.

Read about the global wealth migration shake up