Masters of the Bench

Amanda Hardy attended the City of London School for Girls and then King’s College London, where she became a Visiting Lecturer in the Law of Trusts from 1993-98. She did pupillage at Erskine Chambers and at 15 Old Square Tax Chambers. Her specialist area is tax law and she now practises from 5 Stone Buildings, Lincoln’s Inn. She took Silk in 2015.

She is currently Vice-Chair of the Chancery Bar Association and Chair of its Wellbeing Committee, where she is looking at ways to improve social mobility and expand diversity.

She is past Chair of the Chancery Bar Association Pro Bono Sub-Committee, and was responsible for establishing and running the Chancery Bar Litigants in Person Scheme (CLIPS) in the Applications Court of the Chancery Division and in the Central London County Court.

Amanda has been involved in litigation in most areas of direct and indirect tax. This includes appearing in the High Court to advise on the UK and foreign domicile tax aspects of ‘the UK’s biggest divorce case’. She has also recently appeared in the Ugandan Tax Appeals Tribunal in a major oil tax dispute, and in the First-Tier Tribunal on the correct test for the source of interest, successfully arguing that HMRC was not entitled to refer to unpublished special commissioners’ decisions.

Her practice covers advice, planning and structuring work, particularly for ultra-high-net- worth individuals and their associated corporations and trusts, including offshore domicile and residency issues and pension taxation issues.

Amanda was awarded Acquisition International’s Best Tax Litigator (2016) and Most Outstanding Tax Litigator (2017). She is a member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Planners UK Technical Committee, and  of the Revenue Bar Association.

She is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers, having been admitted to the Freedom of the City of London in July 2011. She was made a Bencher in 2017.

When not at work she loves reading, theatre, hot yoga and spending time with her husband and three daughters.