Bright, personable, and a good tactician. He is phenomenally clever and always on your side. He gets down into the details.

Henry is recommended by Chambers and Partners in all of his areas of specialism: Traditional Chancery and Trusts; Pensions; and Art and Cultural Property. Henry has been recommended in the directories for many years and is routinely praised for his advocacy, his analysis and ability to deal with technical matters and his client manner.

“Everyone regards Henry as a superlative barrister. He’s an absolute all-rounder, who’s a fierce advocate and a superb client handler.” Chambers and Partners  Trusts and Traditional Chancery 2025

“Henry has very good judgement and a phenomenal brain. I’ve seen him on his feet. He’s very impressive. He’s a smooth, clear, crisp advocate and just a real joy to work with.” Chambers and Partners  Trusts and Traditional Chancery 2025

“He is a very respected team leader. He really knows his trust law and draws on his other areas of expertise like pensions and art. He has the respect of other senior KCs.” Chambers and Partners  Trusts and Traditional Chancery 2025

“Henry is always very creative with his arguments, and very user-friendly. He gets on with juniors, as well as partners and all kinds of clients, and is just superb.” Chambers and Partners  Trusts and Traditional Chancery 2025

“Henry is incredibly smart. He has a quite brilliant brain and is very creative.” Chambers and Partners  Trusts and Traditional Chancery 2025

He has been nominated as Traditional Chancery silk of the year by Chambers and Partners

“Henry is the go-to in the world of art and culture. He is very respected and formidable and he always delivers.” Chambers and Partners Art and Cultural Property 2025

“Henry Legge is absolutely excellent. He is a real art lawyer, a fantastic advocate. He is brilliant on his feet, fast and gets to the point.” Chambers and Partners Art and Cultural Property 2025

“Henry is very strategic. He is able to handle very complex cases whilst being very polite and a joy to watch.” Chambers and Partners Art and Cultural Property 2025

He was named Arts and Media Silk of the Year by the Legal 500 for 2025.  Chambers and Partners do not have an equivalent award.

Many are not within the public domain

• A v C [2026] UKPC 11 (also known as X trusts) – leading case on protectors’ powers.  Henry acts for the protectors.
• Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 and 1045 –  acting for the trustees in an application to benefit a child of the principal beneficiary who had been born by surrogacy.  Novel approach to representation in trust approval applications in response to the Court of Appeal’s  judgment in Denaxe
• The Hinduja litigation – acting for members of the Hinduja family in this long running litigation relating to the family’s affairs
• Jacobs litigation – acting for the residuary beneficiary in  the multiple claims relating to this large and complex estate
• Re Druce Settlement [2021] WTLR 597 leading case on the application of the Human Rights Act to the construction of trusts and wills
• The Longleat litigation (2016) – disputed application to remove trustees. Acted for the continuing trustees
• Berezovsky litigation – Henry acted for Boris Berezovksy’s partner in this long running litigation (eg [2013] EWHC 1209, [2013] EWHC 1935, [2016] EWHC 1829)
• The Trilogy litigation: (Trilogy Management v YT – principal decisions at [2012] JRC 093, [2012] JCA 152 [2014] JRC 214) – disputed claim by charitable beneficiary to dismantle a very substantial Jersey charitable structure, administered by a Private Trust Company
• Advising and appearing in numerous trust applications offshore and onshore: for trustee directions; under Variation of Trusts Act (and under the Cayman and Jersey equivalents); and in applications to set aside or vary trusts and other documents in rectification; for mistake or under the principle in Re Hastings Bass

• Axminster Carpets Group Retirement Benefits Scheme [2022] Pens LR 1  leading case on limitation, forfeiture and interest in relation to unpaid arrears of pension. Acting for the trustee claimant
• Cobb Europe v Down [2021] Pens LR 8 acting for the employer in this partially compromised case involving imperfect attempts to equalise, validity of various trustee resolutions and their rectification of others.
• Univar UK v Smith [2020] Pens LR 23 acting for the representative beneficiary resisting rectification of the increase provisions of a pension scheme
• Re Nortel Networks Canada (2014) – acting as expert witness in the Canadian courts on UK law of pensions and construction of contracts. Instructed on behalf of the court-appointed “monitor” of Nortel Networks Canada, the Nortel group holding company
• IBM United Kingdom Holdings Limited v Dalgleish [2014] EWHC 980 – acting for IBM in the lengthy Imperial duty proceedings relating to the closure of the IBM defined benefit schemes
• Acting for BT in the litigation relating to the scope of the Crown guarantee and related issues BT Pensions Scheme Trustees Ltd v BT plc [2011] EWHC 3388, [2011] EWHC 2071, and [2010] EWHC 2642 (also at [2010] Pens LR 487)
• Acting for BT on the pensions aspects of the state aid proceedings and appearing in the European court in European Commission v BT [2013] Pens LR 359 and in the appeal
• Advising a group of ports in the PNPF litigation (2010)
• Re X [2010] – acting for the senior partner in a firm of actuaries in relation to disciplinary proceedings brought by the faculty against him following a referral by the Pensions Regulator
• Alexander Forbes v Jackson [2005] PLR 33 – the T&N litigation: pension scheme trustees’ application for directions arising out of the multi-jurisdictional (and multi-billion dollar) insolvency of the Federal Mogul group as a result of US asbestos claims. Also acted as pensions junior in parts of the related insolvency proceedings extensive advice acting for and against scheme administrators, actuaries and other advisers in claims relating to pension schemes, fund investment and actuarial practice.

Many are not within the public domain

• Universal Music v Emerick  [2026]  Giving evidence for Universal Music as an expert on English law in this dispute in a Californian court as to the ownership of a Beatles mastertape
• Winehouse v Parry [2026] EWHC 911.  Acting for the estate of Amy Winehouse in this highly publicised dispute relating to an auction of dresses connected with her.
• Feilding v Simon C Dickinson Limited [2023] EWCA Civ 724 and [2022] EWHC 3091 successfully defending a claim brought against a leading art dealer in relation to a painting consigned to him for sale and sold as Chardin and Studio.  The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal after a full hearing by a three judge court.
• Jeddi v Sotheby’s [2018] EWHC 1491 – acting for the Claimant establishing outright ownership of a valuable medieval Islamic crystal jar
• Thwaytes v Sothebys (2014) – acting for the Claimant vendor in this case relating to the sale of a painting which was sold by Sothebys as a copy but subsequently attributed to Caravaggio.
• Henry was praised by Rose J in the judgment for “the exemplary way in which this fascinating case was presented at trial“
• Avrora Fine Art Investment Limited v Christie Manson and Woods [2012] PNLR 35 (and [2012] EWHC 106 on another point) – successfully suing Christies under its limited warranty, establishing that attribution of the painting was incorrect. Leading case on auctioneers’ negligence
• Spencer v S Franses Ltd [2011] EWHC 1269 – acting for leading dealer in this action arising out of the purchase and consignment of an important mediaeval embroidery. Leading case on liens
• Re Coronation of the Virgin– acting for the Courtauld Gallery in successfully resisting a claim brought before the Spoliation Advisory Panel for restitution of a Rubens sold in Berlin in 1934. Believed to be the first oral hearing before the panel (2010)
• Various claims for and against dealers and auction houses, including issues relating to attribution, title and spoliation.
• Various contentious and non-contentious matters relating to the ownership and partition of collections (including the litigation relating to the estate of Francis Bacon)
• For 12 years, Henry was a trustee (and sometime chairman) of the Samuel Courtauld Trust – the entity which holds the paintings and other artefacts of the Courtauld Gallery – during which time he had extensive experience of restitution claims and similar issues arising from the management of collections.

Henry’s publications include:

• Pension Schemes in Company Directors: Duties, Liabilities and Remedies (edited by Simon Mortimore QC), Oxford University Press
• Subrogation(Law and Practice) by Professor Charles Mitchell and Stephen Watterson (consultant editor), Oxford University Press
• ‘Jointly-owned chattels– how to sell them and how to value them for tax‘, Christies Bulletin, 2001. This article was written as a form of memorandum for the Inland Revenue forum on the taxation of jointly-owned chattels and ultimately contributed to Revenue policy

Henry frequently lectures on topics within his areas of expertise. He has lectured to and conducted seminars for the Chancery Bar Association, the Association of Pension Lawyers and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists as well as giving regular talks on art litigation. He is a member of the Trust Law Committee. In 2013, he was appointed a trustee of the Samuel Courtauld Trust, which holds the paintings and other contents of the Courtauld Gallery.

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