Addleshaw Goddard is bolstering its tax practice with the appointment of a new partner and two new associates, bringing the number of lawyers in this specialist area to 14 – the greatest in the firm's history.

Martin Griffiths joins the firm in Leeds as partner from Charles Russell Speechlys, providing additional expertise in OMB tax advice, private equity sell-side/management team advisory, general M&A, property/funds structuring and domestic and international tax advice. Martin has also advised high net worth individuals and family offices investing in the UK and has experience in employee share schemes and remuneration planning.

He is joined by associates Erik Chamonte from New Zealand firm Buddle Findlay and Jade Chan from Hill Dickinson who will operate across the firm's regional and UK office network.  

The 14-strong team will also take the name Tax & Structuring, changing from Commercial Tax. The rename has been introduced to better reflect the scope of the practice which advises on transactional and regulatory matters for corporate and real estate clients, structuring their deals, portfolios, assets and day-to-day operations in the most tax efficient way.

The team has recently worked on several major deals including advising GVC on its £4bn takeover of Ladbrokes Coral, CC Land's £292m indirect acquisition of One Kingdom Street in London, and Virgin Money's sale of a stake in Aberdeen Standard Investments and the establishment of their joint venture.

Justine Delroy, partner at Addleshaw Goddard, said: “The world of tax has never been so complex, with thorny technical problems which need to be solved to meet clients' commercial objectives, but in an ever-more delicate reputational landscape. As the firm expands its corporate, finance and real estate capability, so too we will be growing the Tax & Structuring team in order to continue providing relevant support to those specialist teams as well as offering high quality standalone tax and structuring advice. We are delighted to welcome Martin, Erik and Jade who are great additions to our team."

She added: "HMRC has stated that it wishes to bring 100 prosecutions per year to wealthy individuals and corporations by 2020. In the last 12 months it has moved to bring in a range of tougher penalties including a strict liability offence for managers who fail to prevent their staff from facilitating tax evasion. Those caught doing so will be 'named and shamed' and face financial penalties so there is a reputational and balance sheet impact and we are helping many businesses to get their house in order before it is too late."