Rachael Brook

My first career was in catering and hospitality management. I started studying law part-time at the age of 23, whist managing a bar and restaurant. After 2 years, I decided to study full-time. I discovered my love of private client work during my training contract with Ramsdens and qualified as a Solicitor in May 2005, specialising in Wills, estate administration and trusts. At the start of the Covid19 pandemic, in May 2020, I joined Shoosmiths as a Wealth Protection Partner, establishing a private client offering in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. In September 2021 I joined Schofield Sweeney as a Partner in their Huddersfield office, with a view to being closer to home and restoring the balance of family and work life. This lead to me becoming a self-employed consultant solicitor in February 2023. My role is to help private individuals protect their family, reputation and wealth. I work collaboratively with wealth planners, tax specialists and other professional advisers to provide trusted advice on all aspects of personal planning. I'm empathetic and build genuine, long term, trusted relationships with clients helping them to agree and align tax efficient lifetime and succession strategies. I have significant experience in the preparation of complex wills, trusts, powers of attorney and lifetime tax efficient succession planning. I'm regularly appointed as a professional attorney, executor and trustee and deal with all aspects of probate, estate and trust administration. Having experienced estate planning for individuals with assets in different jurisdictions, I have extracted grants of representation for non-UK domiciled individuals. I'm a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and Agricultural Law Association. I have expertise in advising agricultural families and equestrian business owners through diversification and generational planning. I'm also a member of STEP International Client Global Special Interest Group and the STEP Philanthropic Special Interest Group. Outside of my legal work, I support, volunteer and have sat as a trustee with several local and national charities. In my spare time, I love to cook, meet friends and relax with a hot flow yoga. I have two children and spend a fair amount of my time at the pool side or at the side of a football pitch!