Robert Dobbyn

Robert Dobbyn

Partner

T +44 (0) 1534 700 773
M +44 (0) 7797 733 596

Practice Areas

Robert is one of the leading non-contentious trusts practitioners in Jersey, and heads Walkers' Jersey Private Capital & Trusts Group.

He focuses on private client structuring and advice, and is an expert in Jersey foundation structures.

Robert is a Jersey Advocate who has spent more than a decade specialising in offshore private client work.

He is recognised for the quality of his client service and advice by both Chambers UK and Legal 500, and he regularly contributes to a number of prestigious international publications dealing with offshore trusts, foundations and succession matters.

Robert provides advice and drafting in relation to Jersey trusts and foundations, mainly on non-contentious private wealth matters but he also assists his colleagues on corporate and contentious matters.

His clients typically comprise Jersey-based trustees but also include law firms, accountancy practices, settlors and beneficiaries from around the world, particularly London, Switzerland and the Middle East.

Prior Employment Experience

Before joining Walkers, Robert spent five years with another leading international law firm in Jersey where he also focused on Jersey trusts and foundations.

Before that, Robert trained and qualified as a solicitor with Withers LLP in London, where he worked for four years.

Robert is a STEP member who won a STEP Excellence Award in 2011 for achieving the highest mark of any UK student in the "Administration of Trusts" paper. He sits on the Jersey Finance Trusts Law and Foundations Law working groups.

Admitted in & Qualifications

Admitted in:
Jersey
England and Wales (not practising)

Qualifications:

MA (Cantab) in History from Cambridge University

TEP qualification from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

Other Distinctions

2020 Legal 500 - Private Client, Trusts and Tax - Next Generation Partner

‘Robert Dobbyn is a truly wonderful lawyer and a gem of a human being. He is always calm and considered and has a lovely manner. He is very accessible, responsive and pragmatic and he will fight your corner putting the client first when considering his advice.’

Chambers UK 2021 - "He is quick, efficient, and his technical knowledge is off the charts."

2020 Who's Who Legal - Private Client

Chambers HNW Guide 2020 - "He is very knowledgeable, very commercial and has a very broad range of experience." The expert continues: "He is good in understanding the intricacies of structuring laws and rules in Jersey, as well as other markets."

2020 Chambers and Partners UK Guide - Notable Practitioner: 

"He is very good technically and covers all the details meticulously."

Chambers HNW Guide 2019 – Ranked Lawyer "Provides advice on a broad spectrum of non-contentious trust and foundation matters. "He is very good and very thorough and really switched-on. He is methodical in the way he deals with things and is a good person to deal with for our HNW clients," reports an international lawyer."

2019 Chambers and Partners Global Guide - Notable Practitioner (Trusts) - Robert Dobbyn is "a fount of knowledge when it comes to foundation law," comments a source. One client says: "He is great to work with and his technical knowledge is very good indeed."

2018 Legal 500 - (Private Client, Trusts and Tax) Next Generation Lawyer - Jersey

"Robert Dobbyn is described as ‘a definite rising star in Jersey’; ‘his advice is always appropriate and exactly what clients are looking for’."

2018 Legal 500 - (Banking and Finance) Recommended Lawyer - Jersey 

"Robert Dobbyn praised for his ‘excellent attention to detail and great skill in transactions' "

Chambers HNW Guide 2018 – Ranked Lawyer
“’A good, solid trust lawyer’, 'his willingness to assist is tantamount to brilliant.' 'He is great to work with and his technical knowledge is very good indeed.’ 'I like his documentation and his approach, and his understanding of the problem is very good'."

2017 Who's Who Legal: Private Client - Recommended Lawyer

2017 Legal 500 - (Private Client, Trusts and Tax) – Next Generation Lawyer - Jersey
"Robert Dobbyn is ‘a fantastic lawyer because he genuinely loves the area in which he practices – he is familiar with all the recent developments and takes great pride in his documents’."

Private Client Practitioner Top 35 Under 35 three years running

STEP Excellence Award, Administration of Trusts paper 2011 (for highest mark in the UK)

Boards & Associations

Member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Society of Jersey.

Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.

News, Matters and Publications

ARTICLES
ADVISORY
NEWS
EVENTS
MEMO

 ‘Robert Dobbyn is a truly wonderful lawyer and a gem of a human being. He is always calm and considered and has a lovely manner. He is very accessible, responsive and pragmatic and he will fight your corner putting the client first when considering his advice.’

Legal 500

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