Nicola Walker (nee Birchby) - Partner - Private Client Solicitors

Nicola Walker (nee Birchby) –
Partner

Nicola is a Partner in the team and has over 15 years’ experience at international
and national law firms and is recognised in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for her expertise.

At Private Client Solicitors we are devoted to protecting your private wealth.

Nicola deals with all aspects of Private Client work relating to death and mental capacity, whether that be wills, probate and estate administration, lasting powers of attorney, court of protection matters, or the creation of trusts. She has a following of domestic and international clients and is highly regarded in the Manchester market. She is well connected to leading Counsel and other professionals.

She predominantly acts for high net worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals whether dealing with Probate and estate administration (including cross-border estates) or the preparation of wills, trusts and lifetime planning however she believes that everyone, regardless of their wealth, deserves good private client advice.

She provides general succession, inheritance tax and asset protection planning to multiple generations of families as well as creating and administering onshore trusts and providing advice to trustees.

She also prepares and registers Lasting Powers of Attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian and is happy to act as a certificate provider. She provides advice in respect of the creation and ongoing use of such documents in a personal and business context.

She manages a range of court of protection matters for both lay and professional deputies and is experienced in obtaining statutory wills.

She acts as a professional deputy, executor, trustee, and attorney for many clients and has been independently appointed by the Court in numerous contentious matters (COP and Estates). She is also a director and signatory of PCS Trust Corporation.

Nicola is a qualified “TEP” (Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner) and in May 2022 was elected as Chair of the STEP Manchester Branch having sat on the committee for many years. She served two years as Chair, retiring from the committee in May 2024. In previous years she has also sat on the Manchester Law Society Private Client Committee.

She is ranked in Chambers & Partners UK High Net Worth Guide.
She is a recommended individual in the Legal 500.
She was shortlisted for the Made in Manchester 2021 Lawyer of the Year award.
She has been featured in the Times newspaper for her expertise as well as on specialist online forums such as todayswillsandprobate.co.uk.

Despite her legal credentials, she has not lost her Boltonian roots and prides herself on cutting through legal jargon and providing clients with personable and honest advice. She regularly goes the extra mile to ensure client satisfaction.

Outside of work Nicola spends most of her time caring for her young family including her daughter who has complex medical needs. Nicola understands life is not perfect and draws upon her own experiences to assist clients empathetically, without judgment.

Chambers & Partners

“Nicola Walker is an impressive individual. She is by far the best private client lawyer I have worked with. She is not only highly technical but is personable, empathetic and responsive” 

“Nicola Walker has the ability to make every client feel like they are her only client”

Legal 500

“Nicola Walker is exceptional – both with her technical ability and her client facing skills”

“I find Nicola Walker extremely knowledgeable and unique in what she can offer – she goes the extra mile not only for me but also for my clients”

  • Memberships held

  • MANCHESTER LAW SOCIETY PRIVATE CLIENT COMMITTEE

‘Associate to Watch’ in 2019, 2020 & 2021

Nicola’s Experience includes:

  • Nicola has acted for the trustees of a multi-million-pound discretionary trust including overseeing the investment of funds, providing inheritance tax advice, calculation of exit charges and submission of inheritance tax accounts and all related advice and guidance to the trustees as well as dealing with requests from the beneficiaries.
  • Nicola has acted and been appointed as Deputy in various multi-million-pound court of protection cases, some of which have involved clients with complex needs, inheritance tax efficient discretionary statutory wills, permission to gift, equalisation of estates and to sell and purchase property and undertake related adaptations.
  • Nicola has acted for the executors in a multi-million-pound estate which included both business property relieved assets and agricultural property relief and the related implications of the sale of a farm, liquidation of the company and providing tax planning advice to the wider family including the preparation of a deed of variation and creation of a discretionary trust to mitigate the inheritance tax position for future generations.
  • Nicola has provided inheritance tax and succession planning advice to various families’ worth in excess of £300m including the preparation of tax efficient wills and creation of various trusts for them as well as the preparation of lasting powers of attorney with specific investment wording appropriate for high-net-worth individuals.
  • Nicola acts as a professional deputy, trustee, attorney, and executor to her clients when required and has been appointed by the court on various matters as an independent administrator to resolve disputed estates. She is well experienced in dealing with estates worth between £500,000 – £75,000,000.