Eversheds Sutherland has bolstered its tax disputes bench in London with the hire of a partner from RPC. 

Robert Waterson has joined the 3,000-lawyer firm as head of UK tax disputes. He has spent the past five years as a partner at RPC, having practised at London tax disputes firm Joseph Hage Aaronson and HMRC earlier in his career.  

Ben Jones, partner and co-head of global tax at Eversheds, said Waterson’s hire was part of the firm's drive to increase its focus on tax disputes across its international tax group. 

“Robert is a leading tax disputes professional who will leverage our existing global footprint and cross-border presence to develop the capability we can offer to our client base in their dealing with tax authorities globally,” he added. 

Waterson handles all aspects of direct and indirect tax disputes and public law challenges, with a focus on cross-border enquiries and litigation. Eversheds highlighted his expertise in relation to group association and group litigation matters, and noted that he has practised at all levels of the UK courts and tribunals as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Waterson said of his move: “This is a great opportunity to develop [Eversheds’] global client offering. In addition to providing assistance in domestic disputes and enquiries, the level of cooperation between tax authorities around the world is such that the practice of tax disputes increasingly requires dynamic global solutions.

“Eversheds’ network across the US, Asia and Europe is the ideal platform from which to handle the challenges faced by multinationals and I’m looking forward to working with Ben and the wider teams to meet that client demand.”

Adam Craggs, RPC’s head of tax disputes, regulatory and financial crime, commented: “We are grateful for Robert’s contribution to RPC and the tax disputes practice during his 10 years with the firm. We wish him every success in his new role.”

Following Waterson’s arrival Eversheds’ UK tax disputes team includes three partners and four associates. His hire follows the firm’s former head of indirect taxes and tax dispute resolution, Giles Salmond, moving over to specialist disputes firm Stewarts late last year. 

Eversheds also boosted its wider disputes practice last month with the hire of the co-head of Quinn Emanuel’s UK competition team, Lambros Kilaniotis, in London to lead its competition litigation team. 

At the same time, Joaquin Terceño joined in Tokyo from Freshfields where he was head of disputes and international arbitration in Japan and helped to lead the firm’s Asia international arbitration team.

Last week, McDermott boosted its London tax practice with the hire of partner Candice Nichol from KPMG. She advises private equity funds and investors on the structuring of all types of international transactions across all asset classes.