Spear's Review

Max Baird-Smith heads up Payne Hicks Beach’s corporate practice.

Corporates, UHNW individuals, entrepreneurs and family offices make up the majority of his clientele, and he is often instructed to assist family-owned businesses with their non-contentious legal needs. He is particularly adept at handling cases with an international element, having qualified and practised as a French lawyer earlier in his career.

‘I really enjoy the family office work,’ he tells Spear’s. In contrast with large corporate clients, ‘there’s always a much more personal dimension to what they are trying to achieve’.

Drawing on Payne Hicks Beach’s wider private client expertise, Baird-Smith builds an understanding of a family’s intentions alongside ‘what’s going on in the family’ to tailor commercial proceedings to their specific objectives. Recent cases include representing Eon Productions and the Broccoli family in relation to their joint venture with Amazon MGM Studios concerning the James Bond franchise.