Many others areas are in demand - from asset protection to succession to domicile - but tax planning is the area which most often appears at the top of the list when lawyers are asked what they advise on. It is mentioned by 58 per cent of respondents in the Wealth Report 2013. 

Harder to predict

'In the UK and worldwide, there have been huge changes to tax legislation over recent years' says Katie Hawksley of Boodle Hatfield in the report. Explaining some of the growing complexity of tax from a UK perspective, the report says: 'The agenda has become a populist issue, making it an object of common concern, not just one that is debated quietly by politicians and civil servants. This makes the course of tax law harder to predict.' The report is sponsored by Global Legal Post in association with Boodle Hatfield.