Geoffrey Arnold Shindler (born 21 October 1942) is an English

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

specialising in the field of

wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

trusts A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...

and estates law. He is a founding member and president of

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) was founded by George Tasker in 1991 and is the international professional body for advisers who specialise in inheritance and succession planning. Its members are mainly solicitors, barrister ...

(STEP).

Early life

Shindler was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, to Israel Shindler and Florence Shindller (née Weidberg). Shindler attended and graduated from

Bury Grammar School (The key that opens sacred doors) , established = , type = Independent day schoolGrammar school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

. He graduated with first class honours from

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

as a W. M. Tapp scholar with

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degrees. Shindler qualified as a solicitor in 1969.

Career

Shindler began his career as a clerk from 1966 to 1968 at the law firm, March Pearson & Skelton, working his way up from assistant solicitor from 1968 to 1971, to partner from 1971 to 1986. From 1986 to 2005, Shindler was a partner at the Manchester-based law firm, Halliwell Landau Manchester, where he was Head of Trusts and Estates. From 2005 to 2006, he was a senior member at

Halliwells Halliwells LLP was an English law firm practising from offices in Manchester, London, Liverpool and Sheffield, with 116 partners and around 850 employees. The LLP was established in 2004 to take over the practice of Halliwell Landau. Ke ...

. In April 2006, Shindler left Halliwells after 20 years with the firm to establish a new firm in partnership with Roger Lane-Smith, former Senior Partner of

DLA Piper DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with offices in over 40 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In 2021, it had a total revenue of US$3.47 billion, an average profit per equity partner of ...

. The new firm, Lane-Smith & Shindler LLP, opened on 2 May 2006. Shindler was at Lane-Smith & Shindler LLP until 2011 when the firm became a part of

DWF LLP DWF is a global legal business, headquartered in Manchester, England, with 31 offices across the world. In March 2019, DWF was listed on the London Stock Exchange. With a £366m valuation and offer size of £95m, DWF became the UK's largest list ...

. From 2011 to 2014, Shindler was a consultant at DWF. Since 2014, he currently works as a partner at Nova Private Client LLP. Shindler is a member of the editorial board of the ''Wills & Trusts Law Reports'' and Tottel's ''Trust Law International'' and Consulting Editor of the ''Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal.'' He also edited ''Trust Drafting and Precedents.'' Shindler contributed to the restructuring and updating of ''Ray & McLaughlin's Practical Inheritance Tax Planning.'' One of the founding members of the

(STEP), Shindler was appointed president of STEP worldwide in November 2006. He was instrumental in developing their education program. He is a former chairman of the organisation.

Personal life

In 1966, Shindler married Gaye Shindler (née Kenton). The couple had three children: British television producer

Nicola Shindler Nicola Shindler (born 8 October 1968) is a British television producer and executive, and founder of the independent television drama production company Quay Street Productions, having founded and run Red Production Company from 1998 to 2020. S ...

, Freya Boroda, and Caroline Conway. His brother is

Colin Shindler Colin Shindler (born 1949) is an English author, social historian and Affiliated Lecturer in History at Cambridge University. Life and career Born in Manchester, Colin Shindler graduated with a degree in History from Gonville and Caius College, Ca ...

, who wrote ''Manchester United Ruined My Life.''

Selected leadership and honors

* 1995-1997:

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

, Director * 2003–present:

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal ...

, Manchester, Director; Chairman, Development Committee (2000-2012) * 2005–present:

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

, Board Member; Chairman (2007–2012) * 2006–present:

(STEP), STEP Worldwide, President; Chairman (1994-1998); Vice President (1998–2006); STEP Education Committee, Chairman (1999-2006) * 2006–present:

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

, Board Member (2012–present); Vice Chairman (2009-2012); Chairman Business Committee (2008-2012) * 2007:

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for services to the administration of justice * 2012–present: Manchester Camerata Charity, Chairman * 2017: STEP Private Client Award for Lifetime Achievement * International Academy of Estate & Trust Law, Member * International Compliance Association, Advisory Committee * Manchester Portico Library Charitable Trust, Trustee * ''Tottel's Trust Law International,'' Editorial Board * Trust Law Committee, Member * ''Trusts and Estates Law & Tax Journal,'' Editor * ''Wills & Trusts Law Reports,'' Editorial Board

Selected works and publications

;Books * * * * ;Journals * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shindler, Geoffrey English solicitors Living people People educated at Bury Grammar School 1942 births