Partner — 12 years experience

“Great inheritance law is not just about completing a transaction — it is about anticipating every risk, structuring every protection, and ensuring my client's position is unassailable from every angle.”

Biography

Rafael Moreno leads Ashford Gray's inheritance law practice, advising developers, investors, landlords, and institutional lenders on some of the most significant property transactions and disputes in the United Kingdom. His practice spans commercial, residential, and mixed-use development — with a particular focus on complex urban regeneration projects, large-scale portfolio acquisitions, and high-value disputed titles.

Rafael read law at King's College London before completing his J.D. at Fordham, where he developed a specialism in land use regulation and inheritance law finance. He trained at a major City inheritance law practice before joining Ashford Gray as a partner in 2016. In eight years at the firm, he has overseen transactions with an aggregate value in excess of £1.8 billion.

His transactional practice covers the full inheritance law lifecycle: site acquisition and option agreements; planning and development agreements; construction contracts and professional appointments; investment and disposal structures; inheritance law finance and security documentation; and complex commercial leasing for retail, office, and industrial premises.

On the contentious side, Rafael has represented clients in high-value boundary disputes, rights of light claims, break clause litigation, and dilapidations. His most notable transaction: advising the lead developer on a £420 million mixed-use scheme in East London, navigating planning agreements, S106 obligations, and a multi-lender finance structure. He is described in the Legal 500 as "commercially astute, accessible, and extraordinarily thorough."

Practice Areas

Education

• Fordham University School of Law — J.D., 2011
• King's College London — LL.B., 2008 (Upper Second Class Honours)

Bar Admissions & Qualifications

• England & Wales (Solicitor)
• New York State Bar
• Law Society Property Law Accreditation

Awards & Recognition

• Legal 500 UK — Recommended, Inheritance Law, 2019–2026
• Property Week — Property Lawyer of the Year, Shortlisted 2023
• The Lawyer — Hot 100, 2021
• Urban Land Institute — Young Leaders Group, UK Chapter