The Bristol-based pensions team at Burges Salmon LLP regularly handles scheme mergers, complex regulatory work, buy-ins and buy-outs, as well as an increasing amount of public sector work; testament to this, the firm was recently re-appointed to the National Local Government Pension Scheme. Practice chair Richard Knight regularly handles high-profile matters such as providing urgent legal advice concerning the LDI crisis to the the trustees of high-profile pension schemes.  Clive Pugh‘s expertise extends to scheme rescue and managed PPF entry, while the 'excellent, thoughtful and collaborative' Michael Hayles is a key contact at the firm for public sector work. Richard Pettit, Alice Honeywill, Susannah Young and Chris Brown further extend the firm’s pensions expertise.

Osborne Clarke LLP‘s wide-ranging pension practice handles high-profile corporate failures, risk settlement and liability management for defined pension schemes, as well as a good deal of work for public sector clients, with the firm advising a number of individual LGPS funds. The team is chaired by Jonathan Hazlett, a Pension Protection Fund specialist, while his colleague Paul Matthews has particular expertise in utilities sector pensions work. Brent Wright is especially noted for his transactional capabilities. Other key names within the practice include Claire Rankin, who specialises in employment-related pensions matters, and Tobias Hole, who is well-versed in DB liability management and DB risk settlement mandates. All named lawyers are based in Bristol.

Regulatory instructions, complex public sector work and SIPP/SSAS work are the key sweet spots for TLT‘s pensions practice.  Risk reduction specialist Sasha Butterworth leads the team from the firm’s Bristol office. Her Bristol colleague Chris Crighton has specialist expertise in advising local authorities on outsourcing projects, while Lizzie Stone is particularly recommended for her advice on complex member issues, acting for both employers and trustees. All named lawyers are based in Bristol.

Led by Danny Tsang from the firm’s London office, Simmons & Simmons handles a broad range of pensions work including advising on future accrual, enhanced transfer offers, and sensitive investigations and compliance work. The key contact in the South West is James Dean, whose broad pensions practice encompasses corporate restructurings, M&A and asset-backed funding arrangements. Dean is often supported on matters by Kate Fellows-Tully.