Sacker & Partners LLP

Adeline advises trustees, scheme managers and employers on a range of pensions issues, including the interpretation of scheme documentation, member communications and regulatory requirements. She also advises trustees about discretionary decisions and dealing with member complaints. Adeline has been involved in various corporate reorganisation projects, advising either trustees or employers about pension scheme mergers and transfers, scheme closures and the introduction of benefit changes.

Arshad Khan

Arshad is a member of our specialist Pensions & investment litigation team. He has over 20 years’ experience in contentious pensions work, advising clients throughout that time on pensions disputes and litigation matters. He specialises in member disputes both under clients’ internal disputes processes and before the Pensions Ombudsman and the Pension Protection Fund Ombudsman regarding challenges to PPF levies. Arshad has also been involved in contentious matters involving The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Assistance Scheme. Like all members of our team, Arshad excels in resolving knotty, complex and novel matters.

Claire van Rees

Partner advising trustee and employer clients on a wide range of pensions issues such as pension scheme mergers, liability management exercises, tax legislation and auto-enrolment issues. She also has experience of advising insurance companies on their pensions products, and has a particular interest in defined contribution benefits and master trusts.

Claire Carey

Claire is a partner and head of the firm’s Know-how team. Claire’s role is to ensure that our lawyers and clients are kept up to speed with pensions developments as they happen. Her pensions expertise therefore covers a broad spectrum including trustee responsibilities, pensions implications of corporate activity, general legislative and compliance requirements, tax, automatic enrolment and case law. Claire is in charge of our extensive internal training programme for lawyers and spearheads Sackers “knowledge” our added value programme of alerts, briefings and seminars. She regularly presents at client seminars, including our popular Quarterly Legal Update.

David Saunders

David has experience of a wide range of pension issues advising both employers and trustees. He is the lead partner for a number of the firm’s major defined benefit and defined contribution clients in the financial services, electricity, IT and logistics sectors. His broad practice encompasses interpretation and application of scheme documentation, mergers and demergers, scheme funding, liability management and generally helping clients to navigate their way through the increasing maze of pension regulation and legislation. His recent work has included advising clients making changes to their pension provision, including closure to future service accrual and bulk transfers of members’ benefits, scheme funding and the Regulator’s new regime. He also frequently advises on the pensions aspects of corporate acquisitions, disposals and reorganisations and heads up the team that provides transactional support services to other law firms.

Eleanor Daplyn

Eleanor is a partner who advises a wide range of trustee and employer clients on all aspects of pensions law. Eleanor has particular experience of the post-2006 tax regime, scheme mergers and other bulk transfers, advising in relation to benefit changes and amending schemes for compliance with the requirements of Government Actuary Department certificates. Eleanor takes an active part in pensions industry bodies and is the Chair of the PLSA’s South London local group.

Emily Forrest

Partner with broad pensions experience. Emily has been involved in a number of large defined benefit scheme restructurings, advising extensively in relation to future service changes and associated consultation exercises and contractual changes. She has extensive experience of assisting trustees and employers in responding to or formulating proposals for managing defined benefit liabilities. Emily also advises some of the firm’s largest defined contribution clients and has been on the leading edge providing advice in relation to the new “pension freedoms”.

Faith Dickson

Faith is a partner who advises both trustees and employers on a wide range of issues such as managing scheme change and funding, and debt issues. Faith has a particular interest in DC schemes and policy developments, including benefit design, governance and communications. She advises on the impact of discrimination law on pensions, on how to change pension terms and on the pensions implications of the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations.

Ferdy Lovett

Ferdy advises clients from a wide range of industries and acts for trustees of pension schemes and employers on technical and strategic matters. Recent experience includes advising on a phased buy-in for a trustee client, addressing section 75 debt issues for a large multi-employer scheme and advising employer clients on the closure of schemes to future accrual. Ferdy’s practice also focuses on defined contribution pensions. In particular, he has recently supported sponsor and trustee clients on various defined contribution master trust issues including: winding up of legacy master trust arrangements; bulk transfers out to master trusts (including under the new authorisation framework); and advising on master trust authorisation issues. Ferdy has particular expertise in auto-enrolment and has an interest in other areas where employment issues meet pensions law such as pensions consultation, pensions tax issues for high earners and the pensions aspects of employment contracts. Ferdy is also closely involved with the implementation of the IORP II pensions directive and the possible impact of Brexit on pension schemes through his role on the international sub-committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers.

Fuat Sami

Partner who advises trustees and employers of pension schemes (big and small) on everyday issues and project work. Fuat's advice routinely includes managing change (whether benefit changes or legislative changes), updating scheme documentation, member communications and advising on the legal aspects of funding issues. He also has particular expertise advising employers on projects. These range from liability management exercises (such as PIEs and ETVs) to benefit reforms and corporate transactions (M&A activity, TUPE, and public to private outsourcings). He leads the firm’s outsourcing group and is a member of the team that provides transactional support services to other law firms. Recent experience includes advising employers on mitigating the impact of the end of DB contracting out and the forthcoming state benefit changes.

Georgina Jones

Georgina is a partner in the firm’s Know-how team, which works to keep both clients and our lawyers up to date with developments in legislation, case law and the pensions industry as a whole. Georgina has broad knowledge of the pensions world including trustee responsibilities, pensions implications of corporate activity, general legislative and compliance requirements, tax, automatic enrolment and case law. She is also a member of the firm’s defined contribution team and is charged, for example, with creating new precedents to assist clients and fee-earners with the regulatory changes, drafting short explanatory guides and generally ensuring our fee-earners remain at the cutting edge of defined contribution developments.

Helen Baker

Helen is a partner with substantial experience in advising trustees, employers and providers on an extensive range of issues, including scheme funding, drafting and updating scheme documents, scheme mergers, section 75 debts and winding-up pension schemes and DC issues. Helen’s work often involves project managing teams at Sackers, and more widely. Helen leads the firm’s PPF and insolvency working group which is the focus for PPF related work within the firm. As a member of the firm’s Employment Unit, a team of lawyers dedicated to employment law issues as they relate to pensions, Helen also focuses on points relating to implementing scheme benefit changes and discrimination.

Helen Ball

Helen is a partner advising trustees, employers and providers on all aspects of pensions law. She has a particular interest in new legislation, regulatory and policy development. As head of Defined Contribution she has been involved in some of the most innovative work completed by the firm over the last few years. Helen acts for a number of master trusts and is familiar with their particular design and governance issues. She monitors developments in defined contribution matters closely and liaises directly with TPR and the DWP on areas of concern to our clients, such as the master trust supervision regime and how it will work in practice.

Ian Cormican

Ian is a partner with a wide range of experience advising trustees and employers on pensions related matters, with an emphasis on investment issues. Ian’s recent experience includes advising on future service benefit changes, apportionments, funding negotiations, liability management including buy-ins and buy-outs, and developments in defined contributions.

Jacqui Reid

Partner and specialist pensions lawyer with over 15 years’ experience of advising trustees and companies on all aspects of UK pensions law, regulation and industry best practice. She is a DC specialist but also has a thriving DB practice – her clients include trustees/providers of DB and DC schemes (large and small) and international/FTSE 100 and 250 companies who participate in UK and offshore trust and contract-based arrangements. Jacqui works with a range of occupational and personal pension providers on legal and non-legal DC matters and has a practical appreciation of the key challenges we need to overcome to secure good outcomes for members. She advises independent governance committees (IGC) and chairs provider forums for key industry players which makes her uniquely placed to provide independent ideas and thoughts on issues which span trust and contract pension provision.

James Bingham

James is a partner in our specialist pensions litigation team. His practice covers the full spectrum of pensions related litigation. He has been involved in a wide variety of cases and has extensive experience of dealing with investigations by the Pensions Regulator in both a defined benefit and a defined contribution context. James has also worked on a number of significant High Court case, including: Wedgwood v Salt – acting for the representative beneficiary in Part 8 proceedings concerning the closure of the Scheme to future accrual prior to the Scheme entering the PPF; and Saga Group Ltd v Paul – acting for the employer and the trustee jointly in rectification and professional negligence proceedings relating to certain errors in the Scheme documentation. James has been involved in advising both trustee and adviser clients on professional negligence actions, focusing on the needs of the client and works to ensure that the best possible result is achieved, often through mediation or other forms of ADR. James also frequently works with the firm’s ongoing clients to provide advice and guidance in relation to complaints brought by members under the scheme’s internal dispute resolution procedure and ultimately to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Janet Brown

Janet advises both trustees and employers, large and small, of both defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements and governance committees of contract based schemes Her work covers mergers and demergers, corporate transactions and helping both schemes and employers through the increasing complexity of pensions legislation. Janet is the day-to-day partner on a number of large multi-employer schemes across the oil, gas, chemical and university sectors.

Joanna Smith

Joanna is an experienced pensions lawyer, advising employer and trustee clients in a variety of sectors on all aspects of pensions law. She supports a number of Sackers’ trustee clients on the full range of “business as usual” issues, such as complex questions on pensions tax, member benefit questions, compliance with new legislation and drafting scheme documentation. Her recent project work has included advice on managing employer debts, liability management exercises and benefit design changes. She has undertaken a key role on significant projects, such as advising in relation to the restructuring of the Halcrow Pension Scheme and supporting another large pension scheme in its negotiations to resolve a dispute with the scheme’s employer. Joanna has a particular interest in pension scheme governance and sits on the firm’s Governance group. She is also a member of the firm’s GMP equalisation working group. Joanna also sits on the Society of Pension Professionals’ Legislation Committee.

Lucy Dunbar

Lucy advises trustees and employers on a wide range of defined benefit and defined contribution pensions issues, with particular experience in benefit change exercises. She has advised on exercises involving closure to future accrual, implementing pensionable pay caps and introducing new benefit structures, including advising employers on contractual changes and consultation exercises. More recently Lucy has also worked with a number of employer clients to implement their auto-enrolment proposals, including enrolment into both occupational and personal pension arrangements. Lucy has helped employers to categorise their workforce, draft employee communications, amend Scheme documentation and negotiate services agreements with outsourced providers. Lucy has been involved in a number of scheme mergers and corporate restructurings and enjoys working with trustees to resolve member disputes and discretionary benefit cases. Lucy takes a keen interest in pension tax issues and advises members of the public on behalf of TPAS.

Michaela Berry

Michaela has many years’ experience of a wide range of pensions issues. This has included scheme set-up and wind-up, mergers and advice to clients on the pension aspects of corporate acquisitions and disposals. She provides guidance to trustees and employers on compliance with legislation. Michalea heads the firm’s Public Sector team, where she advises both local authorities and private employers in relation to public sector outsourcing, including establishing passport schemes and providing advice on admission to the LGPS. Michaela also has experience in advising in relation to the new Fair Deal. Michaela is a member of our international pensions team and has experience advising a multinational employer considering setting up a new trust based international pension scheme. Michaela represents the firm at Ius Laboris events and conferences. Michaela’s recent work has involved advising clients facing significant change in their pension fund arrangements. This advice includes merging schemes, introducing CARE arrangements, raising member contributions and altering future service accrual and analysing the employer’s contribution covenant.

Paul Phillips

Partner and head of the firm’s finance and investment group. He has very wide experience of advising schemes about the legal aspects of their investment arrangements. For a number of clients he has dealt with major restructurings of investments resulting from the adoption of a more “liability driven” approach – including the negotiation of ISDA Master Agreements with a panel of counterparties, swaps overlay agreements, new investment management and custody agreements and due diligence on a wide range of investments including hedge funds, GTAA, private equity, infrastructure and credit funds. This has also involved advising trustees during their discussions about new strategies, including the development of an appropriate governance structure for the new investment model.

Peter Murphy

Peter is head of Pensions & Investment Litigation and has over 20 years’ litigation experience, 17 of those solely dealing with pensions-related disputes. Since their inception in 2005, Peter has been at the cutting edge of the development of the Pensions Regulator’s enforcement powers (often in an insolvency or ‘distressed’ environment). Peter’s practice also includes high value High Court litigation such as: claims seeking rectification and other declaratory relief; investment-related claims involving pension schemes; and professional negligence claims (acting for both claimants and defendants). Recent High Court cases in which Peter has acted include: ITV, Europe Arab Bank, and Citifinancial Europe – all of which concerned rectification of pension scheme documentation, obtained by summary judgment and/or by court-approved compromise; Halcrow – known as Pollock v Reed, a test case concerning trustees’ powers and propriety in a benefit restructuring situation; and United Utilities – enforcement of a disputed section 75 debt. Peter also has significant experience of mediation, largely in the professional negligence context.

Philippa Connaughton

Philippa acts for both corporate clients and trustee boards on the whole ambit of pensions-related matters. She has particular expertise in relation to topical de-risking projects, such as pension increase exchange offers and enhanced transfer value exercises where she has recently advised both the corporate sponsor and trustee boards. Philippa’s practice is broad, spanning negotiations with sponsors on trustee project work, drafting scheme documentation, advising on scheme mergers and demergers, negotiating public to private sector outsourcing contracts and providing advice on regulatory matters and investigations involving the Pensions Regulator. As well as providing corporate strategy advice to corporate clients, Philippa frequently advises on the UK pensions aspects of large international corporate acquisitions, disposals and group reorganisations and plays a pivotal role in the Sackers team that provides transactional support services to other law firms.

Ralph McClelland

Partner and finance and investment specialist with 9 years’ experience in the pensions arena. Ralph is the lead fee earner for a range of clients on both the general pensions and finance and investment side. He is a senior member of the firm’s Finance & Investment Group and its Public Sector Unit. Ralph is frequently involved in project work. He also has a strong Local Government Pension Scheme practice and currently advises a number of administering authorities on their investment matters.

Stuart O"Brien

Partner with experience of a broad range of pension related matters, advising employers and trustees alike and with an emphasis on investment issues. This includes buy-ins and buy-outs, de-risking and advising on the legal aspects of scheme funding issues, including the use of contingent assets. Stuart’s advice includes making changes to pension benefits (including the closure of schemes to future accrual), liability management exercises including pension increase exchange and pre-retirement transfer exercises, as well as scheme mergers, demergers, and solvent and insolvent wind-ups. He has significant expertise advising on the pensions aspects of corporate mergers, acquisitions and restructuring, dealing with Pensions Regulator clearance, section 75 debts, and apportionment and withdrawal arrangements. Stuart is a leading industry figure for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment issues and an authority and regular speaker and commentator on the integration of climate change into trustee investment decision making as well as TCFD reporting, stewardship and engagement issues. Stuart chairs the Pensions Climate Risk Industry Group and sits on a number of high profile committees including recent PLSA working groups providing trustee guidance on ESG and implementation statements. He is a member of the Investment and Defined Contribution Sub-Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers and a member of the legal panel to the Impact Investment Institute.

Tom Jackman

Tom advises both employers and trustees, with a particular focus on transactions and other projects affecting pension schemes. He has extensive experience of advising on the pensions-related aspects of corporate transactions and has a special interest in the management of section 75 liabilities. This extends to insolvency and restructuring work, where recent high-profile projects include advising the trustees of various schemes within a major facility management company, and advising in relation to a solvent restructuring of an engineering company’s pension liabilities. He also advises on a wide range of finance and investment matters, including buy-ins, buy-outs, longevity transactions, escrow accounts, asset-backed contribution structures, guarantees and other security arrangements.

Vicky Carr

Vicky is a partner and banking and finance specialist with over 15 years’ experience. Vicky advises pension trustees and employers on a wide spectrum of funding and security solutions, including asset-backed funding (ABF)/asset-backed contribution (ABC) structures with a range of underlying assets, in-specie contributions, bespoke arrangements in the context of corporate takeovers and contingent assets – guarantees, escrow arrangements, surety bonds, letters of credit and charges over real estate. Vicky also oversees the certification to the PPF of contingent assets on behalf of Sackers’ clients and has advised trustee clients on the recently introduced certification of ABC structures.

Stuart O"Brien

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