Pensions (non-contentious)

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Samantha Brown leads the non-contentious pensions team at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, and is praised for her ability to ‘cut through a problem and deliver advice’. The advisory pensions group assists regulatory bodies, trustees, insurers, and insolvency practitioners, with particular expertise in high-value pensions instructions, including bulk annuity and reinsurance transactions, public and private M&A, restructurings and pension asset management products. Brown is supported by Rachel Pinto, who has particular expertise in advising on pension de-risking transactions. Michael Aherne is particularly noted for mandates in the energy sector, and regularly works with global asset managers.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Sam Brown is really excellent. She is very bright, thoughtful and incisive. She is also commercial and user friendly.’
‘I have really valued Sam Brown's ability to cut through a problem and deliver the advice we need.’
‘Michael Aherne is an outstanding advisor. He is deeply knowledgeable, pragmatic and very articulate. He has strong inter-personal skills which mean that he presents very well to senior business people.’
‘Best in class team - combine exceptional technical knowledge with practical and pragmatic application.’
‘Sam Brown - Total delight to work with and extremely effective.'
‘The HSF team have been my go-to for any ad-hoc legal questions I have had when I need a swift response, as well as providing more detailed drafting support on larger projects and documents. Their response times are excellent and their knowledge is well researched and presented in a clear and concise manner.'
'The HSF team are able to quickly and adeptly disentangle challenging matters and provide clear and concise advice as to how to proceed. The HSF team are my go-to when I have a legal pensions question, whether large or small - the level of support is the same. The HSF team are able to present solutions to challenging problems in a manner that is understandable and engaging which helps to deliver innovative solutions to complex problems.’
‘Samantha Brown is my go-to for technical legal pensions questions. Not only is she exceptionally commercially sharp, she is an expert negotiator and fantastic in front of clients. I am proud to work with her on projects and she has taught me so much. Sam's knowledge shows both breadth and depth. I look forward to working with Sam and the HSF team when possible.’

Key clients

Marsh McLennan
Trustees of the Earls Court & Olympia Pension Scheme
Perenco UK Limited
Pension Insurance Corporation
Standard Life
Timet UK Limited
Trustees of the TTL Chiltern Group Pension Scheme
Time Warner UK Pension Plan
Warner Media International Limited, part of the Warner Bros. Discovery Group
WH Smith
Trustees of the 2013 Next Group Pension Plan
Baillie Gifford

Work highlights

Advising Marsh McLennan as sponsor of the MMC UK Pension Fund on the scheme's entry into a £2bn longevity hedge, backed by reinsurer Munich Re.
Advising the Trustees on the buy-out and winding-up of the the Earls Court & Olympia Pension Scheme.