Operating from its offices in London, Bristol and Edinburgh, Burges Salmon LLP has a particularly strong reputation for handling high-profile pensions regulatory work. The team is led by Richard Knight, who splits his time between Bristol and London, and is a long time adviser to major pension scheme clients. Clive Pugh is an expert in pensions regulatory and funding matters, clearance issues and alternatives to buy outs, while Richard Pettit assists with complex issues concerning systemic errors in pension scheme documentation. Michael Hayles is a key contact for public sector work, and Alice Honeywill has a particular focus on large projects, encompassing mergers, corporate restructurings, buy-ins and buy-outs. High-profile client work is also conducted by Susannah Young, while Chris Brown and Crispin Freeman are also key contacts.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Burges Salmon have been our legal team for many years. It is a well balanced team and work is carried out at the appropriate level.'
‘Susannah Young is very knowledgeable about our Plan and manages her team well and helps them develop.'
‘A strong team with strength in depth, they offer pragmatic and commercially sensible advice, are a pleasure to work with and inspire confidence that I have them in my corner.’
‘The Burges Salmon team are always open and transparent and provide pragmatic advice which is in the interests of the Trustees and members.’
- 'Clive Pugh is a trusted adviser with many years of experience. His enthusiasm and charisma is infectious and easily makes even the most mundane topics interesting and informative.'
- 'Susannah Young has extensive knowledge and presents her advice in a smooth and concise manner, and ensures complete understanding of the topics by the client.’
‘Burges Salmon has a fantastic pensions team which is packed with talent at every level. Their technical knowledge is incredible.’
‘Richard Pettit is an excellent pensions lawyer who combines technical excellence with commercial understanding. He is top notch.'
Key clients
- Honda Group UK Pension Scheme
- AT&T Pension Scheme
- Leonardo Pension Schemes
- Trustees of the C F Fertilisers Pension Schemes
- Trustees of the DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited Pension Scheme
- Trustees of three of the four UK DB schemes sponsored by Informa Plc
- Trustees of the London Luton Airport Pension Scheme
- Plumbing Pensions Employers Limited
Work highlights
- Advised the Trustees of the DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited Pension Scheme in relation to an application for forfeiture of £5m worth of benefits of three members of the scheme following their conviction for a £8m fraud against the sponsoring employer.
- Advising the Trustees of the three UK pension schemes sponsored by CF Fertilisers Limited in relation to a restructuring of the sponsoring employer, CF Industries’ UK business.
- Advising the Trustee of two DB pension schemes with assets of £1bn and £1.5bn sponsored by Leonardo MW Limited in relation to a proposal to close the schemes to future benefit accrual and in relation to a GMP equalisation conversion project, involving an extensive pension increase exchange exercise.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Richard Knight