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Pensions

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Wilberforce Chambers
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Outer Temple Chambers
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Radcliffe Chambers

Leading Silks

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Brian Green QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Intellectually brilliant. Fabulous bedside manner. Highly pragmatic. He is the best pensions barrister by a country mile. Worth every penny.’
Paul Newman QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Brilliant at finding clever solutions to problems, will always give a clear view and is utterly reliable and user-friendly.’
Keith Rowley QC - Radcliffe Chambers ‘Strong technical pensions knowledge, excellent client manner, assiduous and responsive. Written output extremely clear.’
Andrew Short QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Articulate, considered and very good at cutting through the detail to the crux of the matter. Andrew is very personable and a pleasure to work with.’
Andrew Spink QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Probably the best advocate at the pensions bar. Great team leader. He gets the best out of the juniors on the case.’
Nicolas Stallworthy QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Without doubt, one of the leading QCs in this field. Good in conference and in Court. To the point and commercial in his advice.’
Michael Tennet QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Huge brain; very passionate and creative; extremely hard working; great lawyer; you really feel he is on your side.’
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Keith Bryant QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘He has a friendly, approachable manner which makes him very easy to work with. He is known to provide clear, pragmatic advice understanding the commercial approach taken by clients.’
Michael Furness QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘An excellent barrister particularly for difficult technical questions and questions where pensions law is interfacing with another type of law.’
Jonathan Hilliard QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Incredibly enthusiastic about his work. He gets completely immersed in his case and that shows in his command of the papers and the subject matter in question. Very responsive despite being incredibly busy.’
Fenner Moeran QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Very efficient yet thorough; always has the ear of the Court, knowing precisely when to push a point and judging the mood perfectly.’
3
Raquel Agnello QC - Erskine Chambers ‘Very committed, imaginative, unstuffy.’
Jonathan Davey QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘A top-class silk. His advocacy is attractive, thoughtful and measured.’
Robert Ham QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Absolutely wonderful - user-friendly, always keen to provide a helpful opinion wherever possible, creative, and willing to take a position and stick to it.’
Richard Hitchcock QC - Outer Temple Chambers ‘A great strategic thinker and finds commercial paths through complex issues.’
Ben Hubble QC - 4 New Square ‘Very approachable and available to discuss points as and when they arise - a great team player and a pleasure to work with. Technically strong and with a strong appreciation of how points will be received by the court.’
Henry Legge QC - 5 Stone Buildings ‘An excellent pensions silk.’
Dinah Rose QC - Blackstone Chambers Barristers ‘Wonderfully engaging, smart barrister, excellent persuasive advocate.’
Alan Steinfeld QC - XXIV Old Buildings ‘His advocacy is tremendous and he really does have the ear of the court.’

2020 Silks

Andrew Mold QC - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Andrew is superb - he combines a formidable intellect with commercial acumen, and is genuinely a pleasure to work with. Andrew was a godsend on our pensions case - he had a talent for distilling extremely complicated pensions information and analysis into the most relevant concepts and was able to explain these in a clear and concise way.’

Leading Juniors

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David Grant - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Technically very strong, but also able to present complex advice in a way which can be understood by the lay client.’
Edward Sawyer - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Probably the best junior at the Pensions Bar. Incredibly hard working. Encyclopedic knowledge of this highly technical and complex area of law.’
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Sebastian Allen - Wilberforce Chambers ‘A charming and personable barrister, who I would feel confident adding to any counsel team. . He has a wealth of experience of cases involving the Pensions Regulator.’
Emily Campbell - Wilberforce Chambers ‘We very much value her ability to explain complex issues clearly, in a way that clients can understand.’
Fraser Campbell - Blackstone Chambers Barristers ‘Very able. An impressive ability to grasp complex issues quickly and to get to the point. Excellent with clients and, unlike many barristers, able to explain issues in a way that is readily understandable.’
Naomi Ling - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Very insightful. Quick to grasp the key issues and navigate the way to a practical outcome.’
Elizabeth Ovey - Radcliffe Chambers ‘Very sharp on the law and has a nice calm manner which instils confidence even in tricky situations.’
3
James Clifford - Maitland Chambers ‘An impressive and formidable knowledge of pensions law.’
Henry Day - Radcliffe Chambers ‘Brings clear analysis to complex problems and consistently very responsive. Very approachable and friendly, with a good sense of humour, which was of great assistance during a complex and sometimes tense matter.’
Nicholas Hill - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Enormously thorough and quick. Right on top of the subject, and you can rely on him to know what the case is about and then spot a new angle. Second to none.’
Farhaz Khan - 3 Verulam Buildings ‘Highly flexible and punching well above his weight.’
Saul Margo - Outer Temple Chambers ‘A fantastic barrister with a first rate mind. Great at getting to the heart of problems and providing solutions for his clients. A trusted adviser and a clear communicator.’
Wendy Mathers - Radcliffe Chambers ‘Excellent team player. Incredibly hard working and highly analytical. Grasps concepts very quickly: a QC in the making.’
James McCreath - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Extremely clever; great with clients including very senior ones- handles them very adeptly; practical; very passionate; great sense of humour.’
Thomas Robinson - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Very enjoyable, pleasant to work with and impressive in meetings with clients.’
Lydia Seymour - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Very insightful. Quick to grasp the key issues and navigate the way to a practical outcome. Excellent attention to detail. Hard-working and knowledgeable. Easy to work with.’
Michael Uberoi - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Excellent senior junior who invests time to understand and address client concerns.’
James Walmsley - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Very knowledgeable of pensions and more general civil procedure, demonstrating really considered advice that gives you confidence that he has the right answer.’
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Katherine Apps - 39 Essex Chambers ‘A real eye for detail. Calm under pressure. Often able to identify a practical solution to technical problems.’
Nigel Burroughs - 4 New Square ‘Very responsive to client demands. A strong mix of pensions and professional negligence expertise. A pleasure to work with.’
Jonathan Chew - Wilberforce Chambers ‘A strong team player and is the perfect junior for a technical pensions case.’
Benjamin Faulkner - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Extremely bright and hardworking junior with great presence beyond his call.’
Bobby Friedman - Wilberforce Chambers ‘He has an excellent knowledge of pensions law and provides helpful advice on a number of tricky issues. His written advice and submissions are very clear and articulate our legal arguments well.’
Emily McKechnie - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Extremely diligent - she has a brilliant ability to break down complex problems into easily digestible forms. She is also an excellent advocate. I have never identified a weakness.’
Simon Oakes - Quadrant Chambers ‘An effective and valuable junior counsel, who is a very competent young barrister with the ability to think quickly.’
Saaman Pourghadiri - 4 New Square ‘Very clever (but wears it lightly) but also practical and sensible - a pleasure to work with. Written advocacy is direct and focused and has a good courtroom manner. Inspires the confidence of clients.’
Jennifer Seaman - Outer Temple Chambers ‘Extremely bright, takes care to absorb the detail of the case and is proactive and very reliable. Also diligent, hardworking and able to work well with counsel from other sets.’
Thomas Seymour - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Very thorough. Really runs points to ground. Fantastic tolerance level for technical detail. A joy to work with.’

Rising Stars

Michael Ashdown - Wilberforce Chambers ‘Exceptionally bright far beyond year of call.’
Chloë Bell - Outer Temple Chambers ‘A very clever and hard-working junior.’

Pensions in London Bar

Wilberforce Chambers

Consistently rated the 'pre-eminent set' for pensions and trust litigation, the barristers at Wilberforce Chambers are said to be: 'absolutely steeped in these technical areas'. Specifically, in Safeway v Newton, Brian Green QC and Sebastian Allen secured a reference to the EU's Court of Justice on the implications of domestic/EU law for trustee powers (this is the largest-ever equalisation case worth over £100m). In addition, Michael Tennet QC and Paul Newman QC tackled the complexities of modified ill-health benefits (regarding past pensionable service) in Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund Trustees Ltd v Stena Line Ltd and others. Moreover, the 'top tier' Michael Tennet QC recently addressed the appropriate exercise of discretionary powers in one of the sector's principal cases: British Airways plc v Airways Pension Scheme Trustees Ltd.

Outer Temple Chambers

Outer Temple Chambers is consistently rated as 'one of the top' pensions teams. In particular, Nicolas Stallworthy QC, 'without doubt, one of the leading QCs in this field', recently represented the regulator in its successful defence against ITV and four subsidiaries. In addition, Andrew Spink QC, 'probably the best advocate at the pensions bar',  acted for a group of Atos companies' RPI disputes, while Andrew Short QC and Keith Bryant QC took opposing sides in Britvic v Britvic Pensions Limited and Simon Mohun (a matter concerning statutory minimum increases). Richard Hitchcock QC has substantive experience in complex Part 8 claims and is described as 'a great strategic thinker'.

Radcliffe Chambers

Radcliffe Chambers, summarised as an 'excellent set for pensions and advice', incorporates the talents of 'superstars' Keith Rowley QC and Elizabeth Ovey. Highlights include the retention of Airways Pension Scheme Trustees Ltd v Fielder and British Airways plc, a matter concerning discretionary increases above CPI (and supported by distinguished junior Henry Day), Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd. v Lloyds Bank plc & Ors (an issue focused on the under-calculation of an outgoing member’s transfer payments) and representing the defendant in Mitchells & Butlers Pensions Ltd v Mitchells & Butlers Plc (a disputatious 'rectification of deeds' case). Wendy Mathers is seen as 'a real up-and-coming junior who will fight hard for clients'.