‘The team we use are responsive and flexible, and always give sound and practical advice. The team has adapted to our philosophy and work ethic and has responded well to our needs. They are diverse and have supported bringing on their junior staff to work on complex projects’

‘Very responsive and easy to work with. Steve Hull is very experienced and knowledgeable and I have been impressed by Laura Brook. The associates who have been involved are focussed and confident in supporting the Trustees’

‘The Eversheds pensions team are stand out in their field. I wouldn’t go anywhere else for advice.’

‘Jeremy Goodwin is calm and compelling. An excellent lawyer whom I trust implicitly.’

‘Very joined up behind the scenes, resulting in seamless support across different technical areas. Clear, pragmatic and real world advice.’

‘Francois Barker and Jeremy Goodwin both approachable, facilitative and helpful. Very quick to understand complex issues and provide prompt, clear and practical advice.’

‘Depth of expertise coupled with strong dose of pragmatism and really strong communication skills’

‘Faye Jarvis is always on top form with instant recall, trusted advice, alternatives and recommendations.’

‘This is my legal team of choice. I think the breadth of knowledge is very good and a particular advantage is the depth of disciplines across the firm so if we have issues which span more than one discipline, they are able to help. The team speak “plain English” rather than “legal speak”. They are also able to translate complex issues, eg VAT issues as spoken by HMRC, into plain English that can be understood by trustees.’

‘The team is technically excellent, commercially switched on, and clearly enjoy working together. Claire Southern is a genius at making the most complex issues easy to understand. She can find a way through any problem.’

‘It is always a pleasure to work with the team. I have full confidence that the Trustees will be well-advised and Claire will find a solution to the most arcane problem.’

‘The lawyers at Hogan Lovells are best in class. They provide relevant and appropriate advice that factors in the audience and practical position as well as being robust and able to stand up to scrutiny. They are trusted partners who have a long standing relationship with us and therefore they ‘get’ us.’

‘Claire Southern is a highly professional partner who consistently delivers advice of the highest calibre. She makes it easy for a legal lay person to understand and act upon her advice. She is supported by a very strong team who work well with us.’

‘The advice is pragmatic, the approach is flexible, the detail is appropriate and the team take note of commercial considerations and ensure a balanced view.’

‘Very knowledgeable team with active involvement in industry developments. Innovative ideas to provide pragmatic solutions to clients. Always an eye to ensuring value for money within billing practices.’

‘Strength in depth and consistent. Very thorough and responsive. Very strong associates in the team making for a very good pipeline.’

‘Team has wide experience of UK pensions landscape and developing trends including; longevity hedging, Climate reporting and contingent security. Continues to add and develop junior staff effectively and works seamlessly with other specialists in the firm.’

‘Phil Goss is highly capable and technically strong. Shows good commercial judgement and is creative and pragmatic in seeking solutions.’

‘Not only do they have extensive knowledge and understanding of the schemes, they are pension specialists which is essential to perform their role. In addition to the pensions expertise, I have been impressed with the wider Linklaters offering.’

‘Their level of expertise and ability to apply them sensitively to the problems faced by and issues raised by their clients. The solicitors I deal with are friendly, responsive and professional. They get to the heart of the issue and their advice is clear, concise and adds value. They make you feel they are part of your team, adding value.’

‘Excellent interpersonal skills, good emotional intelligence, supportive, clear in their advice, add value in finding solutions, proportionate, accessible. I most value the quality of the relationship and their responsiveness when it is important. I have a lot of confidence in them and their advice.’

‘Fuat Sami is the lead partner and makes himself readily available for discussions. Has a good understanding of our requirements and what the Pension trustees are looking to achieve and can tailor his advice accordingly.’

‘Main contact point was through Stuart O’Brien who was always able to provide a clear, concise explanation of technical pension subject matters to non-technical individuals.’

‘This team is unique because of the people. Not just because of the breadth and depth of experience they bring, but how they work together and communicate with each other. It always seems like a well connected and seamless experience.’

‘Edward Hayes and Janet Brown are our engagement partners. Edward is always available, understands trustees’ questions and concerns, provides a balanced and comprehensive analysis of an issue, and then gives clear conclusions. He is a very calm and steady adviser and support for the trustees. Janet is equally experienced and happily supports, or substitutes for, Edward seamlessly. Janet advises us with clarity and enthusiasm.’

‘Jacqui Reid has been absolutely fantastic in the patient way she has “herded cats” and facilitated the development of an industry consensus on some tricky issues. Her deep understanding of the complex pensions world, combined with her patience, diplomacy and perseverance have proved highly effective and significant in advancing good governance in workplace pensions. Without her and the backing of Sackers, I cannot imagine how these outcomes could have been achieved.’

‘We love the team at Sackers – they make pensions law interesting. Responses are always comprehensive and clear. Work is delegated to the appropriate level but this does not impact on quality. The lawyers we deal with all have such unique personalities, they are a joy to work with. We have worked on some new and complex issues over the last year and Sackers have helped us find solutions with the minimum of fuss.’

‘Sandeep Maudgil is a true pensions big-hitter – with a formidable mastery of the technical detail allied with a highly personable approach and a sharp strategic focus.’

‘Chris Sharpe is a pleasure to deal with. He is extremely responsive and competent, and the advice he gives is thoughtful and pragmatic.’

‘Charles Cameron – very client focussed, committed and commercial. Highly approachable and excellent bedside manner. Hugely enjoyable to work with.

‘Sandy Maudgil is our main contact. He is the best technical lawyer out there and gets right down in the trenches with his client – he combines that with a real creative flair and a surprisingly fun and engaging personality (for a lawyer!)’

‘Daniel Schaffer stands out for his analytical skill and capability to cover all aspects of a case to deliver successful outcomes.’

‘Charles Cameron is able to straddle both the big picture and details and delegates as required within the team.’

‘Hugh Gittins – excellent all-round pensions law knowledge. Great at remembering detail, and is a genuine pleasure to deal with.’

‘Dan Schaffer and Isobel Carruthers have very good commercial ideology on the needs of the client.’

‘Daniel Gerring is very simply the best pension lawyer I have ever come across – he is incredibly bright, yet plain speaking, accessible, fair, pragmatic and effective. He provided first class strategic and commercial support.’

‘David James is a very knowledgeable and safe pair of hands as well and can be relied on totally.’

‘Dan Naylor has given us excellent helpful advice for a number of years.’

‘Daniel Gerring is a DB pensions legal expert in the UK. I value his honesty, pragmatism, proactive advice. Daniel is always thoughtful, mindful of how he can offer advice in a cost effective way and how he can leverage his knowledge of the industry and the regulator to help us move forward.’

‘Andrew Lewis is a hugely impressive up and coming pensions partner. He has excellent technical knowledge combined with first class communication skills which make his advice robust and very clear. He is pragmatic, responsive and builda excellent relationships with the trustee board.’

‘I would specifically call out David James whose attention to detail, tenacity, good humour and ability to really zero in on the key issues with the innovation to solve tough problems makes him second to none. Having him onboard is a huge reassurance.’

‘Susie Daykin is a standout performer. Total dedication, creative, a good communicator and very easy to work with.’

‘Susie Daykin deserves particular mention – an exceptional problem solver.’

‘Burges Salmon have a really strong pensions team, both in terms of skill and experience – I would highly recommend them. There is real breadth and depth within the team and I have been particularly impressed by Clive Pugh and Crispin Freeman.’

‘They have significant experience in dealing with pension schemes, and participate in UK pension wide forums and thus have a deep knowledge of current pension legislation and issues.’

‘Clive Pugh – superb, pragmatic, excellent speaker- makes pensions fun, cares about members.’

‘Alice Honeywill – first class relationship lead. Practical, pragmatic and very personable.’

‘Charlotte Osmond – good support, friendly and engaging.’

‘Alice Honeywill provides clear, practical and pragmatic advice. Her supporting team has been very helpful when we have had particular problems to solve with appropriate expertise and resources being appled quickly and effectively.’

‘Value for money, wide expertise.’

‘Very knowledgeable and in-depth understanding of the detail. Easy to work with, personable and approachable. Always willing to help and answer queries.’

‘Amrit Mclean is very easy to deal with, knowledgeable about the specifics of the market and detail of each transaction we work on. We have great confidence in her and her team.’

‘Great team with an excellent commercial focus which is different to other firms’

‘Amrit Maclean’s inhouse experience in the pension de-risking sector means you get the right commercial advice and recommendations which is very useful on particular transactions involving extensive due diligence on pension schemes.’

‘Matthew Swynnerton has been a very strong support as we built and launched the UK’s first gig economy worker pension scheme. He has been responsive, collaborative and innovative in this very complex area.’

‘Tamara Calvert is an exceptional person within the sector as her knowledge and ability to disseminate ESPS Rules and associated information in an easy way is hard to match.’

‘The team has a broad range of relevant skills, for example they were pro-active in introducing the trustees to specialists in covenant assessment and then helped us integrate that dimension into a legal framework.’

‘We’re lucky, we have great people working on our account who have been with us for many years. So in addition to sky high levels of technical/legal skill we also benefit from their deep understanding of our circumstances and our industry. In addition I’d also emphasise that Gowling seem to have a very special knack for rendering complex legal issues accessible to lay trustees!’

‘A great understanding of our requirements and an ability to tailor the advice to our needs.’

‘Personable but professional getting things done and being patient with the sponsoring employers unique processes.’

‘We enjoy working with Gowling’s hands on team and consider them a trusted partner for the trustees of the pension scheme.’

‘They are proactive and provide straightforward advice in an informal manner. Timely service and I trust them to prioritise our interests. They offer some innovative billing and charging structures. Fees are competitive with London based firms.’

‘We have an excellent team at Gowling, that deliver sound, pragmatic advice on time.’

‘Jay Doraisamy is appropriately proactive. It would be easy for a lawyer just to cover everything in excruciating detail but Jay is proportionate and practical while complete.’

‘My key contact in Duncan Watson, who provides very clear communications on what’s required, issues, solutions to enable us to manage a varying workload. He is always available to discuss any concerns and effectively manages difficult issues.’

‘Excellent team – pro-active, pragmatic and personable. The team is very good at presenting the quarterly training sessions for the Trustee Board.’

‘I have a lot of contact with Jay Doraisamy who provides thoughtful and pragmatic pensions advice. Jay is excellent and enjoys the confidence of the Trustee Board.’

‘Bills are transparent showing a full breakdown of costs, what cost has been incurred by Mayer Brown and what has been passed onto the client. Discounts are applied where work has been unnecessarily delayed.’

‘They have an excellent breadth of team and all are very knowledgeable, personable and approachable.’

‘Duncan Watson understands our business, how we operate internally, our risk appetite and the need for pragmatic solutions.’

‘Our lead partner is Jay Doraisamy. She is responsive, pragmatic, proactive and very personable to deal with. Her advice to the trustee is always well delivered and received, thorough in its preparation, and clearly articulated both verbally and in writing.’

‘In all cases NRF have managed to very effectively find a solution, through a balanced combination of high quality technical legal advice coupled with – where and when required – pragmatic and approach. NRF are undoubtedly a very much trusted and reliable partner to us, working seamlessly alongside the Trustees as well as our other advisors.’

‘We have always been extremely satisfied with our NRF advisors, both the current team as well as their predecessors. Our current team, Shane O´Reilly and Graeme Tricker are both, in my opinion, first in class – both in terms of the quality of their technical legal advice as well as their client and project management experience and expertise. As I noted above, we have encountered some non-trivial obstacles with the wind-up of the plan, which Shane and Graeme have really taken on board and managed to navigate for the Trustees, very often having to distil what was extremely complex legal challenge into a manageable practical solution.’

‘Vast amount of experience in pensions legal matters.’

‘The team is very commercial and have helped us get through a number of difficult transactions. On most occasions, the other side have complained about their own lawyers and praised Norton Rose Fulbright showing how good a job Norton Rose Fulbright do particularly when faced with having to deal with poor performances from other lawyers.’

‘Lesley Browning is a safe pair of hands. We trust her absolutely and she always delivers. A pleasure to work with.’

‘Breadth and depth of experience, ability to draw on different competencies across the team, pragmatic approach, connections in the market’

‘Approaches difficult issues with good humour and pragmatism, open to ideas and willing to collaborate to come up with solutions, flexible ways of working, very accessible and responsive.’

‘The team understands the company well and the quality of its advice demonstrates that. The produce high quality summaries that are understandable to all. These are supported by detailed reasoning for those who need the full background. The people with whom we work closely have collaborate well in meetings and are mindful of the company’s objectives – they tailor their advice accordingly.’

‘Personalised service with named contacts. Team is well managed and focused on us as a client. Very easy to bring in additional or specialist resource where needed.’

‘Thoroughly professional in their dealings with a large group of stakeholders who have different agendas. Always courteous and delivering a pragmatic approach to solving problems in order to obtain the best outcome.’

‘Very personable and professional team. Keen to assist in an accurate but pragmatic manner. Very sympathetic to trustee concerns, but clear and tough when needed.’

‘Kirsty Bartlett is excellent. She explains tricky issues very clearly and ensures that there is full understanding. If repeating for clarification is needed, she is always happy to. She endeavours to be pragmatic at all times but won’t cut corners either. A very safe pair of hands. Chris Harper is similarly a safe pair of hands and, whilst not as polished as Kirsty, has an equally professional in all the work he does.’

‘Wendy Hunter is exceptional, a true partner. I know I can always get a well rounded response to issues, works well with our other advisers and excellent communication with a diverse group of trustees. A true partner.’

‘We have a longstanding relationship in a range of business environments. They know me well and know I approach my work and adjust their style accordingly. Graham Wrightson is excellent. Knowledgeable, flexible and focused on helping us achieve our objectives.’

‘Naeem Noor gives sensible and practical advice’

‘I have worked with Stephen Richards for a few years and I find him extremely patient with our lay organisation. I have had to contact Stephen on occasions outside of normal working hours and at the weekend and he has always responded to my request for advice. His team is very responsive and follow Stephens work ethic.’

‘Very cerebral, analytical, and well organised.’

‘Graham Wrightson – straightforward, organised, clear and tough when he needs to be. very calm under fire in pressure cooker situations. Steve Richards – he is a real rainmaker and has attracted a lot of big name clients.’

‘The advice provided by Stephen Richards and his team is always clear and concise and provided in an easy to follow format. You don’t have to chase the team or follow them up on any work as they turn the work around very quickly and concisely.’

‘Philip Goodchild and Dan Bowman are highly valued by the Trustees for their clear and conscientious advise They collaborated with the employers advisers and were able to obtain cut through on these complex projects’

‘The dynamics of the team work very well with our trustee board. Graham Wrightson and Daniel Bowman have made themselves available whenever requested and sometimes at very short notice. The ability to relay advice that is sometimes very complex in a way that all of our trustees understand is a skill on its own and not all of our advisors previously have managed to do this.’

‘Catherine McAllister provides high quality pragmatic advice and has particular expertise in distilling complex topics in an understandable way to her clients.’

‘Knowledge in depth’

‘Our lead lawyer is excellent, considered and thoughtful.’

‘The team are extremely experienced and deliver on each project. They are without equal in delivery and also providing a very commercial approach’

‘Hywel Robinson is the partner and has a vast range of experience but also incorporates this with a sense of commerciality that is rare for a lawyer, particularly in the pensions world!’

‘Very good team which superb strength in depth.’

‘Hywel Robinson leads the team and is really good. Hands on, responsive and very easy to deal with . He makes the apparently complex very understandable.’

‘Very responsive and approachable. Advice always provided to time and provides both legal and practical advice of great benefit to clients. Clear commitment to diversity and inclusion, sharing workshops and talks with clients which is much appreciated.’

‘Consistent provision of clear legal advice, including advice on operational/practical issue. As an in-house lawyer, relatively new to the area, this has been of huge benefit to the business team.’

‘The Dentons pensions team is relatively small but punches above its weight. The pensions non-contentious team is led by Eleanor Hart who has a wealth of experience in restructuring and similar issues. The members of the disputes team all have considerable technical expertise and are involved in a mix of high profile matters and (unusually) also ones of national importance which are anonymised in the interests of national security and other concern.’

‘Eleanor Hart has a wealth of experience and is accomplished in a range of complex restructuring, financing and related issues of crucial importance to pension schemes. Elmer Doonan is refreshingly upbeat, candid and fun to work with and brings an unusual tax and other technical expertise with the instincts of a litigator and deals with matters which are ordinarily matters for the non-litigious team such as applications for clearance to HMRC.’

‘Eleanor Hart, as successor to Elmer Doonan, is technically very sound and a very pleasant person.’

‘The firm is looking for solutions within the ambit of the law. Easy to deal with and very responsive.’

‘Camilla Barry has been super to work with explaining complex legal concepts in a non-legal language thus making it easier to understand and interpret. She is always available in emergencies even when on holiday’

‘Andrew Barton and Madison Isted are standout players in the insurance and reinsurance market. Their industry expertise and dedication on matters are unparalleled. They both collaborate really well with us, our business teams and with law firms on the other side of our transactions. Their work is always seamless and it is a pleasure having them on our deals.’

‘Both Andrew and Madison are extremely diligent, responsive and hardworking and have taken the time to understand our business back to front. They always add significant value with their expertise of the industry and transactions which they are involved are seamless. I cannot fault any aspect of their model.’

‘Pro-active, excellent service and advice. The team has strength in depth at different levels, with a diverse range of lawyers. Responsive and alert to assist and advise.’

‘Camilla Barry is an outstanding pension lawyer, with a great depth of experience and expertise. Proactive and pleasant, forthright and commercially aware.’

‘Very experienced and responsive and cut through the detail very quickly and effectively to focus and obtain instructions on key areas. They provide a great service and are able to meet challenging transaction deadlines.’

‘Andrew Barton is very experienced and is fully involved and leads the work extremely well and can be relied on to give straight answers and find solutions. Alex Cibulskis is very efficient and handles complex issues and agreements very well which is impressive given his PQE and certainly operates above other associates of a similar level.’

‘Each member of this practice that I have worked with has been personable, taken care to explain themselves clearly and check my understanding, and worked with me to achieve my deadlines and targets. They all peak plain English yet are not condescending. They are contemporary and credible, transparent and diligent’

‘Brent Wright is knowledgeable with a commercial viewpoint, has the highest standards of integrity, is personable and pragmatic. He possesses good influencing skills, pushing back as appropriate, yet open to challenge. He is thorough and reliable.’

‘They are expert, collaborative people who are carry out their work in a supportive and professional manner.’

‘Jonathan Hazlett and the team are exceptional – they hold much of our corporate memory on pensions issues but are entirely gracious about sharing that; it’s particularly important given our scheme is entirely unique. They are willing any able to put in intense amounts of resource at short notice and work extremely well with our actuaries. They are pleasant to get along with and that’s extremely important to us in terms of not being adversarial with our counterparties. They are inventive and have found creative solutions to some very peculiar circumstances which have presented themselves (the pandemic being the least of them).’

‘Jonathan Hazlett is great and we have known him for years.’

‘They bridge the gap between PwC consulting services and specialist legal advice; very commercially astute in their approach.’

‘Oliver Rees is a very sure hand on the tiller and extremely fertile mind. David Farmer is first class.’

‘Pragmatic, very quick to provide advice.’

‘Fraser Sparks is very pragmatic, reliable, clear advice, experienced. Carol Dick is knowledgeable, good with clients.’

‘Works as part of a multidisciplinary team with actuaries, investment , tax, accounting and covenant experts. This enables them to bring a team together that covers all the pensions input a client may need for a project, it enables them to bring a wide range of corporate , transactional, refinancing and restructuring experience to help solve problems.’

‘ I have worked with Oliver Reece, David Farmer, Fraser Sparks and Carol Dick. They are each experienced pensions lawyers but also , through working in the PwC multidiscipline environment, have both commercial and wider business experiences. Hence as well as legal opinion they bring commercial advice to problems.’

‘Good range of experience and skills. Work well as part of a collaborative team.’

‘Michael Jones leads the team well providing clear direction. He has a good range of experience and is a good collaborative worker.’

‘Overall I think it is their pragmatic approach to matters I have referred to them.’

‘Adam Bushby, is very personable friendly and approachable and takes a pragmatic view.’

‘The structure of gunnercooke makes it very agile, particularly in the post-pandemic world they seem to be pulling in well respected partners from all over the country.’

‘Adam Bushby has a wealth of experience and is one of those rare individuals with genuine breadth of experience in both contentious and non-contentious work. Parminder Latimer is conscientious and dedicated with a tremendous appetite for work.’

‘Helen Miles is a great partner to work with. She has great technical knowledge combined with real commercial and practical advice. She is always available and turns things around in a timely manner. Can’t recommend her highly enough. And best of all the charging rates are reasonable, from a lawyer! Would definitely recommend’

‘Helen Miles – her disarmingly friendly persona does not disguise her astonishing talent. Her ability to boil complex matters down to the things that matter never ceases to amaze us.’

‘I am aware that clients have particularly valued receiving clear and helpful communications from Penny Cogher. It is not always easy to give comprehensible advice on pensions matters to lay clients. I am impressed by the depth of Penny’s technical knowledge of the area.’

‘Penny Cogher was responsive to email communications and good at ensuring client timescales were met.’

‘I work directly with Mark Smith and he is excellent in terms of his advice, guidance and communications. He keeps us updated at all times and explains the various options and implications of each proposal before making recommendations as to the best way forward.’

‘Mark Smith is technically very strong; a deep understanding of the issues and how to resolve them.’

‘Mark Smith is excellent at communication and always focuses on the key issues’

‘Mark Smith handles our pension matters and is clearly expert in his field. On a personal level we have built a strong relationship which is something I value highly.’

‘They are consummate experts in the field of pensions.’

‘My experience of the Taylor Wessing team is that they deliver extremely thorough, meticulous advice which considers the issue in hand from all angles. Timescales are adhered to and budgets prepared and monitored.’

‘Mark Smith is always available to provide advice – sometimes to very challenging deadlines. He works collaboratively with all stakeholders and co-ordinates advice across different specialties and jurisdictions.’

‘The stand out partner for me at Taylor Wessing is Mark Smith. He always pulls out all the stops to deliver the highest level of legal advice to Trustees to ensure they can in turn make informed decisions on a full range of issues. Needless to say Mark and his team are a delight to work with and I value their support and friendship greatly.’

‘The team is exceptional in that they are continuously able to meet our demands on timing and report as and when required, they give succinct responses and always add value be ensuring that the whole of an issue id=s captured. On fees they are negotiable and the outcome is that were receive excellent value for the money.’

‘Sasha Butterworth is great to work with, vastly intelligent and able to summaries issues in a way that it is understood by everyone without further work. She is always available and an excellent listener who ensures that they cover all issues’

‘Expertise across pensions and tax issues, clear presentation of extremely complex advice. Excellent communication, including on billing and likely cost of instructions and effective use of resourcing at the right levels to provide value for money to the client.’

‘On an extremely complex set of instructions, the advice provided was clear and precise with key pointers highlighted for client action. Written advice was followed up by a helpful call to talk through areas of detail. The lead partner is approachable and responsive.’

‘Nicholas Greenacre provides pragmatic advice coupled with an excellent technical knowledge of the UK pensions and benefits landscape. Written and verbal communications are always very clear and concise. Utilises a broad range of associates within the practice all of which are very capable.’

‘Nicholas Greenacre always makes himself available, even at short notice and provides measured and practical responses to often complex situations.’

‘Womble Bond Dickinson provide top quality pensions advice that is both strategic and commercial. They work hard to understand our business and make sure that their advice is appropriate to our situation. They seek to solve problems and work collaboratively with co-advisers. Their fees are also very reasonable in comparison to other national firms.’

‘Tracy Walsh leads our advice team and provides clear, strategic advice that gets to the heart of the issue. Tracy is a trusted adviser for our business.’

‘Martin McFall is extremely responsive and commercially focused. He’s excellent at explaining complicated pensions issues in a straightforward manner. He is an absolute pleasure to work with and I always know I can trust his advice to be spot on.’

‘Trowers have a deep understanding of the social housing sector with a breath of expertise in all matters relating to general and M&A advice.’

‘Martin McFall has an excellent understanding of the social housing sector and the important role pensions advice has in M&A activity. Martin has excellent relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders, helping smooth communications and improving the pace of a transaction.’

‘Very pleasant to deal with.’

‘Clive Weber brings the advantage of very many years experience in the field.’