‘Excellent communicators. Very responsive to client needs. Very experienced and knowledgeable on all pension matters. Eversheds as a company has a very focused and highly user friendly approach to its clients. Its training and diversity policies are of the highest standard’.

‘Emma King leads a team of very dedicated and experienced individuals. Emma puts her clients front and centre and has excellent listening skills. Emma is very skilful in selecting the right members of her team to support particular tasks. Sarah Franklin acts as an excellent and very professional alternate partner with an extensive knowledge of the pension scheme within the team. Tom Meyrick has developed into an excellent senior associate and has all the requisite skills to provide consistent and reliable support to Emma and Sarah’.

‘Very much part of the integral team. Sarah Franklin and Tom Meyrick are always available and respond in a timely way to requests, tailoring responses to our specific needs’.

‘The lawyers genuinely work as a team, complementing each other. They listen, understand our needs & offer pragmatic advice; it’s ‘applied pensions law’, not just the theory. Georgina Rankin and James Ellis are excellent’.

‘It really cares about its clients. Sarah Franklin leaves no stone unturned and is very cautious to protect trustees and members, but will listen and be more commercial when appropriate too‘.

‘The team is very proactive. Georgina Rankin is very commercially aware and pragmatic whilst James Ellis ensures we have all the relevant details so they fit well together’.

‘The lawyers are very personable, clearly like to build a relationship – it doesn’t feel like they are “on the clock” every second. Very experienced team – seems to have a wide range of skills and experience of different jobs/projects/scenarios. Takes a practical approach – quickly understand what you want and if they don’t they check. James Ellis – sociable, understands what we want, turns things round quickly, broad experience. Emma King – very personable, supportive, gets to the points, sees the issue quickly’.

‘Responsiveness and ability to translate and resolve complex, technical issues. The team was very responsive and made themselves available at very short notice allowing tight deadlines to be achieved. Emma King’s extensive experience of M&A situations. Alex Lane stood out as a very competent associate and impressed us with his clear delivery of advice’.

‘People are extremely knowledgeable but also very down to earth, responsive and pragmatic. They try to get to know us really well’.

‘Richard Black: very strong lead partner with vast knowledge and experience, he instils confidence with his responses but also is not afraid to listen to and take on board others’ views. He is very supportive of his team and promotes them well when credit is due. Ben Goldby: really strong second in command for our account, communicates excellently and manages ongoing activity really efficiently. He is also a very strong adviser in his own right’.

‘I feel like they put the client first and not their needs or desire to sell or bill more work. Good communicators, practical, commercial and pragmatic advice. Lead partner brings in individuals from across the practice for specific work that gives deep expertise when required. Takes time to understand what is required and very transparent on fees and billing – friendly, approachable and works collaboratively with you to find the right solution’.

‘The team we deal with at Gowlings is extremely knowledgeable and helpful. When non-standard work is agreed, this is delivered on time and is pitched so that it is both practical and cost-effective to implement‘.

‘Jo Tibbott and Ali Garton are the two people we see most of from Gowling. Both are well on top of current developments in legislation and regulation. We also use Gowlings to help with complaints or disputes from members and they advise us well when these arise, including references to the Pensions Ombudsman’.

‘Richard and Charlotte Whitehead and the team continue to be a real pleasure to work with, providing knowledgeable and clearly understandable advice in a timely manner‘.

‘Chris Styles provides excellent technical advice in a very engaging way‘.

‘Clear and pragmatic guidance on pensions issues. Victoria Jeacock provides us with high quality advice in a practical, friendly way’.

‘SPB is a very thoughtful but practical pension advisory firm. Philip Sutton   is just the sort of lawyer you want by your side when navigating the complexity of pensions regulation and his approach is thoughtful while pragmatic – to get the job done efficiently’.

‘The lawyers’ commercial and pragmatic approach to the provision of advice and the common sense and clear way in which the advice is delivered are the stand outs for me. The innovative way in which they deliver their regular “key points” updates engages the reader. Their fee rates are also very keen’.

‘Matthew Giles and team are a joy to work with. They are always responsive, get to the point quickly and work really well with both the corporate and trustee bodies. Matthew has a real talent for building a relationship with his clients’.

‘The SPB team is knowledgeable and led by an experienced partner. The team has been able to draw in additional specialisms from the wider firm. The SPB team is one of the strongest teams I have been working with in the UK. The lawyers are down to earth, pragmatic and they provide real value to my business. They work fast and are agile. They are real business partners. They have an impressive expertise in pensions law and related areas’.

‘We  have worked closely with Matthew Giles – his knowledge of both our scheme and the wider pensions legislation and practical application have been very helpful. Matthew delivers on point advice that is tempered with a commercial insight and a keen understanding of the practicalities. His ability to outline issues and solutions in a way that is understandable to all is a quality that is rare but so very valuable. All in all, it means that things just get done’.

‘The SPB team has a truly personal approach to the professional service that it provides. Matthew Giles and Kate Bailey -they exceed your expectations in terms of what/when and how they deliver their advice. There is a feeling of collaboration and dedication to wanting the very best outcome for their client‘.

‘The pensions team is extremely proactive. The lawyers are on the ball and cut through the legalise to conclude sensible and pragmatic outcomes. I’m impressed by the quality of work and the way they advise both in meetings and outside. Kate Bailey is my partner contact. She attends trustee meetings and provides at these meetings commentary and advice that are sensible and extremely helpful in moving matters forward’.

‘A compact and efficient team that provides pragmatic and commercial pensions advice. Michael Collins is one of the most knowledgeable pension lawyers in the market but provides advice in a clear and easy-to-understand way‘.

‘Very strong pensions lawyers. Thoughtful and sensible practice. Gets off the fence and gives clear advice. Michael Collins gives us clear well thought through advice. He is a highly intelligent lawyer who grasps the issues and helps us to find solutions’.

‘The pensions team is small, but the deliverables are high quality and the fees are very competitive. Clare Grice was outstanding on the recent pensions project I worked with her on, where she was the lawyer and I was the actuary. She was personable, quick, pragmatic, and I know the trustees valued her contribution. She proved to be extremely capable, experienced, and helped deliver a very good outcome for the trustees‘.

‘The legal advice was of the highest quality, clear and timely. The responsiveness to questions raised by the trustees was swift and thorough. It felt as though we had the full attention of our primary contact and the wider team at Mills & Reeve‘.

‘Responsiveness and excellent communication were the differentiators that were consistently demonstrated by Clare Grice. She provided proactive and consistent guidance throughout the process and was thoroughly professional and courteous’.

‘Clear, easy to use, pragmatic advice which doesn’t require a GCSE in pensions to understand. Clare Grice – personable, great to chat through an issue and quick to follow up in writing‘.