Jonathan Hazlett > Osborne Clarke LLP > Bristol, England > Lawyer Profile

Osborne Clarke LLP‘s wide-ranging pension practice handles high-profile corporate failures, risk settlement and liability management for defined pension schemes, as well as a good deal of work for public sector clients, with the firm advising a number of individual LGPS funds. The team is chaired by Jonathan Hazlett, a Pension Protection Fund specialist, while his colleague Paul Matthews has particular expertise in utilities sector pensions work. Brent Wright is especially noted for his transactional capabilities. Other key names within the practice include Claire Rankin, who specialises in employment-related pensions matters, and Tobias Hole, who is well-versed in DB liability management and DB risk settlement mandates. All named lawyers are based in Bristol.

Osborne Clarke LLP‘s pensions team offers clients advice on a wide-variety of non-contentious matters, including GMP rectification and equalisation matters, benefit specification reviews, scheme closures, and pension-related issues in corporate restructurings and insolvencies. Bristol-based Jonathan Hazlett leads the team, and is complimented by clients for his provision of ‘expert advice’. He is assisted by the ‘great‘ Tobias Hole, alongside Claire Rankin, Thames Valley-based Chris Netiatis, and legal director Lee Colgate. Carol Dick notably joined from PwC LLP in October 2022.

Osborne Clarke LLP‘s pensions practice was bolstered in May 2022 with the arrival of the BDB Pitmans team, which includes Reading-based pensions specialists Chris Netiatis, David Hosford, and Lee Colgate. The team ably advises employers, trustees, and scheme members on the full spectrum of pensions litigation, with recent work including cases involving age discrimination, part 8 proceedings, and member complaints. Jonathan Hazlett heads up the practice and offers its clients extensive experience in disputes surrounding PPF assessment periods, whilst colleagues Charles Crowne and associate Katherine King specialise in professional negligence and rectification claims respectively; they are described as being ‘excellent’ and ‘superb’.