Andrew Short KC
‘Andrew is the best in the market – an absolute star. Very down to earth. He understands his clients and finds solutions.’
Seen by clients as ‘leaders in pensions claims’, Outer Temple Chambers handles a broad range of pensions work, synchronising with the set’s reputation for employment work. The set had four members – Philip Stear, Patrick Tomison, Nicolas Stallworthy KC, and Andrew Short KC – involved in one of the largest pensions cases of late, Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Pension Trustees II Ltd. Dealing with the wider question of if section 37 of the Pension Schemes Act of 1993 invalidated amendments made without an actuary’s certificate. This year, three of the six counsel involved in the ’massive Part 8 action’ Verity Trustees Ltd v Wood & Save the Children Fund, Re: The Pensions Trust are from Outer Temple: Nicolas Stallworthy KC, Victoria Brown, and Andrew Spink KC. The case, proceedings for a multi-employer scheme with nearly 3,000 employees and £13bn in assets, is the longest submissions-only trial in the area.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- The clerks are attentive and always on hand to offer suggestions for Counsel. Matt Sale is excellent.
- The clerking for pensions is led by Matt Sale, in parallel with Nicholas Levett and Lexie Johnson - they are quick, responsive and reasonable and entirely approachable and collaborative. They are the easiest of clerks to deal with.
Lawyers
Leading Silks
KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.
Andrew Spink KC
Andrew combines vast experience with a commercial and pragmatic approach to the issues before him. Clients, instructing solicitors, and judges alike welcome his clear and no-nonsense approach to complex pensions matters. He is so engaging - it's almost like having a fire-side chat.'
Nicolas Stallworthy KC
‘Detailed technical knowledge, has great communication skills with clients, and always pays attention to detail. Strong advocacy skills in both the High Court and Court of Appeal.’
Keith Bryant KC
‘Keith gets to grip with the issues quickly and is always well-prepared. He is willing to take clients through his advice and tactics in a measured and user-friendly manner, and his advocacy style is calm and assured.’
Richard Hitchcock KC
‘Richard is super intelligent, gives clear advice and is client friendly.’
Leading Juniors
Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.
Naomi Ling
Saul Margo
‘Saul is a pleasure to work with. He takes time to understand his clients and is willing to go into the details, yet extremely user-friendly and is able to take the most difficult of concepts and present it in straightforward manners that are easy to follow and understand.’
Lydia Seymour
Lydia is just brilliant. She is calm and thoughtful, always well-prepared and very reassuring to clients. She is an absolute pleasure to work with.'
Stephen Butler
Victoria Brown
‘Victoria has a strong pensions ability – she is increasingly instructed in part 8 claims by herself and acts as junior in some of the biggest cases.'
Elizabeth Grace
‘Beth is approachable, intelligent, very responsive and adopts pragmatic solutions to the tricky issues raised by pensions litigation cases.'
Patrick Tomison
Rising stars
Rising stars at the Bar are defined as barristers between four and eight years’ call who are seen as up-and-coming members of the Bar in their respective practice areas by clients and peers alike. They will already be instructed in high-profile, complex, and high-value contentious and non-contentious matters, working with and opposite more experienced leading counsel.