Boasting recent successful involvement in two major Court of Appeals decisions, Slaughter and May‘s pensions disputes practice advises large pensions schemes on the full gamut of pensions disputes. Outside their expertise in appeals, the team is well-versed in Part 8 proceedings, regulatory investigations, and advising on Pension Ombudsman matters. The team head is Richard Jeens, an experienced practitioner with a track record in work concerning the Pensions Regulator; Jeens regularly acts for trustees and employers, drawing on experience concerning investigations for major corporates, financial institutions, and governmental bodies. Daniel Schaffer has nearly thirty years of experience advising on industry-wide schemes, while Chris Sharpe is a specialist in Part 8 proceedings and advising large, multinational corporates.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
'The team at Slaughter and May combines excellent technical knowledge and intellect with sophisticated strategic insight. They are always across the detail and are extremely responsive and a pleasure to deal with. '
‘An extremely strong, committed, responsive team that consistently delivers quality results. First class strategic thinking and attention to detail.'
'Able to draw on wider team for specialist individuals when necessary. The depth of quality across all disciplines is impressive, enabling the pension team to work seamlessly across subject boundaries by expanding the team and add maximum value whatever the topic.’
‘Daniel Schaffer - a partner with exceptional intellect. He is extremely articulate, able to visualise every eventuality and cover off all angles, and grasps complex issues and breaks them down into the points that matter.'
'Chris instils great confidence as an adviser on complex, technical areas, whilst being very approachable and collaborative. He makes you feel like a top priority as a client, and provides great strategic insight alongside his technical capabilities, with a focus on the bigger commercial picture at all times - consistently providing exceptional levels of client service.'
Key clients
- Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited
- BBC Pension Trust Limited
- 3i Plc
- Trustee of the Severn Trent Pension Scheme, Trustee of the Severn Trent Water Mirror Image Pension Scheme
- The Salvation Army
- Reach Plc
- The Trustee of the SCA UK Pension Plan
- Trustees of the Caterpillar DB Plan and Caterpillar DC Plan
Work highlights
Advise the Trustee of the BBC Pension Scheme on the appeal to the Court of Appeal for the Part 8 claim brought by the BBC.
Advise Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited, the Trustee of the industry-wide Railways Pension Scheme (RPS), in relation to the Court of Appeal hearing on the interpretation of the scheme’s contribution provisions to persuade a court that a scheme that had been thought of as a shared cost scheme for thirty years was not just a shared cost scheme.
Advise 3i plc on the Part 8 claim brought by the Trustees of the 3i Group Pension Plan, a £1bn defined benefit pension scheme.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Chris Sharpe
Practice head
Richard Jeens
Other key lawyers
Daniel Schaffer; Chris Sharpe