‘Doyen of North West pensions’ Patrick Kennedy has noteworthy capabilities handling complex buy-ins and buy-outs. Kennedy heads up the Manchester-based team at Gateley Legal, which is well-placed to assist its diverse client roster with a variety of pensions matters. Its cases include reviewing complex historic documentation, assessing investment strategies relating to pension schemes, and securing buy-ins. Stuart Evans is considered ’an absolute delight to work with’ and Becky Ryding is regarded as ‘an excellent all-round lawyer’ by clients.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Excellent pragmatic team, very commercial and a delight to work with.’
- ‘Patrick Kennedy is the doyen of North West pensions! Ferociously bright, with a wicked sense of humour to boot. Stuart Evans is an absolute delight to work with - very commercial and with excellent judgement. Becky Ryding is a star - an excellent all-round lawyer.’
- ‘A wealth of experience. Their approach is sensible and pragmatic - they cut through issues when they arise and deal with them in the most efficient manner.’
- ‘Patrick Kennedy stands out as he takes a sensible view of difficult issues and tries to work out how to solve them in the most effective, efficient way. He has a deep understanding of the technical issues regarding pensions law.'
- ‘The pensions team at Gateley Legal listens well, is pleasant to deal with, responsive and considered. The team is well-led by knowledgeable and commercial partners and can deal with the most complex pension-related issues thoroughly and calmly.’
- ‘Patrick Kennedy, Stuart Evans, Jessica Pigg and Becky Ryding all stand out in their own right and make up a formidable team. Professional, approachable pension practitioners who are able to cut through to the most important issues facing any scheme they are involved in.'
- ‘The Gateley team's USP is the expertise and knowledge. They really understand what a trustee board needs from a piece of advice. They are also used to searching for solutions which work commercially for all of the stakeholders involved in a scheme.’
- ‘Stuart Evans is an expert at finding commercially appropriate and pragmatic solutions to sometimes challenging and complex issues. Patrick Kennedy's USP is his ability to find innovative ideas to resolve problems, allowing schemes to move past an impasse which others have been unable to break.'
Work highlights
Advised a professional trustee company in its reviewing historic documents on 75 UK DB pension schemes to determine whether there was a need to undertake further action (such as Standstill Agreements) to protect members’ interests.
Advised a major UK media entity on the implementation of a Surety Pension Bond as a contingent asset for a UK DB pension scheme.
Advised an international shipping group listed on the New York Stock Exchange in an FAA under which a UK entity was replaced with an entity based in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
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Practice head
Patrick Kennedy
Other key lawyers
Stuart Evans; Becky Ryding; Jessica Pigg