Firm expands its pensions team with four new lawyers in London & Manchester
European law firm Fieldfisher is expanding its existing pensions team, hiring four lawyers from PwC to join its London and Manchester offices.
The team consists of one partner, Oliver Reece (pictured), two directors, Lindsay O’Farrell and Daniel Fowler, and one associate, Larisa Gordan.
The move comes further to a wider strategic legal review by PwC and this team will continue to work in close synergy with PwC and some of their historic clients.
Oliver joins the firm’s London office. He has headed up the pensions legal team at PwC for nearly 18 years, and prior to this worked at the Pensions Regulator. He advises on all aspects of pensions law and regulation but with a particular focus on pensions litigation, the pensions implications of M&A and other transactions, and the pensions aspects of both solvent and insolvent group restructurings.
Lindsay, based in Manchester, has over 15 years’ experience advising trustee and corporate clients on all aspects of pensions law, including negotiations with the Pensions Regulator and clearance, pensions scheme exercises and advising public and private sector companies on compliance with automatic enrolment laws.
Daniel, based in London, also has a wide range of experience, advising employers and trustees on all matters connected with pension schemes, including issuing numerous Pt 8 proceedings at the High Court to understand the meaning of certain pension scheme provisions; implementing changes to the index used for uprating pension benefits; the pensions implications of employer liquidations; automatic enrolment duties; global reorganisations; and risk management exercises.
The team is supported by associate Larisa, who joined the London office earlier this month.
Fieldfisher’s head of pensions, David Gallagher, said: ‘I am always striving to provide the best client service possible and hiring an entire team is proof of Fieldfisher pensions team’s dedication to this point.
‘The team is a great fit technically, but in addition to this they all have excellent business development skills, which will help add a new dimension to our existing offering and lend itself to our client-first ethos.’
Oliver said: ‘I speak for myself, Lindsay, Daniel and Larissa when I say that we are proud to join Fieldfisher’s highly regarded pensions team. We are all looking forward to the opportunity to build on our existing work and develop it further as well as contributing to the wider success and reputation of the practice.
‘We were particularly attracted to the firm because of its clear focus on culture and values, as well as the interconnectivity of its multiple UK offices, so tapping into this network and working with the rest of this team is something I am really looking forward to.’
