Firm hire: Fieldfisher expands pensions practice

European law firm Fieldfisher has expanded its existing pensions team, hiring four lawyers from PWC to join its London and Manchester offices.

The team consists of partner Oliver Reece, directors Lindsay O’Farrell and Daniel Fowler, and associate Larisa Gordan.

Reece, based at the London office, has headed up the pensions legal team at PwC for nearly 18 years and previously worked at the Pensions Regulator. He has 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.

Fowler, also based in London, advises employers and trustees on all matters connected with pension schemes, including issuing numerous Part 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.

O’Farrell, 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.

The team are supported by associate Larisa Gordan who joined the London office earlier this month.

Head of pensions and chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers David Gallagher commented: '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. It was a competitive hiring process and the fact that the team chose Fieldfisher says a lot about how our practice is viewed in the market. I am really looking forward to welcoming them into our London and Manchester offices and continuing our growth in this practice area and building on our existing reputation in the market'.

Reece added: 'I speak for both 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'.