Sackers, a specialist law firm for pensions, has promoted Jacqui Reid, Ralph McClelland and Lucy Dunbar to the partnership, taking the total number of partners to 28. In addition, Tom Jackman, Ferdinand Lovett and James Bingham have been promoted to associate director, and Sonya Fraser and Sarah Henderson to senior associate.

The promotions take effect on 1 August 2017.

Announcing the promotions, Ian Pittaway, senior partner, said: ’These promotions of talented lawyers at all levels of the firm are thoroughly deserved. They will enable us to continue to deliver the best possible service to all our clients.’

Jacqui Reid is a defined contribution (DC) specialist with over 15 years’ experience advising on all aspects of UK pensions law and regulation. She also has a thriving defined benefit (DB) practice and her clients include trustees/providers of DB and DC schemes (large and small), and international FTSE 100 and 250 companies who participate in UK and offshore trust and contract-based arrangements. Jacqui chairs independent governance committee (IGC) and provider forums for key industry players on issues which span trust and contract-based pension provision, and has recently co-ordinated an extensive research programme for 11 IGCs and their providers. She is a regular speaker and panellist at industry conferences and events.

Ralph McClelland is a finance and investment specialist with a strong pensions background. He has particular experience of large-scale investment project work. He advises some of the firm’s largest clients on investment matters and has recently been closely involved in a high profile investment restructuring project for a multi-billion pound scheme. Having worked on pensions investment matters over many years, Ralph has considerable experience of the full range of investment activities within the pensions universe. He has a particular interest in fiduciary management products and is also well known for his LGPS investment work and advice on ESG issues. Ralph is currently involved in a substantial and innovative buy-out project.  

Lucy Dunbar advises employers and trustees of DB and DC arrangements, large and small, on all aspects of pensions law. Lucy has extensive experience in benefit change exercises, on both the employer and trustee side, including closure to future accrual, implementing pensionable pay caps and introducing new DB and DC benefit structures. She also has considerable experience in pensions tax, with a particular interest in advising on alternative benefit structures for those affected by the tapered annual allowance and the reduced lifetime allowance. She regularly advises on lifetime allowance tax protections and ensuring these are maintained.  

Ferdinand Lovett is a general pensions lawyer who advises trustees and employers on a wide range of DB and DC issues. He has experience in mergers and benefit change projects, and has a particular interest in auto-enrolment law and policy.

James Bingham is a litigator who has been involved in a number of high profile pension cases including acting for the trustees and the company in the recent Saga rectification case. He also has significant experience advising on TPR’s regulatory powers, professional negligence actions and member disputes. James speaks regularly at industry events on pensions litigation issues.

Tom Jackman advises both trustees and employers on a wide range of pension issues. Much of his recent work has been project-based including corporate transactions, buy-ins and buy-outs, asset-backed funding structures and insolvency / restructuring situations.

Sarah Henderson advises trustees and employers on a wide range of issues affecting their DB and DC arrangements. She is currently on secondment with a major UK pension provider, working on a GDPR- related project.

Sonya Fraser is a general pensions lawyer who advises trustees and employers on DB and DC issues. These include mergers, closures, communication reviews, transfer exercises and pensions liberation.

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