DLA Piper has strengthened its pensions teams across the UK with new hires in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester.
LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – The new hires, which are detailed below, position DLA Piper as one of the strongest firms in the UK for pensions expertise. David Wright, pensions head for the UK commented: “the recent spate of hires reflects our commitment in this area and will allow us to service our increased client list more effectively whilst at the same time continuing to grow and develop.”
Stephen Hart joined the Birmingham Pensions team in August as a legal director from Mercer Human Resource Consulting, where he was a principal in their legal services team. He advises on trustee duties, pension scheme mergers, disputes, scheme documentation, corporate transactions, investment matters and pensions and employment law generally.
David Wilkin is a seven year qualified solicitor who trained at Sackers., He joined the Leeds team from the West Yorkshire Pension Fund also in August, and brings excellent general experience with particular expertise in relation to public sector schemes.
Philippa Wilkinson has also joined the Leeds Pensions team, having qualified two years ago in private client/trust work. She arrived in late August and is assisting existing members of the team.
Katie Lassman will be joining the Leeds team at the beginning of October with the specific remit of assisting Kate Payne and Max Ballad with the continued development of the FTL independent trustee business. She joins from a leading firm of pension scheme administrators, Capita.
Craig Thomas is a newly-qualified solicitor, specialising in pensions, who joined the Birmingham team on 4 June. Craig trained at leading Warwickshire firm, Lodders, before completing his training with DLA Piper and specialising in pensions. Craig has already amassed a significant variety of experience in handling pension arrangements in corporate transactions.
Finally, Helen Burden joined the Manchester Pensions team on 3 September as a legal assistant. Helen is a barrister and has been working at a firm of independent financial advisers.
