Sacker & Partners solicitors specialising in pensions law

We are acknowledged as leaders in our field, recognised in the Chambers UK Guide to Legal Services 2008 as a unit "very much on the top rung of disputes work". We are also ranked once again top tier by Legal 500 2007 of firms who undertake pensions dispute resolution work.

We are often involved in major High Court litigation and are fully committed to our clients when the need arises. However, we also take pride in working seamlessly with our non-contentious colleagues to resolve disputes that inevitably arise from time to time in the administration of pension schemes.

We believe in the importance of actually knowing our clients as people and value long-term relationships built on trust and mutual respect.

Examples of our experience

Acting on a pro-bono basis, Katherine Dandy, Head of the Dispute Resolution Unit, acted for a group of deferred members and played a key role in having Opra appoint an independent trustee to the Sea-Land Pension Scheme. Faced with this pressure, Maersk capitulated and all members of the Scheme will receive their pension entitlement in full
In a leading case on the Pension Ombudsman’s jurisdiction, we successfully challenged a Pension Ombudsman's determination by way of Judicial Review to the High Court. Among other things, the decision entrenched the principle that “the Pensions Ombudsman cannot make an order of a kind which a Court could not make”
We acted for an independent trustee in High Court proceedings alleging negligence against the scheme's former investment advisers. Mediation ultimately resolved the case without the risk of financially crippling the scheme through an adverse costs order
In a novel claim to the Pensions Ombudsman, we successfully acted for an employer who sought to recover the costs it had previously incurred in proving the scheme manager’s maladminstration and having it rectifie

The work we do

We are commonly involved in a wide variety of disputes including:

General High Court litigation (e.g. professional negligence claims) for both Claimants and Defendants
Specialist pensions litigation (e.g. rectification applications, breach of trust proceedings, construction proceedings, Beddoe applications)
Mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution
Appeals to the High Court from determinations of the Pensions Ombudsman
Complaints to the Pensions Ombudsman and Financial Ombudsman Service
Internal dispute resolution proceedings
"Part-timer" and gender equality issues

Training

We appreciate that it is preferable to avoid being involved in a dispute in the first place. We therefore provide specialist training on the management of disputes. This is tailored to the specific requirements of our clients and can be undertaken at either our offices or at yours.

We would be happy to discuss your training requirements with you and design an appropriate programme.

If you would like our assistance, please contact Katherine Dandy on 020 7329 6699.