Neil Smith
UK Guide 2025
Band 2 : Pensions Litigation
Band 2
About
Provided by Neil Smith
Professional Memberships
Pensions Litigation Committee, Association of Pensions Lawyers
Member, Association of Pensions Lawyers
Publications
Contributor to the Pensions Law Handbook (16th Edition), Bloomsbury Professional.
Contributor to the Pensions Law Handbook (15th Edition), Bloomsbury Professional.
Work Highlights
-One of the parties in the ground breaking MNRPF case.
-A financial services client on the successfully defence of over 30 Pension Ombudsman complaints concerning an interpretation of the Scheme rules. Had the determinations been lost the client's liability would have been in the region of GBP 60m.
-A financial services client on cessation of accrual in the company's pension scheme by way of contractual variation and orchestrating the communication exercise to employees.
-A retail services client on benefit restructuring issues and dealing with the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund to facilitate the admission of the company's pension scheme into the Pension Protection Fund.
-On three leading claims for actuarial negligence in the High Court.
-A successful member in the landmark Foster Wheeler litigation.
Practice Areas
Neil Smith is a partner in the Pensions team.
He has extensive experience in dealing with all types of pensions issues. His practice encompasses both contentious and non-contentious issues.
On the contentious side he acts for leading actuarial and benefit consultants in pensions professional negligence actions.
He has also acted in a number of the most significant Part 8 pension cases in recent years, including MNRPF and Foster Wheeler.
Neil has significant experience of Pension Ombudsman determinations.
On the non-contentious side, he advises both trustee and corporate clients in relation to benefit restructures, the pensions aspects of mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, employer covenant issues, insolvency issues.
Neil is a full member of the Association of Pension Lawyers and is on the Pensions Litigation Committee of the Association of Pensions Lawyers. He is a regular speaker and has chaired conferences for CLT, a specialist provider of training for the legal profession, as well as for the Association of Pension Lawyers.
Neil is named as a leading individual in the pensions (and pensions litigation) field in both the Chambers Guide and Legal 500.
Education
College of Law, Guildford
1992
Leicester University
LLB (Hons)
1991
Chambers Review
UK
Neil Smith has extensive experience in a broad range of matters, including Part 8 claims and professional negligence actions. He also advises clients on disputes relating to benefits changes and scheme closures.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Neil is an expert in his field and provides clients with a very high level of service."
"Neil is very useful to have in your corner on a delicate issue. He is super-helpful in technical pensions cases."
"Neil is good to work with. He's pragmatic and examines the whole situation, and works well with others to find a solution."
"Neil Smith is very good. He's commercial and experienced, and can be aggressive where it is merited and realistic where clients are concerned."
"Neil is an expert in his field and provides clients with a very high level of service."
"Neil is very useful to have in your corner on a delicate issue. He is super-helpful in technical pensions cases."
"Neil is good to work with. He's pragmatic and examines the whole situation, and works well with others to find a solution."
"Neil Smith is very good. He's commercial and experienced, and can be aggressive where it is merited and realistic where clients are concerned."
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