JUNIOR PROFILE

Philip Stear

UK Bar 2026

Outer Temple Chambers

Ranked in 1 practice area

Pensions

London (Bar)

1 year ranked

About

Provided by Outer Temple Chambers

UK Bar

Practice Areas

Philip Stear has a broad (advisory and contentious) Chancery practice with a particular focus on private trusts and occupational pension schemes.

Career

Called: 2018 (Solicitor since 1997)

Philip was called in November 2018, having been a solicitor in Travers Smith LLP’s highly ranked pensions practice for more than twenty years, thirteen of them as a partner. In his early career he was a Lecturer in Law at the University of Bristol (specialising in contract law, trusts law and property law) from 1992 to 1995, and then part-time (with a special focus on pensions law) from 2000 until 2004.

Philip maintains a wide and deep knowledge of the broader legal landscape, particularly in relation to property law and contract law. Clients prize him as a solution-oriented lateral thinker able to find ways to unlock the knottiest problems.

Professional Memberships

Association of Pension Lawyers (APL)

Chancery Bar Association (ChBA)

The Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR)

The Contentious Trusts Association (ConTra)

Publications

Britvic: scheme employer could direct increases lower than RPI on the true construction of the scheme’s pension increase rules (Court of Appeal) (published on Practical Law on 10 June 2021 ref w-031-3502)

Touching the Void: The Amendment of COSR Pension Schemes Between 1997 and 2016: Section 37 of the Pensions Schemes Act 1993 (published on LinkedIn 27 May 2020)

The Amendment of COSR Pension Schemes Between 1997 and 2016: Section 37 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 [TLI 2020 Vol 33 Number 4 Pg 163-173]

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

UK Bar

Pensions - London (Bar)

Band 3

Individual Editorial

Philip Stear is adept at handling a range of pensions issues both contentious and advisory in nature, with a focus on private trusts and occupational schemes. His background as a solicitor provides him with a valuable commercial perspective and robust technical experience.

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Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Philip uses his years in practice as a solicitor to good effect from a commercial perspective.
PensionsUK Bar
Philip is intellectually robust and creative in his thinking on complex areas.
PensionsUK Bar
Philip is academically brilliant and completely on top of all the case law and the nuances of an incredibly complex area of law. He thinks creatively to help clients with long-term goals.
PensionsUK Bar