Deloitte Legal makes senior Manchester appointment

Deloitte Legal has today announced the appointment of Claire Bell as partner and head of the firm’s pensions law offering.

Building Deloitte’s national pensions law practice from Manchester, Claire will be responsible for combining Deloitte Legal’s legal advisory and legal business services expertise with the firm’s existing capabilities within the pensions space.

Advising clients in respect of pensions law for over 16 years, Claire joins Deloitte Legal from DLA Piper UK where she was a partner. Prior to this, Claire trained at Womble Bond Dickinson and worked at Eversheds. A fellow of the Pensions Management Institute and former chair of its North West group, Claire recently won Mentor of the Year at the Women in Pensions Awards 2020.

Since qualification, Claire has acted for a broad spectrum of clients in respect of pensions issues, including trustees of defined benefit pension schemes, employers sponsoring such schemes, public sector bodies, contracting authorities and contractors bidding for contracts. Claire has also acted for corporates carrying out transactions, restructuring their groups, or trying to reduce their pension liabilities.

Claire will work alongside Deloitte Legal’s corporate, M&A, outsourcing and employment lawyers while also integrating with its actuaries, consultants, administrators and investment consultants in providing an end-to-end solution for clients.

Deloitte’s growing Manchester practice is now made up of over 900 people. This includes recent addition of a new cyber team of 16, a new cohort of over 80 graduates and Brightstart apprentices, and expansion of the firm’s Consulting North team that is targeting a headcount growth of 60.

Commenting on the appointment, Chris Hardman, corporate partner and regional lead for Deloitte Legal, said: “Claire is a fantastic addition to our growing North West legal team and illustrates our commitment to investing in local talent to enhance our regional offering. Claire will be building out a team to supplement our existing corporate and commercial lawyers and we are very much looking forward to working with her. Combining her deep experience advising major regional corporates, public bodies and trustees across the full spectrum of pension law matters with our existing pensions advisory business is a compelling proposition.”

Claire Bell, partner and head of pensions law at Deloitte Legal, said: “The team at Deloitte Legal is expanding rapidly and it is fantastic to contribute to providing a full service offering to clients. Further, there is real value in Deloitte offering legal advice alongside pensions consultancy, actuarial, administration and investment advice. Not only does this improve efficiency, this is also a more collaborative approach that ultimately leads to cost savings and a better experience for our clients.”

The appointment follows Deloitte’s recent acquisitions of Kerr Henderson, a pension scheme administration and actuarial consultancy, and Kemp Little, a technology and digital law firm.

Mark McClintock, head of Deloitte’s UK pensions business, commented: “With Claire’s arrival we will now be able to provide a new legal dimension to our pensions clients.

“Whether providing general legal advice or interpreting pensions liabilities for a complex transaction, Claire’s concrete understanding of pensions law and experience across the public and private sectors will be tremendously valuable.”

Deloitte Legal now has more than 370 people in the UK, with 170 lawyers delivering technology-enabled legal solutions and legal advisory in areas such as employment, litigation, corporate, commercial, IP and technology, regulatory compliance and immigration. Globally, Deloitte Legal currently has c.2,500 professionals operating in more than 80 countries.