IN-HOUSE NOT-FOR-PROFIT TEAM OF THE YEAR 2018

Pension Protection FundWINNER

In August 2017, a Regulated Apportionment Arrangement was agreed to separate the British Steel Pension Scheme from Tata Steel – a transaction that was vital in securing the long term financial security of over 120,000 pension scheme members.

The PPF’s legal team was at the forefront of these negotiations and played an instrumental role in the successful completion of the final transaction. A deal of this significance and nature had never been completed before, and to date it remains the largest deal that the PPF has ever negotiated.

Former PPF CEO Alan Rubenstein personally asked the director of legal, compliance and ethics, Dana Grey, to lead the BSPS project herself, and she acted as the single overarching co-ordinator for the entire project, liaising with and directing a myriad of internal and external stakeholders throughout the entire transaction.

“This was a single, highly complex transaction that required the personal input of the Director of Legal that has shaped the way in which subsequent transactions are dealt with in an area open to political and public scrutiny,” a judge commented. Another concurred: “It shows an enormous amount of effort on the part of Dana Grey in the face of public scrutiny and political pressure – she deserves huge congratulations on completing a market-leading precedent.”

Highly commended: UNISON Legal

UNISON Legal’s team were commended for the ground-breaking Employment Tribunal fees win in the Supreme Court: “a very interesting case with far-reaching ramifications for union members and employees alike.”

Commended: nplaw, Norfolk County Council

nplaw was nominated for its project and commercial work currently being undertaken for the National Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Frameworks initiative, in particular in relation to Data Protection and GDPR Compliance. It is high value, high risk and high profile work, and judges recognised the “super delivery of a complex contractual proposition.”