Edwin advises companies, trustees and financial institutions on all aspects of pensions law. This includes general scheme advisory work and documentation, scheme mergers and reconstructions, clearance applications to the Pension Regulator, changing benefit provisions and closure to future accrual, employer debt issues, Pension Protection Fund entry, investment matters, and pension disputes. He has extensive experience in advising on public sector pension issues, including those connected with Local Government Pension Scheme in Scotland, and with public private partnership agreements and outsourcing contracts.
Edwin chairs the Scottish group of the Association of Pension Lawyers, and sits on the Association's UK-wide Legislative and Parliamentary Committee, which liaises with Government and pension authorities on pensions legislation, and comments on proposed new legislation. He is also a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Pensions Sub-committee.
- Advising trustee and corporate clients across a range of pension schemes and sectors on complex funding and benefit restructuring projects, including closure to future accrual.
- Advising the trustees of a FTSE 100 employer-sponsored employer defined benefits scheme on a range of matters, including corporate activity and scheme valuation issues.
- Advising a UK oil and gas sector pension scheme on the full range of issues relating to scheme buy-out and winding-up, including project management, contract reviews, negotiation with insurer.
- Advising scheme trustees in connection with the sale of a significant proportion of its sponsoring employers including negotiation and drafting of a suite of documents to provide mitigation.
- Advising trustees of three final salary schemes on entry to Pension Protection Fund, including complex restructuring of schemes and sponsoring employer group prior to PPF Assessment in order to preserve value on sale of trading entities.
- Advising three final salary schemes during PPF Assessment periods and transition to PPF.
- Advising the trustee of a pension scheme with Electricity Act pension protections in connection with various protected person issues.
- Advising trustees on sponsoring employer refinancing involving private equity investment and granting of floating charge security in favour of trustees shared with employer’s lenders.
- Advising pension scheme trustees in connection with a court order seeking capital reduction of sponsoring employer.
- Advising Reporter to the Court of Session on pensions aspects of application by parent company of sponsoring employer for authority to reorganise share premium account.
- Advising global employee benefits consultancy on pensions law aspects of auto-enrolment and impact on their service offering.
- Advising insurance company provider on establishment of contract based pension scheme and preparing establishing documentation.
Edwin chairs the Scottish group of the Association of Pension Lawyers and sits on the Association's UK-wide Legislative and Parliamentary Committee.
He is recognised in the Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories as a leader in the field of pensions law, being recently described as an "outstanding lawyer".
