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Crispin Freeman

Director

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About

Crispin is a director in the Pensions and Lifetime Savings team. He qualified in 1993 and joined the firm in 2014 having previously been a partner in a London firm.

He advises trustees and employers in the private and public sectors on a broad range of pensions issues, including specific projects (such as transactions), routine matters (such as amendments to scheme documentation) and all aspects of the day-to-day running of pension schemes (such as member queries).

Crispin has designed and led trustee and member representative training workshops and presented to the Institute of Directors. He is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers and is qualified in England & Wales and in Northern Ireland, and is noted in the Legal 500.

Experience

  • Major high street retailer: Advising the employer on all pension issues, including the merger and closure to accrual of this major retailer’s pension arrangements.
  • Trustees of PLC’s three defined benefit pension schemes: Advising the trustees in relation to the employer’s proposed merger of its pension schemes. This involved the protection of significant trustee powers.
  • Transport for Wales and the Welsh Ministers: Advising in relation to the Core Valley Lines reorganisation and associated pensions arrangements, including drafting of a new Railways Pension Scheme section for connected employees.
  • Trustees and employers: Advising in relation to liability management projects, including GMP equalisation, distribution of surplus, buy-ins and buy-outs.
  • Plumbing Pensions Employers Limited: Advising this employer representative body of an unsegregated industry-wide scheme for unassociated employers in relation to its ongoing duties and responsibilities, and its negotiations with the trustee.
  • Trustee board: Advised in relation to an application for forfeiture of £5 million of benefits of three members of the scheme following their conviction for a £8 million fraud against the sponsoring employer.

Credentials

  • Admitted as a solicitor: England & Wales (1993), Northern Ireland (2016).

Areas of expertise

Sector focus

Office

“I’m extremely happy with the way we’re working together, so if there’s ever an occasion when you feel that you should be at our meetings I’m relying on you to let me know. You’ve very quickly become an invaluable member of the team and we take great comfort from the fact that we know you’re constantly on the alert watching out for us.”

Chair of trustee board

“I thought I should just drop you a line to say how pleased we were with Crispin’s performance – he was cool, calm and knowledgeable and was a great support to us as the original project expanded at a rate of knots, especially latterly when he had a house move in the offing. He always made sure he had the time to listen and advise.”

Chair of trustee board

“Burges Salmon have a really strong pensions team, both in terms of skill and experience – I would highly recommend them. There is real breadth and depth within the team and I have been particularly impressed by Clive Pugh and Crispin Freeman.”

Legal 500 UK, 2023

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