Pensions expert Claire Rankin has left Bristol-headquartered national law firm Burges Salmon to join the local office of rival international legal practice Osborne Clarke as a partner.
BClaire, pictured, is a highly regarded pensions practitioner who specialises in non-contentious pensions law. She arrives at Osborne Clarke after nine years with Burges Salmon as a director. 
BPrior to that she worked in the Bristol office of Clarke Willmott for nearly four years and for 13 years with Eversheds, where she progressed from solicitor to partner.
BClaire advises employers and trustees of occupational pension schemes on all aspects of non-contentious pensions law.
BHaving begun professional life as an employment lawyer, Claire has particular specialism in pension matters with an employment focus, such as scheme change exercises – including consultation and contractual aspects – equality issues and automatic enrolment.
BShe has been credited as a leader in her field by top legal directory Chambers and has been described as “good at understanding how trustees think” and “translating complex things into easy pieces”.
BIn addition to being a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers, Claire is South West Chair of the Pensions Management Institute.
BOsborne Clarke partner and pensions team head Jonathan Hazlett described Claire as “a capable leader with excellent client relationships.”
BHe added: “Claire is a fantastic addition to our pensions team – she is a bright and able practitioner who is highly regarded for her technical ability.
B“Claire’s arrival will increase the strength of our pensions offering and allow us to continue to build on our already successful practice.”
BOsborne Clarke’s pensions team, which is ranked in the top tier by The Legal 500 directory, advises on all aspects of pensions law on the employer and trustee side, including benefit changes, scheme closures, compliance, trustee training, refinancing, restructuring, High Court litigation and member complaint resolution.
BIt also offers a full range of dispute resolution services for pension schemes, corporate clients and pension providers in the UK.
BIn total Osborne Clarke, which has its roots in Bristol, employs more than 850 lawyers and 250-plus partners in its 25 offices around the world. Burges Salmon and Osborne Clarke are Bristol’s two largest law firms.
