Gittings Global - NE84359

Paul R. Lawrence

Associate

paul.lawrence@lw.com
    Gittings Global - NE84359

    Paul R. Lawrence

    Associate

    paul.lawrence@lw.com

    Profile

    Paul R. Lawrence is an associate in the London office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Executive Compensation, Employment & Benefits Practice.
    Mr. Lawrence advises private equity funds, hedge funds, investors, lenders, and insurers on UK pensions law in the context of corporate M&A activity, financings and re-financings, restructurings, and pension insurance and risk transfer transactions.

    Mr. Lawrence advises on the full spectrum of pensions law issues related to transactional structuring and implementation, risk and regulatory sanctions, including:

    • Pensions aspects of corporate M&A transactions
    • Transactional due diligence
    • Issues related to the UK Pensions Regulator’s “moral hazard” powers including seeking regulatory clearance for transactions where required
    • Negotiations and settlement with UK pension plan trustees where corporate activity may necessitate the need for some form of financial mitigation to be provided to a pension plan
    • Amendment and restructuring of UK pension arrangements 
    • UK pension plan risk transfer and insurance transactions

    Alongside his pensions law experience, Mr. Lawrence advises clients on UK employment law in the context of corporate transactions, including:

    • Recruitment and severance
    • Employee relations and consultation
    • Works council and Trade Union issues
    • Employee transfers

    Mr. Lawrence currently serves on the committee of the Central London Group of the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and is actively involved in the UK Association of Pension Lawyers.

    Mr. Lawrence is a regular speaker at pensions industry events and conferences, including the Pensions Management Institute and the Professional Pensions magazine conference series.

    Prior to joining Latham, Mr. Lawrence practiced for more than five years in the pension funds group of a Magic Circle law firm in London.

    Experience

    Mr. Lawrence’s experience includes advising: 

    • Norgine Europe B.V., a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company, on its agreement to sell a controlling stake in the company to Goldman Sachs Asset Management
    • Shift4, a leading provider of integrated payment and technology solutions, in the acquisition of Finaro, an Israel-based software financial technology company
    • PAI Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) in connection with the sale of a majority stake in Refresco, one of the world’s largest independent beverage contract manufacturers, to KKR
    • A private equity consortium on the pensions issues associated with the take private of a well-established listed vehicle recovery and insurance business*
    • The Trustee of an industry-wide pension plan on a number of guarantees entered into with participating employers to supplement on-going pension deficit repair contributions*
    • The Trustee of one of the UK’s largest defined benefit pension plans on what was, at the time, the largest pensions insurance/de-risking transaction of its type (c.£14 billion)*
    • A mainstream insurer on a multi-billion pound pensions insurance/de-risking transaction with a household name employer’s pension plan*
    • A number of Trustees and insurers on the UK Pensions Regulator’s Master Trust authorization process to allow the Master Trusts to continue to operate as commercial vehicles*
    • The pensions issues associated with the restructuring and de-merger of a dual listed PLC* 

    *Matter handled prior to joining Latham

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • England and Wales (Solicitor)

    Education

    • LPC, The College of Law, 2012
    • LLB Law, University of Hull, 2011

    Languages Spoken

    • English

    Practices

    News & Insights

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