Head of the firm’s Pensions Practice Matthew Giles has won Partner of the Year at the Birmingham Law Society Legal Awards. The annual awards recognise top talent within the region’s legal community.
Mr. Giles leads a team of over 40 pensions specialists across the UK that advises more than 500 pensions clients with over £400 billion of pensions assets. In his leadership role, he has introduced measures to improve productivity and collaboration across the team, which has resulted in a significant increase in revenue and market-leading client mandates. The team led two of the most important pensions developments in 2024; the launch of the first (and so far, only) collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme in the UK - the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan, and it was also on the winning side of the biggest pensions court case of 2024 – Virgin Media v NTL Pension Trustees II Limited & Ors.
In addition to his leadership skills, Mr. Giles was recognised for his contribution to the community. He acts as professional trustee of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Pension Scheme on a pro bono basis. He is also Chair of the Trustees of the Squire Patton Boggs Charitable Trust, a registered charity focused on providing support to small regional charities across the UK.
Mr. Giles has been with the firm for 25 years. Promoted to partner in 2008, Mr. Giles has led the Birmingham Pensions team since 2014. He was appointed Head of Pensions in 2022.