Simmons & Simmons has boosted its London bench with the hire of DLA Piper’s pensions de-risking lead, Amrit Mclean, along with a team of four lawyers.
Mclean will join Simmons with her team on 3 November as its global head of pensions de-risking. Her hire means the firm will have a comprehensive offering in pensions risk tranfer (PRT) transactions, with her experience acting for insurers complementing the firm’s existing capabilities acting on the sell-side for pension scheme trustees and sponsors.
“The hire of Amrit and her team is an important step for our firm and takes our client offering to the next level,” said Danny Tsang, partner and head of Simmons’ pensions and incentives team. “Amrit’s reputation in pensions de-risking, particularly on the buy-side for insurers, is unmatched. Her expertise built over two decades, and relationships with leading insurers, will significantly enhance our offering, creating a comprehensive service across the entire PRT spectrum.”
Mclean has spent the past six years as a partner at DLA Piper, before which she held director roles in the business teams of Aviva and Legal & General. Earlier in her career she practised as an associate at legacy firm Wragge & Co.
Mclean acts for all insurers in the pensions de-risking market. Simmons pointed to her relationships with leading institutions in the insurance and asset management and investment funds (AMIF) sector, which it said would further enhance its pensions de-risking and transactional insurance capabilities. She also spearheaded the Buyers’ Report – a tailored service to support insurers – which will continue in her new role.
Mclean has joined Simmons off the back of a period of strong growth at the firm that has seen profits rise 70% and profit per equity partner (PEP) 50% over the past five years, with work from AMIF sector clients among the key business areas behind the increases. The firm’s turnover hit £615m in the 2024/25 financial year, while profit stood at £215m and PEP topped £1.1m.
Mclean highlighted Simmons’ asset management capabilities and strength in AI – the firm has developed its own in-house large language model, whose adoption has supported clients and attracted plaudits from Microsoft – which she said would “supercharge our offering to the market and de-risking insurers”.
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