Geoffrey Topham

Awards and Achievements

Lincoln’s Inn.
Member Chancery Bar Association and Association of Pension Lawyers.

Contributor to Tolley’s Pensions Law: chapter on Powers & Duties of Pension Scheme Trustees (latest edition 2005).

Please contact the clerks (clerks@3sb.law.co.uk) for a full CV.

Professional reputation

Legal 500(2004) ... much acclaim from instructing solicitors who describe him as simply ‘a great senior junior’ who is ‘very easy to work with’

Chambers UK (2005)... a ‘dream team’ player ... can navigate his way around particularly ‘thorny pensions issues’ armed with his ‘tremendous intellect’.

Practice

Geoff Topham undertakes litigation and advisory work in a number of Chancery fields, with the main emphasis on occupational pension schemes (in which area he has been a specialist for some 18 years), and also trusts and estates.

He has a long track record of pensions litigation, including the landmark cases of Courage (1987), Imperial Tobacco (1990), Lloyds Bank (1996) and National Grid (2001). Other major cases include Express Newspapers Pension Scheme (1999), Brooks v Brooks (1996) and BT Pension Scheme on pre-emptive costs (2002).

Geoff advises some of the leading City and provincial solicitors on occupational pension schemes, acting variously for employers, trustees and members. He also has an extensive trust practice.

Notable recent cases

• Universities Superannuation Scheme v Simpson [2004] PLR 395, on the construction of normal and early retirement provisions, successfully claiming higher benefits for many members and pensioners.
• Armitage v Staveley Industries [2004] PLR 385, successfully claiming increases in company ‘top-up’ pension.

Use of this site is subject to our site use disclaimer and legal statement.