Daniel Gerring

Daniel is a partner with expertise in pensions, governance and DEI. Alongside being one of the UK's leading pensions lawyers, he chairs Travers Smith’s Diversity and Inclusion Board and was our founding CSR Partner.

Daniel has been a partner at Travers Smith since 2012. From 2016 until 2023 he served as head of our Pensions practice. During this time the practice moved into the top tier of both Chambers and Legal 500 and won many awards, including several for our extensive work and thought leadership on diversity, equity and inclusion. Daniel remains a senior partner in our Pensions team and the Client Relationship Partner for a number of our largest and most high-profile clients. He advises both sponsors and trustees on all legal matters, with a particular focus on covenant, funding and long-term planning. His clients describe him as "a first class lawyer and an acknowledged expert in his field. He is also a supremely commercial, pragmatic and strategic adviser and definitely the person you want at your side in negotiations. I can’t rate him highly enough. He is also a great supporter and developer of people and is unstuffy and personable. His team are also quality lawyers and are going from strength to strength.".

He is also involved in the leadership of Travers Smith's wider business. As well chairing our DEI Board, he led the establishment of our multi-award winning Corporate Social Responsibility programme and is our Senior LGBT+ Champion.

Daniel is included in Legal 500's Hall of Fame and ranks highly in Chambers and Partners. He has been named by Who's Who Legal as a 'Global Elite Thought Leader'. He has been ranked in the top 15 in OUTstanding's top 100 LGBT+ Executives List worldwide (published by the Financial Times) and has been named Mentor of the Year at the British Legal Awards and Leader of the Year at the PMI Pinnacle Awards He is honoured to be a Leadership Fellow at Windsor Castle.

Daniel is also an experienced non-executive director and charity trustee and has significant experience chairing boards and board sub-committees. He is Chair of Trustees of Refugees at Home and of YMCA London, City and North amongst other appointments. He is also involved in a number of industry groups, including serving on the Governing Council and the Covenant Committee of the Society of Pension Professionals and chairing its diversity, equity and inclusion group as well as sitting on the Pensions Regulator's Diversity & Inclusion Working Group and the steering group of the Pensions Equity Group.

Daniel brings all of this experience to advising the trustees and/or sponsors of some of the UK's largest and most complex pension funds on all legal, regulatory and governance issues which they face, as well as advising a range of others on pensions, governance and diversity, equity and inclusion. He has extensive experience of leading multi-disciplinary adviser teams, which are often required to properly look after our clients.

He is commercial, solution-driven and a naturally collaborative team player and quickly builds strong working relationships, whilst remaining a tenacious and effective negotiator.

The trustee of a c. £25bn pension scheme on a revised package of covenant support, including hard-coded downside sharing.
The overseas sponsor of a large UK pension scheme on the renegotiation of its funding and covenant package, including associated revisions to contractual covenant support arrangements.
The sponsor of a very large UK pension scheme on an extensive benefit redesign package, involving the creation of a highly bespoke benefit structure suitable for employees with different employment histories.
A range of boards on effective governance, including substantive governance reviews, in order to support them in making the best possible decisions.
The trustees of a large UK pension scheme, over several years, on a journey from survival due to employer distress through to full funding and buy-out, including extensive work alongside the trustees, the sponsor and the Pensions Regulator.

The trustee of a multi-billion-pound UK pension fund on a new valuation and funding plan with associated revisions to the synthetic covenant package provided by a third-party sponsor group entity, as well as on long-term journey planning.
The trustees of a large UK pension scheme on a new funding and covenant support agreement with upside sharing provisions designed to support the sustainable growth of the sponsor for both the sponsor and the scheme's mutual benefit.
A range of corporate and trustee clients on the pensions and related aspects of significant corporate transactions and reorganisations.
The sponsors and trustees of a range of funds on a variety of liability and risk limitation exercises, including buy-ins and buy-outs, longevity insurance contracts, longevity adjustment factors, pension increase exchanges and transfer exercises.

Daniel has substantial gravitas … and uses that to real effect to always offer great assurance on any matters. He is incredibly able, with huge experience... I cannot rate him highly enough.

Daniel Gerring is a stand-out partner and lawyer. His knowledge of DB Pensions and regulation runs deep and broad. He is also an individual who offers exceptional advice always with a dose of pragmatism.

Daniel Gerring is very simply the best pension lawyer I have ever come across – he is incredibly bright, yet plain speaking, accessible, fair, pragmatic and effective. He provided first class strategic and commercial support.

Selected deals

WHAT OTHERS SAY