Laura Robinson (née Hazell)

“Laura deserves praise and thanks in equal measure for her tireless coordination of our disparate gang – quite how she has managed to find the patience and energy to accommodate all our issues and requests is beyond me, but what I do know is that Clarke Willmott are lucky to have such a precocious talent.”
Client

Laura is a Partner in the Financial Services Litigation team specialising in claims and complaints relating to financial and tax products and planning. Her expertise includes managing claims and complaints regarding negligent advice given in respect of investments, pensions and tax mitigation schemes, primarily for claimants. Laura is a member of the Personal Finance Society and Chartered Insurance Institute and holds the CII Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning. Laura joined Clarke Willmott in 2009 after graduating from the University of the West of England with a Distinction in Legal Practice.

Experience

• Pension transfer advice – Laura is part of the team currently acting for numerous individuals, including over 200 steel workers, who were advised to walk away from their workplace final salary pensions and transfer into private arrangements. She is also currently advising other clients regarding Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (‘QROPS’) transfers, the transfer of an Army pension into a private scheme and the investment of pension funds into unsuitable, unregulated products including traded life policies (known as ‘death bonds’).
• Tax Avoidance – Laura acted for 11 individuals in a £30m group claim against accountants concerning advice on film scheme investments. She continues to act for other investors in film partnership and tax mitigation schemes.
• Mis-sold investments – Laura handled numerous claims relating to the AIG Premier Access Bond. A number of cases were successfully concluded, including Rubenstein v HSBC in the Court of Appeal.
• Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’) complaints and Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’) applications – Laura and the team have acted for hundreds of individuals in complaints and applications for compensation concerning their pensions. These include a large number of successful steel workers’ applications to the FSCS – the team has recovered over £2m for the steel workers already. Laura and the team have also managed other successful FOS complaints concerning, for example, SIPP operator failings, and advice to invest pension savings in unsuitable Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (‘UCIS’).

Laura’s clients have described her as performing “extraordinarily well under all sorts of pressure” and have congratulated her on her “calm handling of so many difficult corners.”