Trilby James
Senior associate
About
Trilby James is a senior associate in the Dispute Resolution team, specialising in pensions disputes and public law litigation. She advises trustees, employers, public bodies, and regulators on complex and sensitive contentious matters, often involving technical scheme issues and regulatory considerations.
Trilby has extensive experience advising on pensions litigation, including disputes concerning scheme administration, amendments and construction of scheme documentation, surplus and tax related issues, professional negligence claims, and complaints before the Pensions Ombudsman. She regularly acts in disputes arising from pensions and trusts advice, including professional negligence claims.
Alongside her pensions work, Trilby advises on public law matters, including judicial review and related challenges. Her experience includes advising on pre action correspondence, case strategy, interim applications, and substantive proceedings, in cases involving public decision making, procedural fairness and the exercise of statutory powers.
Trilby qualified as a solicitor in 2008. She is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers.
In addition to her contentious practice, Trilby has been director of a postgraduate law centre at a UK university. She has also served as a member of a university pensions committee, giving her valuable insight into pension scheme governance from an employer perspective.
Experience
- Advising trustees of a defined benefit pension scheme on Pensions Ombudsman complaints involving scheme administration issues and allegations of maladministration.
- Advising the principal employer of a defined benefit pension scheme on disputes arising from pension scheme wind up, including issues relating to scheme surplus, tax treatment, and member complaints.
- Acting in pensions related professional negligence disputes arising from advice given in connection with pension scheme administration and associated regulatory issues.
- Advising pension scheme trustees in Pensions Regulator contribution notice proceedings, including Determinations Panel and Upper Tribunal stages, resulting in a multi million pound settlement payable to the scheme.
- Advising a statutory regulator on judicial review challenges to regulatory decisions, including drafting pre action responses, advising on interim relief, and supporting the regulator through substantive High Court and Court of Appeal litigation.
- Acting in public law proceedings concerning alleged procedural unfairness, advising on the lawful exercise of statutory powers and case strategy.
Credentials
- Admitted as a Solicitor: England & Wales (2008)