Association of Pension Lawyers presents Certificate of Achievement to 1st Durham Pensions Law Student to Win APL Prize and Qualify as Pensions Lawyer

10 October 2025

BORDER Association of Pensions Lawyers Summer Conference

From left to right: Jane Kola, Jess Peart and Philip Bennett at the Association of Pensions Lawyers Summer Conference. Photo: David Pollard.

At the APL’s Summer Conference on Friday, 20th June, 2025, Jane Kola, a member of the APL’s Main Committee, presented Durham Law graduate, Jess Peart, with the APL’s Certificate of Achievement as the first winner of APL Prize for Pension Law to qualify as a pensions lawyer and become a member of the APL.

On behalf of the APL, Jane Kola said: “The APL is delighted to support Jess in giving this award. Education has always been a key part of the APL’s ethos which is one of the reasons why the APL supports the Durham University Pensions Law module with the APL Prize. It is wonderful to see Jess’s success and is something the APL wants to recognise and celebrate.”

Jess graduated from Durham University with 1^st Class Honours in Law in July 2021 and is the 2021 joint winner of the APL Prize for Pensions Law. She joined the Eversheds Sutherland's Employment, Labour, and Pensions Group, based in Manchester, in November 2021 as a Paralegal and qualified into that Group as a solicitor in October 2024.

Jess Peart said:

“It’s a real honour to receive this recognition from the APL. Completing the Pensions Law module at Durham University was what first sparked my interest in pensions law, so going on to win the APL Prize was an even greater privilege. Being recognised now, as a qualified pensions lawyer, feels incredibly special. I’m so grateful to the APL and to everyone who’s supported me along the way – especially my friends and family, Philip Bennett, and my brilliant colleagues at Eversheds Sutherland. I hope this encourages other students to explore pensions law as a rewarding and dynamic career path.”

Sarah Swift, Eversheds Sutherland Partner, member of the APL’s main committee and Durham university alumna, said:

”We have been delighted to support Philip Bennett as he established the first ever pensions law module at a UK university and also sought to offer practical employment links for his students with leading pensions law firms. We are equally delighted that Jess chose to join Eversheds Sutherland and qualify into our pensions team. We are very proud of her achievements and we are looking forward to her career with us going from strength to strength (based on the solid foundations taught on the Durham pensions module!).“

The APL Prize for Pensions Law is awarded to the 3^rd year Law undergraduate or undergraduates who come first (or joint first) in the Durham Law School Pensions Law module created and taught by Philip Bennett, the Law School’s first Professor in Practice.

On behalf of Durham Law School, Philip Bennett said:

“After more than 30 years as a practising pensions lawyer and as a former Chair of the APL L&P Sub-Committee, my aim, when creating the Pensions Law module and starting to teach it in October 2019, was to pass on to Durham Law undergraduates knowledge of, and seek to create an interest in, this hugely important area of law. The APL very generously supported this step into the unknown with the APL Prize for Pensions Law. I was delighted to hear that Jess had secured a Pensions Paralegal position at Eversheds Sutherland shortly after graduating and even more delighted to hear that she had qualified as a solicitor into the Employment, Labour, and Pensions Group. Many congratulations to Jess on her achievements and my continuing thanks to the APL for their ongoing support for the Pensions Law module.”