Cleveland & Co is pleased to announce that Louise Howard will be joining the firm as General Counsel, Pension Funds & Institutional Investors.
Louise joins Cleveland & Co following more than a decade at Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK’s largest private sector pension scheme, where she most recently served as Chief Legal Officer. Widely regarded as one of the leading legal figures in the pensions sector, Louise has advised through some of the most significant governance, regulatory and strategic developments affecting UK pension schemes over the last decade.
Her appointment reflects a broader evolution in the legal market. As pension schemes and institutional investors face increasing complexity, many are seeking access to senior legal advisers who combine deep technical expertise with first-hand experience of operating within large, sophisticated institutions.
Throughout her career, Louise has worked at the heart of one of the UK’s most important pension organisations, advising boards and senior stakeholders on complex legal, governance and strategic matters. She brings a rare combination of institutional insight, commercial judgement and market credibility that has traditionally been difficult to access outside a permanent in-house role.
Louise’s arrival further strengthens Cleveland & Co’s External In-House Counsel model, which provides pension schemes, trustees, institutional investors and asset owners with access to senior lawyers who have operated at the highest levels of the institutions they now advise.
Emma Cleveland, CEO of Cleveland & Co, commented:
“Louise’s appointment is a powerful endorsement of where the legal market is heading. For too long, institutional clients have been forced to choose between building expensive internal legal teams or relying on external advisers who have never sat in their seat. Our External In-House Counsel model was created to bridge that gap.
Louise brings exceptional experience from one of the most influential pension schemes in the UK. She understands the realities of governance, regulatory scrutiny and strategic decision-making because she has been responsible for them. As pension schemes and institutional investors face increasing complexity, they need more than technical legal advice. They need trusted senior advisers who understand their world from the inside.
Louise embodies exactly that. We are delighted she is joining Cleveland & Co and I am very much looking forward to working with her as we continue to build something genuinely different for institutional clients.”
