ERISA, Employee Benefits and Compensation

The firm's employee benefits practice encompasses a wide variety of services, including assisting clients in the design, implementation, administration and termination of tax-qualified retirement plans, such as pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, and 401(k) plans, as well as Employee Stock Ownership Plans, or ESOPs (including leveraged ESOPs).

Attorneys practicing in the employee benefits area assist clients in keeping abreast of continually changing laws, regulations and legal interpretations, as well as fiduciary, reporting and disclosure requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), and are able to help in monitoring plans for compliance with those requirements. We assist clients in working with governmental agencies concerning benefit matters, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Securities Exchange Commission.

The firm also has substantial experience with non-retirement benefits. We prepare plan documents and summary plan descriptions, and advise clients regarding compliance with HIPAA, COBRA, and other laws affecting health plans and their administration. Our attorneys regularly assist our clients with the establishment and maintenance of other welfare benefit plans, such as disability, accidental death, life insurance plans, cafeteria plans, and voluntary employee beneficiary associations.

The ERISA, Employee Benefits and Compensation group provides legal advice and assistance on the employee benefits issues involved in corporate business transactions, such as corporate borrowings, leveraged buy-outs, tender offers, sales of assets, mergers, spin-offs, liquidation and other corporate reorganizations. The firm can assist clients in the establishment of non-qualified executive and incentive compensation plans, such as stock option, employee stock purchase, phantom and performance share plans and other equity-based compensation arrangements and long term incentive plans (LTIPs), deferred compensation, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs) and excess benefit plans (together with "rabbi trusts") and special welfare plans such as severance pay plans.

Practice Areas include:

• Benefits Litigation
• COBRA Planning
• Executive Compensation and Deferred Compensation
• Health and Welfare Plans
• Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDRO)
• Qualified Plans

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