PRACTICE AREAS
Retirement Plans
Advise employers and plan fiduciaries on all aspects of tax-qualified retirement arrangements, including:
- Profit sharing plans (including 401(k) and age-weighted plans)
- Traditional defined benefit and cash balance defined benefit pension plans
- Taft-Hartley (multiemployer) pension plans
- 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity, 457 and governmental plans
- Prevailing wage (Davis-Bacon, Service Contract Act) plans
Typical projects include:
- Advising on all aspects of new plan set up and obtaining determination letter
- Reviewing effectiveness of current plan vendors
- Reviewing reasonableness of current fees paid to all vendors
- Advising on alternative approaches to investment selection and other fiduciary matters
- Trust counsel for Taft-Hartley trustees (also for welfare plans)
- Designing plans to provide greater benefits to key employees
- Correcting administrative errors practically and efficiently
- Reviewing benefit plans in connection with an acquisition
- Qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) preparation and review
- Child support arrearages recovery via QDRO
- IRS and DOL plan audit, participant claims and litigation (also for welfare plans)
- Merger and acquisition due diligence
Welfare Plans
Advise employers and fiduciaries on all aspects of health and welfare benefit plans, including:
- Affordable Care Act requirements
- Cafeteria plans, medical spending accounts (including FSAs, HRAs and HSAs)
- Insured medical, life, disability and AD&D plans; dependent care plans
- Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs)
- Taft-Hartley (multiemployer) welfare plans
- Retiree health plans
Typical projects include:
- Full-time employee (lookback rule) calculations and penalty tax advice
- COBRA coverage reviews, advice and documentation
- Preparing comprehensive documents for all welfare benefit plans
- Advising on HIPAA compliance (including the privacy and security rules)
Equity Compensation and Other Arrangements
Advise companies on other types of compensation arrangements, including:
- Nonqualified deferred compensation plans, top-hat plans and executive-only plans
- Stock option plans, restricted stock, stock appreciation rights and phantom stock plans
- Negotiating employment agreements
- Resolving benefit-related disputes