Our lawyers provide day-to-day counseling to plan administrators, trustees and corporate clients with respect to their fiduciary responsibilities and compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code.
We advise a diverse group of clients, including public and private companies, tax-exempt institutions, trustees and fiduciaries, in every aspect of employee benefits and executive compensation, including ongoing advice concerning health and welfare plans and compliance with significant developments, such as increased federal regulation relating to COBRA and HIPAA. Our team routinely advises clients on fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transactions, compensation strategies and change in control arrangements, and has extensive transactional experience.
Qualified Plans: Our practice covers the design, implementation and administration of defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, thrift plans, annuity plans, tax-sheltered annuity plans and money purchase plans. We assist in the drafting of plans, advise employers on their reporting and disclosure obligations, prepare amendments to conform to legislative changes, and merge and terminate plans. We also help clients address operational errors and fiduciary issues, advising employers and trustees with respect to voluntary and involuntary federal correction programs and, when necessary, negotiating with regulatory agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We provide ongoing advice to employers concerning various federal laws, regulations and rulings to ensure that they stay abreast of significant developments.
Nonqualified Plans: We are experienced at formulating a variety of non-qualified retirement plans, including deferred compensation plans, top-hat plans, excess benefit plans and supplemental employee retirement plans.
Health and Welfare Plans: Our team works with clients on the entire spectrum of health and welfare plans, including medical plans; dental plans; vision plans; employee assistance programs; vacation plans; severance plans; legal, educational and training programs; cafeteria plans, including premium conversion programs; health care flexible spending arrangements and dependent care arrangements; and other fringe benefit plans and post-retirement benefits. We provide ongoing advice to employers concerning various federal laws, regulations and rulings, including compliance developments relating to COBRA, HIPAA and USERRA.
Tax-Exempt Organizations: Our team has advised a wide range of tax-exempt organizations, including independent schools, colleges, universities and foundations, with respect to their unique employee benefits issues, including extensive experience with 403(b) plans, and deferred compensation plans under sections 457(b) and 457(f) of the Internal Revenue Code. In addition, we draft and negotiate employment agreements on behalf of our clients, applying the intermediate sanction rules to determine reasonable compensation.