PRACTICE

Executive Compensation & Benefits

Overview

The Pierson Ferdinand Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Team is dedicated to addressing the diverse needs of closely-held and publicly-traded businesses, not-for-profit organizations, churches, and individuals in matters concerning employee benefits under the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). We pride ourselves on offering technical proficiency, cost-effective solutions, and a pragmatic, easily comprehensible approach to achieving our clients’ goals.  Given the complexity of the Code’s benefits regulations and ERISA’s requirements, we are committed to providing clarity and client education, making the law and alternative solutions to emerging issues understandable and helping to prevent problems proactively.

  • Full Spectrum of Business Transactions

    Like traditional large law firms, we regularly assist clients in the full spectrum of business transactions and related company matters, a large portion of which involves mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, banking and credit, employment, regulatory, corporate governance and board advisory, intellectual property, and financial restructuring and reorganization, among others.  

  • Leveraging Technology

    Our Corporate team leverages cutting edge technology in all aspects of practice and our diverse all-partner teams focus on what matters most to our clients and stakeholders, delivering outcomes through shared values of strength, diversity, and collaboration.  

  • Forging Close Partnerships

    We believe in forging close partnerships with our clients to better understand their business operations, enabling us to provide more effective counsel and to deliver exceptional value during pivotal moments that often shape profoundly the trajectory and success of our clients’ businesses.

  • Effective Low-Leverage Platform

    Our unique low-leverage platform is not only more cost-effective, it allows us to focus on fewer, targeted engagements than our peers at traditional, elite law firms. This model allows us to get closer to our clients and to know their  businesses, preferences, and cadence, and to ultimately meet our clients where they are.

Capabilities

Our services encompass a broad spectrum of areas, including tax-qualified retirement plans such as 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, pension plans, cash balance plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, ESOPs, and more.  We assist in the design, qualification, administration, determination letters, preparation of summary plan descriptions, reporting and disclosure, handling prohibited transactions, dispute resolution, qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), and addressing problems when they arise. We specialize in prototype and volume submitter plan adoption, implementation, service agreements, outsourcing, and maintenance.

Moreover, our expertise extends to scenarios involving workforce reductions in conjunction with retirement and group health plans. In the context of mergers and acquisitions, we conduct thorough due diligence, offering representations and covenants, identifying issues, and devising integration and consolidation plans for benefit programs. We navigate the complexities of health and welfare plans, flexible benefit plans, and Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs), handling matters related to HIPAA, COBRA, PPACA (health care reform), Reference Based Pricing (RBP), and self-funding of group medical plans. Our services also encompass retiree medical plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs), executive severance agreements, executive employment and consulting agreements, IRC Sections 162(m) and 280(g) golden parachutes, stock option plans, employee stock purchase plans, and advising non-U.S. businesses on benefit issues related to U.S. acquisitions.