Overview

Robinson Bradshaw has broad experience in employment matters relating to benefits and executive compensation, and we enjoy helping our clients with business-focused solutions in this complex and heavily regulated area of law. Our lawyers have deep and varied experience, including significant in-house experience at public companies. We are committed to providing our clients with practical and proactive advice on all benefits and executive compensation issues and challenges.

Employee Benefits

Our employee benefit (ERISA) practice covers all legal aspects of planning, plan design, counseling, drafting and implementing benefit plans. This includes tax-qualified retirement plans – such as pension, profit sharing and 401(k) plans – and client-sponsored welfare benefits plans, like group health plans, health care flexible spending plans, disability plans and severance plans. We advise clients on deferred compensation and severance plans, including related 409A issues. We also provide legal advice regarding plan administration and represent employers in benefit plan matters with the IRS, Department of Labor and other government agencies.

We regularly advise our clients regarding the employee benefits issues that arise in the context of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, including change in control plans and long-term incentive plans. We have substantial experience in identifying and resolving the benefits-related legal issues that arise when employers restructure by acquiring or spinning off a business unit.

Executive Compensation

Our attorneys guide clients through the complexities of federal and state laws and the regulations that impact executive compensation. We work proactively with both employers and executives to keep them informed of current developments, and we have broad proficiency covering the rules and regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, IRS and Financial Accounting Standards Board. In addition to counseling on the legal aspects of regulation, we also provide practical advice on designing and implementing executive compensation arrangements to achieve business objectives across the spectrum, from short-term incentives to retirement planning.

Our practice includes assisting clients in structuring a variety of long-term cash and equity compensation arrangements and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. In addition, our planning for executives often includes special benefit arrangements, or special payment methods through, among other means, life insurance, annuity contracts and “rabbi” trusts.

Honors & Awards

  • Best Law Firms, Charlotte Tier 1 for employee benefits (ERISA) law, 2011-24

Experience

  • Served as legal counsel to a public company terminating defined benefit pension plans acquired in business transactions.

  • Merged smaller underfunded benefit pension plan into larger well-funded defined benefit pension plan, thereby reducing client’s required aggregate funding contribution.

  • Represented a public company integrating employee retirement and welfare benefit plans following the $3.5 billion acquisition of a competitor.

  • Represented bankrupt employer and liquidating trustee in terminating bankrupt employer’s 401(k)/profit sharing plan.

  • Assisted clients with compliance issues under the Affordable Care Act.

  • Represent executives and public and private companies in negotiating the terms of employment agreements for senior-level executives.

  • Represent public and private companies in developing stock option plans, phantom stock plans, deferred compensations plans, SERPs and other types of compensation arrangements.

  • Represent clients with respect to executive compensation matters, including disclosure and governance issues, plan design and compliance with IRS Code Section 409A.

  • Amended client-defined benefit pension plan to add cash balance feature.

  • Represent clients in IRS, DOL and PBGC audits.

  • Assist clients with filings under the IRS Voluntary Compliance Program.

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