The Firm has extensive experience in representing financial institutions, investment advisors and insurance companies that render investment and other services to employee benefit plans. Attorneys of the Firm have provided those clients with a complete range of advice concerning ERISA's fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules. The Firm's attorneys also have prepared and worked with master and prototype retirement plans and IRA, SEP and SIMPLE products for institutional clients.

The Firm has extensive experience in the drafting of and operation of pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership, 403(b) tax-sheltered annuity and 457 deferred compensation plans. The Firm also has extensive experience in obtaining governmental approval of new tax-qualified plans and of amendments to existing tax-qualified plans.

The Firm has extensive experience with all types of employee welfare benefit arrangements, including flexible benefits or "cafeteria" plans, voluntary employee beneficiary associations ("VEBAs"), multiple employer welfare benefit arrangements ("MEWAs", "METs" and "419 Trusts") and other welfare benefit arrangements (e.g., medical and dental plans, disability plans, life insurance plans, retiree welfare plans, etc.). The Firm is very active with respect to advising clients concerning (1) compliance with HIPAA, COBRA and the anti-discrimination requirements for employee welfare benefit arrangements, (2) the options available for compliance with FASB standards such as FAS106 and FAS112 and (3) the effect on employee benefit plans of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The Firm has extensive experience in providing advice concerning employee benefits and executive compensation issues arising in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions. The Firm also has considerable knowledge concerning the application of the federal and state securities laws to employee benefit and executive compensation plans, such as the preparation of SEC registration statements for equity compensation arrangements, counseling concerning registration exemptions and insider trading restrictions, advice on employer stock funds as investment options under tax-qualified plans, and similar services.

The Firm provides a full range of legal services with respect to the compensation of executives of taxable, tax-exempt, governmental and church related entities, including services concerning non-tax-qualified deferred compensation plans, incentive plans of various types and equity-based compensation plans (e.g., stock option plans, phantom stock plans, etc.).