"They're savvy with business issues and understand what we need commercially, keeping us abreast of new developments and their implications."
– Chambers USA
Designing an effective executive compensation plan is a critical business decision, a key to attracting the best talent and driving performance. We take a practical but comprehensive approach, working proactively to ensure that compensation and benefit arrangements work in tandem with associated securities laws, investor relations, tax, ERISA and accounting implications.
We represent employers, executives, funds and executive management teams in navigating complex issues in a wide range of industry sectors. Our multidisciplinary team gets the details right while keeping the “big picture” in mind. Clients benefit from our experience in fields such as income and employment taxation, employment arbitration and litigation (including the enforcement and challenge of restrictive covenants), securities regulation, corporate governance, personal risk management, private wealth and estate planning, and creditors’ rights/bankruptcy.
We help clients understand not just what is possible but what is likely so that tax-efficient compensation alternatives can be identified and presented fairly to stakeholders while keeping attention focused on the client’s strategic and organizational objectives.
Our capabilities include:
- Designing and drafting executive compensation programs and plans.
- Advising on Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 409A and other tax matters as well as equity award and co-investment issues.
- Analyzing compensation arrangements in M&A contexts, including public companies, private entities and hedge funds.
- Drafting partnership interest compensation plans.
- Designing and negotiating severance packages, change-in-control agreements and restrictive covenants.
- Auditing executive plans, including nonqualified deferred compensation, change-in-control, incentive bonus and supplemental retirement plans, and assisting with the correction of plans when errors occur.
- Planning private employer succession arrangements.
- Designing and drafting tax-exempt organization executive compensation plans.
- Representing executives in compensation disputes.