Biography
Brian advises clients on the design, implementation, administration, and tax aspects of their executive and general employee benefit programs. These programs include qualified pension, 401(k), and employee stock ownership plans; welfare benefit plans; stock option plans; tax-sheltered annuity programs; deferred compensation arrangements; severance plans; employment and parachute agreements; and a variety of other fringe benefit and incentive compensation arrangements. Brian has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, and has extensive experience handling plan terminations, fiduciary issues, and prohibited transaction matters. His practice also involves resolving matters relating to operational defects in qualified plans. Brian is experienced in handling the benefit aspects of business acquisitions, mergers and divestitures. This work has encompassed working on benefit transitional matters, parachute agreements, plan asset and liability transfers, and multiemployer plan issues. In addition, he has worked on significant investment fund transactions, both to attract funds from ERISA-covered investors and to assist benefit plans desiring to participate in such funds. Brian's clients include publicly traded and privately held companies and tax-exempt employers. His clients engage in a variety of industries, including energy, manufacturing, airline, computer software, health, and wholesale distribution.