Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Hall of fameSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Head of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice specializing in executive retention and motivation in M&A transactions and IPOs with a private equity focus. Significant engagements include 150+ Blackstone acquisitions, divestitures and IPOs (Hilton, Bumble, Ancestry, Refinitiv, SeaWorld, Vivint, Invitation Homes, Equity Office, Motel 6); LBOs of PetSmart, ADT and Nortek; and multiple transactions for AIG, Centerbridge, Cisco, Mars, Microsoft (Activision Blizzard, LinkedIn, Skype, GitHub, ZeniMax, Nuance), New Mountain, Silver Lake Partners, SiriusXM, PPL and Johnson Controls/Tyco, as well as the Board of Directors of Twitter, Inc. in its sale to Elon Musk. Greg regularly advises boards regarding C-level succession matters. Experienced in PBGC negotiations.
Hall of fameCravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Eric W. Hilfers is a partner and Head of Cravath’s Executive Compensation and Benefits Department. Mr. Hilfers’ practice focuses on executive compensation and employee benefit matters faced by the Firm’s clients, principally in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions. Clients value his “expansive knowledge” and “comprehensive understanding of the business and legal challenges and opportunities” in compensation and benefits matters, leading one to affirm, “he’s not just a lawyer—I view him more as an adviser.”
Hall of fameKirkland & Ellis LLP
Scott Price is a partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation Practice Group. Scott has extensive experience handling a wide range of executive compensation matters in complex business transactions, including domestic and international mergers, leveraged buyouts and other acquisitions. In addition, Scott has represented numerous high profile executives and management teams in negotiating employment and incentive arrangements. Scott’s practice includes structuring and implementing management equity arrangements, deferred compensation, severance and other executive programs, advising on securities, accounting and tax law issues regarding executive compensation arrangements.
Hall of fameSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Partner, former Head of the Firm's Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice Group and current leader of the Firm’s Title I ERISA practice. Practice includes participation in complex mergers and acquisitions, private equity fund formation and structuring, securities and commercial banking transactions involving issues arising under ERISA and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; the structuring and implementation of management equity arrangements, and other executive compensation, employment and severance programs; and advice with respect to tax, accounting and securities law issues related thereto.
Hall of fameWeil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
Co-Chair of Weil's Tax Department and Head of Weil's Executive Compensation & Benefits practice
Hall of fameLatham & Watkins LLP
Bradd Williamson is a partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins. Mr. Williamson is global Co-chair of the Benefits, Compensation & Employment Practice and Chair of the New York Tax Department.
Hall of fameCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Mr. Albano’s practice focuses on executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including disclosure, governance, taxation, design and negotiation of executive compensation agreements and arrangements; the executive compensation and benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions; pension investment and ERISA fiduciary matters, including in the fund formation context; private equity governance and compensation at the upper tier and portfolio company levels; and employment law and related matters.
Rising stars
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
A Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice, Andrew Blau focuses his practice on compensation and benefit-related issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, new and joint ventures and other corporate transactions. He has extensive experience in structuring employment agreements, equity compensation, performance incentives, deferred compensation, change in control protections, and management participation in buyouts and new ventures. His experience includes domestic and international M&A across a variety of sectors. Andrew also advises on the applicability of securities and tax laws to executives and employers, disclosure obligations in respect of employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements, corporate governance issues and general employment-related matters.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice. Jeannine advises clients on executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements, including equity-based incentives, cash-based incentives, deferred compensation, retirement plans and employment, retention and severance agreements. Jeannine works closely with the Firm’s corporate clients on compensation and benefits matters related to mergers and acquisitions and a variety of capital markets and securities transactions. She has experience representing clients in a wide range of industries including financial services, energy, industrials and manufacturing, technology and healthcare.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Alexandra Mihalas is a partner in the Firm's employee benefits practice. Her practice focuses primarily on transactional ERISA matters for private and public companies, with a particular emphasis on acquisitions and sales by venture capital and other private equity funds, and the ERISA issues that arise in complex bankruptcy restructurings. Alexandra also advises clients regarding legal compliance of qualified and non-qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans and employee welfare benefit plans.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Leading lawyers
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Michael Falk advises clients in connection with executive and equity compensation, qualified and non-qualified employee benefits, and the compensation and benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions. His clients include public and private companies, private equity sponsors, tax-exempt entities, and individual executives. Mr. Falk is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University Law School and Loyola University Chicago School of Law, where he teaches courses related to executive compensation and employee benefits. In addition, Mr. Falk is a frequent speaker and author on a variety of executive compensation and employee benefits topics.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
Jonathan J. Katz is a partner in Cravath’s Executive Compensation and Benefits Department. His practice focuses primarily on advising clients on the executive compensation and employee benefit aspects of complex mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, corporate joint ventures and private equity transactions. Mr. Katz also regularly advises clients on the design, negotiation and implementation of employment agreements and incentive compensation programs.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Please see https://www.willkie.com/professionals/k/katz-michael-a
Proskauer Rose LLP
Andrea S. Rattner is a partner in Proskauer's Tax Department and member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. For more than 30 years, her practice has focused on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, advising clients on an ongoing basis as well as in the context of corporate transactions and other transformative and unique situations. Her clients include public and private companies, boards of directors, compensation committees and senior executives in a broad range of industries. Andrea has been involved in Proskauer management for many years, having served as a member of the Executive Committee and a former chair of Proskauer's Tax Department. Andrea counsels clients with respect to the tax, securities, corporate governance, stock exchange, ERISA and other implications affecting executive compensation arrangements. Andrea regularly provides advice regarding equity arrangements (such as stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, LLC/partnership interests and phantom equity), employment agreements, change-in-control agreements and all other types of compensation arrangements (including incentive awards, SERPs, deferred compensation and "409A" covered and exempt arrangements). She counsels clients on benefits and compensation matters arising in all types of corporate transactions, including mergers & acquisitions, spin-offs, restructurings, joint ventures, debt and equity offerings and bankruptcies. In numerous transactions, she has addressed the treatment of stock options and other equity awards, change-in-control and "golden parachute" tax issues, severance obligations and separation agreements, the negotiation of new employment agreements and other executive arrangements, retention and other bonus plans, benefit plan liabilities, COBRA, PBGC-related issues and post-closing benefit plan and compensation structures and integration. Andrea also advises clients on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws affecting employee benefit plans, as well as plan design, administration, termination, fiduciary duty issues, prohibited transactions, qualification requirements and other matters concerning pension, profit-sharing, employee stock ownership, 401(k), and other types of plans. She has extensive experience with respect to the legal consequences relating to the use of employer stock in tax-qualified plans such as ESOPs, profit-sharing, stock bonus and pension plans. She writes and lectures frequently on employee benefits and executive compensation matters and is a co-editor and chapter author of Executive Compensation (Law Journal Press). Since 1993, she has served as an adjunct professor on the faculty of Cornell University (New York State School of Industrial & Labor Relations-Management Programs). Andrea is also active in Proskauer’s relationship with the Women Corporate Directors (WCD), the only global membership organization of its kind focused on helping women obtain and succeed in board positions.
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Baker McKenzie LLP
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Mr. Ross is an Executive Compensation & ERISA partner, chair of the department, resident in the Firm’s New York office. He focuses his practice on ERISA fiduciary matters, with particular emphasis on the application of ERISA’s fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules to the structuring, operation and administration of a wide range of private investment funds and investment management arrangements. He counsels extensively regarding ERISA’s “plan asset” regulation and routinely assists clients wishing to operate plan asset hedge funds in compliance with ERISA. More generally, he has experience with a broad variety of benefits and compensation matters and the numerous federal and state laws that govern the field. In this regard, he often assists in the negotiation of employment, non-competition and severance agreements as well as equity-based compensation arrangements. Clients also frequently call upon him to advise on the employee benefits and executive compensation matters arising in connection with mergers and acquisitions and related transactions.