Baker McKenzie LLP

Employment and Compensation

Sinead Kelly is Chair of Baker McKenzie's Compensation practice group in California. She has practiced in the compensation field for 20 years, specializing in executive compensation and global equity. Sinead frequently speaks and publishes on compensation-related topics and is a contributing author to Lexis Practice Advisor and Wolters Kluwer's "Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules," as well as a founder of the Firm's Compensation Connection blog. She is on the Advisory Board of the Certified Equity Professionals Institute (CEPI) of Santa Clara University and serves on the Firm’s International Benefits Committee. Sinead has been recognized by Chambers USA for Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, where clients have described her as "extremely intelligent, responsive and solution-oriented.” She is a Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer for 2024 and is ranked by Legal 500 as a "Leading Lawyer" for Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plan Design.

Sinead focuses her practice on executive compensation and global equity, advising on the design, administration, governance and implementation of executive and director compensation arrangements, including equity and incentive plans, deferred compensation plans, severance and employment agreements, change in control plans, bonus plans, and director compensation programs. Her practice involves counseling on federal and state securities and tax laws, Section 16 issues, stock exchange listing rules and proxy advisor policies, as well as on non-US tax and regulatory requirements for equity plans implemented globally. She regularly advises on the impact of corporate transactions and reorganizations on equity and other compensation arrangements and assists public companies with SEC disclosures relating to compensation.

American Bar Association National Association of Stock Plan Professionals Global Equity Organization State Bar of California San Francisco Bar Association Law Society of England & Wales