Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Tax, Employee Benefits and Private Client

Partner - Corporate and Finance Transactions

Denise Pino Erwin is a partner in the firm’s Denver office. Denise advises clients with respect to a broad range of employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements including qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, fringe benefit plans and equity compensation arrangements. She represents public and private companies, non-profit organizations, churches and governmental entities.

Denise is experienced with designing and implementing benefit plans, advising on plan mergers and terminations, and providing advice regarding the integration and restructuring of plans in connection with corporate transactions. She partners with her clients to resolve issues that arise in day-to-day administration and she frequently negotiates service provider agreements and other contractual arrangements.

Denise assists her clients in navigating the increasingly complex web of laws and regulations governing benefit plans, including the qualified plan rules applicable to pension plans and defined contribution retirement plans under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. She has successfully represented clients in obtaining rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and in negotiating resolution of compliance issues with the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor. She also provides guidance to clients regarding the fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction rules under ERISA.

She provides counsel with respect to the design and administration of all types of welfare and fringe benefit plans. She assists clients with questions that arise in connection with the numerous statutory and regulatory requirements under COBRA, FMLA, HIPAA, ADA, ACA and other applicable laws.

Denise drafts and negotiates executive employment agreements, severance agreements and a variety of equity and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements.

She has served as a speaker on a variety of compensation and employee benefits topics.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS American Bar Association Colorado Bar Association Denver Bar Association Colorado Hispanic Bar Association Western Pension & Benefits Council