DLA Piper LLP (US)

Employment; Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

Partner; Co-Chair, US Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice

Cisco Palao-Ricketts is experienced in advising start-up, emerging growth and public companies regarding compensation and employee benefits issues.  His practice includes counseling on:

• equity compensation, including incentive stock options (ISOs) and nonqualified stock options (NSOs), restricted stock, stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights, employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs), profits interests and phantom equity arrangements

• all types of compensation and employee benefits issues that arise in M&A, spin-offs and other complex corporate transactions, including with respect to executive retention and post-transaction employee transition mattersemployment, retention, change of control and severance arrangements, as well as bonus and commission plans

• the design, implementation, tax aspects, operation and any related fiduciary obligations with respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, including defined benefit and 401(k) retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and employee welfare benefit plans, including compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and recent healthcare reform laws.

LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center; J.D., Syracuse University College of Law; A.B., University of Illinois