North America - United States • Labor and employment

Proskauer Rose LLP

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The employee benefits and executive compensation team at Proskauer Rose LLP has multifaceted capabilities, advising clients on both complex matters that large organizations face on a day-to-day basis, as well as high value business transactions. The firm is well-known for having a strong geographic focus on the East Coast, particularly in Washington DC and New York. In Washington DC, Seth Safra acts as the practice head and the point of contact for many Fortune 500 companies.. Justin Alex is adept at advising clients on single-employer and multiemployer pension plans. Alex is also based in Washington DC. Working from New York, Michael Album focuses his practice on the full range of executive compensation matters. Robert Projansky, also working from New York, specializes in working on employee benefit matters within the entertainment industry. In New Orleans, Jennifer Rigterink is a specialist in employee benefit tax and ERISA issues. In New York, Katrina McCann regularly assists on retirement and welfare plans.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Top-notch professionals in all areas of the law.’

  • ‘Robert Projansky is exceptional. His familiarity with applicable law and his ability to explain its applicability to many fact patterns is reassuring. His calm, patient but firm demeanor instills confidence in our decisions.’

  • ‘In addition to being technically excellent, Proskauer and its attorneys understand our corporate culture, which is very helpful.’

  • ‘Michael Album is a good listener and constantly provides legal advice with common sense and a practical perspective. ’

Key clients

  • Citigroup Inc.
  • Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA)
  • Screen Actors Guild-Producers
  • Producer-Writers Guild
  • AFTRA Retirement Fund
  • American Federation of Musicians & Employers’ Pension Fund
  • IAM National Pension Fund
  • Union Labor Life Insurance Company (ULLICO)
  • Henry Schein, Inc.
  • National Basketball Association
  • Institutional Investor Representation
  • Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
  • HealthEquity
  • RELX Inc.
  • Ahold Delhaize
  • The Metropolitan Opera Association
  • Foot Locker

Work highlights

  • Representing the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) Health Plan, the Screen Actors Guild-Producers Pension Plan, Producer-Writers Guild Health and Pension Plans, AFTRA Retirement Fund and multiple Broadway funds on all aspects of benefits plans, complex investments and withdrawal liability matters.
  • Serving as the principal outside attorneys advising on investments for Citigroup Inc.’s $13.5+ billion defined benefit pension plan and $20+ billion 401(k) plan.
  • Providing benefits advice to The Metropolitan Opera Association, one of the largest classical music organizations in North America, on issues pertaining to retirement plans, as well as health and welfare plans, including providing advice with respect to health care reform.

Lawyers

Rising stars

Katrina McCann

Katrina McCann

Proskauer Rose LLP

Katrina E. McCann is a senior counsel in Proskauer's Tax Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. Katrina advises a diverse group of clients on a broad spectrum of employee benefits matters, including: counseling clients with respect to the design, drafting, implementation and ongoing qualification of their qualified plans in both the single and multi-employer context, including profit sharing, money purchase, 401(k), ESOP, and defined benefit plans; providing counsel on the establishment, administration and continued legal compliance of health & welfare plans and programs; advising tax-exempt organizations regarding their 403(b) plans and 457 arrangements; creating and advising on non-qualified plans, including deferred compensation and supplemental employee retirement plans; providing technical and practical advice on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, the Affordable Care Act, COBRA, HIPAA, and other laws affecting employee benefit plans, as well as issues concerning plan administration, qualification requirements, correction of plan document failures, fiduciary issues and prohibited transaction issues; routinely working with clients and their service providers, advising on the RFP process, reviewing provider arrangements and collaborating to develop effective and compliant disclosures, government reporting forms and participant communications; analyzing the employee benefits and executive compensation issues in connection with corporate transactions, advising on withdrawal liability matters and structuring benefit plans following a transaction and providing counsel with respect to all aspects of benefit plan mergers; and advising both employers and senior executives in connection with various executive compensation matters, including the negotiation and drafting of equity plans and awards, employment agreements, severance agreements and other compensation arrangements. Katrina is a member and former co-chair of Proskauer Women's Alliance Steering Committee and serves on Proskauer’s Reproductive Rights Steering Committee. She is also a Board member of Playwrights Horizons, an off-Broadway theater dedicated to the development of contemporary American playwrights and the production of innovative new work, and a Board member of the Axe-Houghton Foundation. Prior to joining Proskauer, Katrina served as Special Assistant to the Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments and was Special Assistant Corporation Counsel, Pensions Division, New York City Law Department. While in law school, Katrina was the Robert M. LaFollette/Keenan Peck Legal Fellow, serving in the offices of Senator Herb Kohl & the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Leading lawyers

Seth Safra

Seth Safra

Proskauer Rose LLP

Seth J. Safra is co-chair of Proskauer’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. Described by clients as “extremely knowledgeable, practical, and strategic,” Seth advises clients on compensation and benefit programs. Seth’s experience covers a broad range of retirement plan designs, from traditional defined benefit to cash balance and floor-offset arrangements, ESOPs and 401(k) plans—often coordinating qualified and non-qualified arrangements. He also advises tax-exempt and governmental employers on 403(b) and 457 arrangements, as well as innovative new plan designs; and he advises on ERISA compliance for investments. On the health and welfare side, Seth helps employers provide benefits that are cost-effective and competitive. He advises on plan design, including consumer-driven health plans with HSAs, retiree medical, fringe benefits, and severance programs, ERISA preemption, and tax and other compliance issues, such as nondiscrimination and cafeteria plan rules. Seth also advises for-profit and non-profit employers, compensation committees, and boards on executive employment, deferred compensation, change in control, and equity and other incentive arrangements. In addition, he advises on compensation and benefits in corporate transactions. Seth represents clients before the Department of Labor, IRS and other government agencies.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Seth Safra

Other key lawyers

Justin Alex, Michael Album, Jennifer Rigternik, Robert Projansky, Katrina McCann