Tax & Employee Benefits

Our Employee Benefits lawyers handle a broad range of ERISA and employee benefits matters. Our clients range from large, publicly traded companies to midcap and startup companies and tax-exempt and not-for-profit entities. In our frequent role as outside ERISA and employee benefits counsel, we advise on all aspects of plan qualification rules under the Internal Revenue Code, plan administration and compliance issues under ERISA and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as well as COBRA compliance and HIPAA privacy requirements. We design and help our clients administer employee pension and welfare benefit plans and other compensatory arrangements. We guide plan sponsors and their boards of directors or trustees, as well as plan administrative and investment committees, through a wide range of fiduciary responsibility and liability issues under ERISA.

We also advise plan sponsors and plan administrative committees in participant claims for benefits in accordance with the Department of Labor (DOL) claims procedure regulations and actions filed under ERISA §502 in federal court, and have presented client education programs on a variety of issues.

We submit requests for the IRS for compliance statements and closing agreements under the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, including component programs such as the Voluntary Correction Program. We request and receive IRS private letter rulings and DOL advisory opinions, and maintain good relationships with IRS and DOL personnel. We also advise clients in dealing with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation regarding its defined benefit pension plans.

We also bring practical business sense to bear on the compensation issues that arise in highly competitive markets. We counsel on executive retention, compensation and severance, change-in-control situations and golden parachute issues, deferred compensation, and the design and operation of incentive plans, equity-based plans and similar arrangements.

Our Tax Team skillfully represents clients in federal and state tax controversies at the audit, administrative and appeal levels. We are experienced in the procedural and strategic aspects of litigation and the complexities of tax law. While we seek to resolve controversies via administrative appeal or negotiated settlement, we also have deep experience effectively litigating tax matters. We represent clients at the IRS audit and administrative appeal levels; before state tax, trial, appellate and state supreme courts; and before the United States Tax Court, District Courts and Court of Claims.

We represent clients in tax audits and before administrative appeal boards across the country and have extensive experience advising clients on multi-state tax planning strategies and state tax effects of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and ongoing business operations. We recognize the expanding importance of state tax issues and the need for clients to address them on a multi-state basis. We handle matters involving corporate income, franchise, personal income and sales and use taxes, as well as unemployment compensation and unclaimed property (escheats) issues.

Property tax assessments across the nation have risen exponentially in recent years, creating a greater burden for businesses, developers, agencies, and financial institutions. Our team of Real Property Tax Planning & Appeals lawyers are adept at reducing property assessments, negotiating tax abatements and exemptions for qualified taxpayers, and securing incentive packages for relocating businesses. Should an appeal become necessary, we are responsive and efficient in filing claims, dealing with assessors, and appearing before tax boards and courts. We have handled nationally prominent property tax cases, establishing new legal precedents.

Tax exempt and nonprofit organizations face a unique set of challenges as they strive to provide excellent services and care while having to control costs. We help our clients by delivering an efficient, interdisciplinary approach to our clients’ exemption, legal, regulatory, and business issues. Our lawyers have a long, institutional track record of working with tax-exempt and other nonprofit entities, negotiating business transactions, and resolving disputes before administrative agencies and in court. Our focus includes implementing best practices for nonprofits, counseling on tax and fiduciary issues, and creating endowment funds that expand fundraising opportunities. We have extensive experience representing tax-exempt organizations in all phases of operations and assisting individuals and businesses in making charitable contributions to such organizations.

We help clients develop and implement tax-planning strategies to help minimize tax liabilities on their important transactions, from advising on choosing the appropriate entity for a closely-held business to handling complex recapitalizations prior to an initial public offering. Included in our list of capabilities is helping clients identify and structure state and federal tax credit opportunities, such as the Qualified Opportunity Zones program.

Representation begins as early as a letter of intent for structuring a proposed transaction and continues with intensive scrutiny of the provisions of any definitive documentation to ensure a successful outcome for each matter. Clients range from Fortune 500 companies to emerging growth enterprises.