Employee Benefits

Counsel that delivers the best direction for your retirement and executive benefits plans

Capabilities at a glance

  • All types of benefit plans are covered by our team, from ESOPs to retirement and executive compensation.
  • Over 100 years providing reliable, high-quality legal advice to businesses on their human resources in a changing landscape of federal and state laws.
  • Extensive experience with Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation and fiduciary issues.
  • A diverse team with a diverse client list, ranging from major health care institutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Partnering to meet your employee benefits needs

With Quarles, you should expect the best advice on complex employee benefits law matters, delivered with an eye toward efficiency and effectiveness. We will always deliver solutions with your business objectives in mind, and we understand how vital it is to balance business and employee needs in an ever-changing legislative landscape. We provide practical advice on significant projects such as the complete restructuring, tax impact and implementation of a client's retirement or executive compensation programs, but can also advise on single, discrete, time-sensitive questions. We have particular experience supporting tax-exempt and religious organizations with their benefits plans. Serving as a guide and partner, our employee benefits attorneys know how to apply the flexibility that comes with ERISA's exemption for church plans while recognizing the often-arcane limits that remain.

Dedicated employee benefits attorneys

Our clients include large, privately held corporations and major health care institutions, as well as many other employers in a wide variety of industries. They have come to rely on our experience and our ability to translate the technical aspects of employee benefits law into practical advice. We can support your business in matters relating to retirement plans, health and welfare plans, fiduciary issues and ERISA litigation, nonqualified deferred compensation and executive compensation, corporate transactions and multi-employer plans.

News & Insights

Service Areas

  • Corporate Transactions

    Corporate transactions, no matter the size or structure, can present various employee benefits issues, both before and after the completion of the transaction. We have significant experience recognizing and addressing these issues for our clients, so you can focus on the transaction itself. Among other services, we advise on employee benefits issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, analyze legal obligations with respect to employee benefit plans, negotiate and draft the components of purchase and sale agreements, assess potential liabilities in connection with corporate transactions and advise on any necessary plan restructurings.

  • ESOPs

    The Quarles Employee Benefits team can provide you with a team of attorneys who have decades of employer stock ownership plan (ESOP) experience in both in-house and private practice. We pride ourselves on balancing our technical legal knowledge with a focus on understanding your operational considerations in administering ESOPs. Through the professional relationships our team has cultivated in the ESOP community, Quarles can connect you with a network of specialists to guide you through every phase of the ESOP lifecycle—from its formation and early years, through maturity and potential sale of the company to a strategic or financial buyer. And while we are focused on guiding you through the many positives of employee ownership, our broad experience also helps us protect you in the face of regulatory challenges and in employer stock litigation, when the need arises. Our diverse backgrounds give you an added level of creativity when defending against allegations by the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and private plaintiffs’ counsel.

  • Executive and Deferred Compensation

    The world of nonqualified deferred compensation and executive compensation has significantly changed in recent years. Employers have had to review and often substantially restructure their programs to satisfy changes in federal law. We assist our clients by providing advice on all aspects of the structure and taxation of nonqualified deferred compensation and executive compensation. From advising on the structure of bonus and incentive plans and benefits, to “golden parachute” arrangements and stock option plans, our experienced attorneys can help you.

  • Fiduciary Issues/ERISA Litigation

    Over the last several years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of court cases filed by participants alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by plan administrators and employers. The complaints allege a variety of issues, including the failure of a fiduciary to properly monitor the investment funds offered under a plan and the reasonableness of fees charged to plan participants by the outside providers. We work with our clients to help them understand their fiduciary obligations under ERISA and how best to establish procedures and processes that satisfy their obligations. We also help our clients avoid plan-related litigation and defend them if the need arises.

  • Health and Welfare Plans

    With the ever-increasing cost of health care, our clients continually look for ways to manage their budgets while also providing their employees with affordable and reliable health care coverage. We work with our clients to put together health and welfare programs that best suit their workforce and business objectives. We can provide comprehensive counseling on the design, drafting and operation of medical and dental plans and group-term life, retiree health, flexible benefit and fringe benefit plans. We also assist clients with HIPAA and ADA compliance for wellness programs and advise on the requirements under COBRA. From design to compliance, we can help with your health and welfare plans.

  • Multiemployer Plans

    Multiemployer plans present unique issues from both a legal and a business perspective. Employers that participate in these plans must balance their own business needs against the requirements imposed upon them by the plans and the corresponding collective bargaining agreements. Our attorneys have a range of experience advising clients on multiemployer plans, including representing employers in withdrawal liability disputes and with respect to audits of contributions, and defending clients in suits brought by these plans. We counsel on various issues, including advising on complete and partial withdrawal liability issues arising in connection with corporate transactions, workforce reductions, facility moves, shutdowns and conversion from union to nonunion status.

  • Retirement Plans

    The types and structures of retirement plans are constantly changing and evolving, due to changes in federal law and employers’ business needs and goals. To assist our clients in understanding this changing environment, our team provides complete service and advice on the design, drafting, tax impact, implementation and ongoing management of all types of retirement plan, including church plans, 403(b), 401(k) and defined benefit plans. We often represent employers, trustees, selling shareholders and lending institutions with respect to employee stock ownership plan transactions. We also assist clients with plan mergers, freezes, terminations and early retirement subsidy reductions, and a whole range of other plan-related services.

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