Most American companies sponsor some form of employee benefit plan for the benefit of their employees. Federal law imposes a substantial number of legal requirements on corporate boards and ERISA fiduciaries relating to their administration of the plan and management of plan assets. The United States Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have concurrent jurisdiction over employee benefit plans and can audit or investigate the acts or omissions of corporate boards and ERISA fiduciaries at anytime.
We advise clients in connection with the design, implementation and administration of employee benefit plans and have a particular focus on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). We collaborate with our clients on the front-end to design their ESOP to ensure that it is carefully tailored to achieve each client’s unique objectives. We also counsel corporate boards throughout the process of implementing their ESOP to ensure its complies with federal laws and regulations and reduces the likelihood of future problems. Finally, we serve as a trusted partner and counselor to our clients on an ongoing basis as they begin administering their ESOP.