Employee Benefits

Managing employee benefits can be one of the most legally complex and challenging aspects of running a business. But Womble Carlyle’s Employee Benefits Practice Group offers the skills, experience and resources to help any client, large or small, meet those challenges.

Our attorneys in this practice group focus exclusively on employee benefit and executive compensation matters. We work closely with our clients’ other professional advisors, including benefits consultants, accountants and plan administrators, to tailor our services to meet the specific needs of each client.

Having an office in Washington, D.C., allows us to provide clients with government agency information and quick access to policy makers.

Our Clients
Few areas are more heavily regulated by the federal government than employee benefits, so the Group works with clients all across the country, as well in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Our client list includes approximately 300 businesses, such as:

• Manufacturing companies
• Banks and financial institutions
• Hospitals and other medical service providers
• Venture capital concerns
• Colleges and universities
• Service firms
• Non-profit groups
• Governmental entities

ERISA Litigation
Womble Carlyle’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation team represents employers, retirement plans and plan fiduciaries or administrators. Our experienced team has represented clients in cases such as:

• Defending plan fiduciaries against ERISA claims
• Bringing ERISA claims on behalf of plan administrators to protect plan participants or the assets of the plan
• Defending fiduciaries and plan sponsors in termination of pension and benefit plan cases
• Counseling plan fiduciaries as they review benefit claims and defending their decisions in the event of a subsequent challenge
• Seeking reimbursement for expenses paid on behalf of an employee or dependent injured by a third party

Our Services - Creating and Managing Benefit Plans
Womble Carlyle’s Employee Benefits Practice Group assists our clients in designing, drafting, implementing and administering:

• Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans, including 401(k) programs and collectively bargained pensions.
• Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Arrangements. The Group both prepares deferred compensation documents and reviews documents prepared by other professionals.
• Welfare Benefit Plans, such as employee health insurance, life and disability insurance plans, HIPAA privacy compliance programs, severance pay and retiree medical accounts.
• Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). The Group assists clients in deciding if an ESOP is right for them and can design and implement ESOP plans to meet each client’s individual needs.
• Cash and Equity-Based Compensation Arrangements, including stock option plans, incentive bonuses and executive compensation.

Compliance Reviews of Employee Benefit Plans
Employee benefit plans must comply with a myriad of regulations, statutes and judicial decisions. In order to help clients keep up with these ever-changing requirements, the group conducts compliance reviews or internal audits of retirement and welfare benefit plans.

Representation Before Federal Agencies
No business enjoys inquiries from the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Labor, but they do happen. The group can assist clients both in responding to their inquiries and correcting compliance or documentation problems requested by these agencies. Our attorneys have a proven track record of ably and aggressively representing our clients’ interests in these matters.

Health Care Plans
State and federal health care regulations constantly change. The group can help clients assess and manage the impact of these reform measures on their employee health plan. In addition, our attorneys often review health care plans and advise clients in negotiating and drafting administrative service agreements and stop-loss insurance policies for their self-insured group plans.

Tax-Exempt Organizations and Government Entities
The group frequently assists educational, charitable and other tax-exempt organizations regarding special rules applicable to their employee benefit plans.

Prototype, Volume Submitter and Individually Designed Retirement Plans
The group offers complete legal guidance for both prototype and volume submitter retirement plans, as well as individually drafted plans.

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