Welcome to a compellingly different take on ERISA. While you’ll find the latest and greatest insights and clarity on executive compensation, employee benefits and all that ERISA jazz, you’ll also find a lively discussion on problems our clients are facing  —  and most likely, you are, too.

You can count on this blog to provide you with decades of experience in the field and our gut reaction to some of your quick questions with some quick answers. Of course, we can’t get to all of your questions, but feel free to ask, and we’ll choose and examine those situations that seem to confront many others.

Jewell Lim Esposito has nearly 20 years of practice in Employee Benefits and Tax law. Her practice emphasizes matters regarding Fiduciary Compliance, Tax Qualification of Retirement Plans, Executive Compensation, and Payroll Taxes for public, tax-exempt and government contractor clients.   Her work involves frequent interaction with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (so she can control the tax exposure for her clients), the Department of Labor (DOL) (so she can control fiduciary breach) and the Treasury Department.
Over the course of her career working with Employee Benefits and ERISA matters, Jewell has examined hundreds of 401(k), 403(b), 457 (b) and (f), and 409A, pension and employee benefit plans.  Jewell is a frequent lecturer on ERISA and compensation issues, and has authored a number of publications on employee benefits, fiduciary duties, executive compensation and payroll tax. She is regularly invited to speak on such topics regionally and nationally.

Dana Thrasher specializes in ERISA, regularly advising employers, trustees and service providers concerning qualified retirement plans, non-qualified plans, fringe benefits, welfare benefits and executive compensation issues. She has developed significant expertise in the ERISA/employee benefits practice area, representing a large and diverse client base. She regularly advises clients regarding planning and evaluating benefit programs, establishing and administering employee benefit plans, monitoring compliance with applicable laws, resolving compliance issues, corporate restructuring and severance issues, employee stock ownership and incentive programs, and plan issues in mergers and acquisitions.
Dana is actively involved in professional organizations and speaks at educational conferences on various employee benefit plan topics. She has successfully resolved issues for clients with the IRS, DOL, and Pension and Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Dave Pearson represents employers with respect to their employee benefits and tax issues. He counsels clients on all types of retirement plans, including: pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), age-weighted and cross-tested plans. Dave helps employers implement non-qualified deferred compensation plans, stock options and bonus plans.  In the area of non-retirement benefits, he advises in the design of cafeteria plans and health plans, as well as life insurance and disability plans, and has helped employers establish and maintain voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs) and multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs).
Dave has written numerous articles regarding issues and developments in the area of employee benefits and taxation and frequently speaks at educational seminars and conferences in these areas of the law.

Mike Malfitano is a senior labor attorney, who assists employers in problem prevention and legal analysis of complex employment issues. He has represented employers in cases involving every aspect of the employment relationship and counsels with respect to employee benefits issues, affirmative action, and in structuring payroll and compensation programs to avoid wage and hour, as well as, equal pay and discrimination issues.  He also represents employers in collective bargaining, arbitration, and union avoidance. He is the office head of the Tampa office.

Carl Cannon’s practice focuses on advising employers regarding state and federal laws pertaining to employment and defending them against administrative charges and lawsuits relating to employment. He has served as lead counsel in the defense of numerous cases asserting claims under ERISA, including cases based on the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980. In addition, companies often seek Carl’s representation regarding noncompete and nondisclosure agreements, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other federal and state laws governing employment. Prior to joining Constangy, Carl's litigation practice involved not only employment law matters, but also matters as diverse as antitrust and RICO.

Bob Ellerbrock specializes in the areas of ERISA fiduciary duties, benefit plan drafting, and revision and plan compliance issues. With experience in the retirement plan industry prior to joining Constangy, and an LL.M. in Taxation, he draws on his knowledge in counseling clients in the design and implementation of all types of employee benefit plans, including retirement plans, non-qualified plans, and Section 125 plans, as well as, employment and severance agreements. Bob is a frequent speaker on topics affecting employee benefit plans, such as HIPAA privacy and security rules, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the recent Health Care Reform legislation.

Since 1993, Brian Magargle has practiced employment law. He began practicing in the area of employee benefits and ERISA in 1995. He has worked with a range of employee benefits issues such as plan drafting and amendment, applications for administrative self-correction (EPCRS), and compliance with COBRA, HIPAA, and health care reform.  Brian handles employee benefits litigation, including ERISA claims, as well as, provides general benefits advice.  He is a frequent speaker on new developments in benefits law and has written several articles on health and retirement plan issues.
Brian also periodically worked for the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance prior to and while attending law school. He has handled several appeals in the employment law area.  In 2003, he was intimately involved in the drafting and passage of the South Carolina statute which prevents employee handbooks from being considered  contracts of employment.

Bill McMahon represents employers in a broad range of litigation involving employee benefit disputes under ERISA, covenants not to compete, misappropriation of trade secrets, employee fraud and embezzlement, whistleblower matters, employment discrimination, wage and hour issues, and employment tax disputes (including allegations of independent contractor misclassification). In 2010, Bill began serving as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Wake Forest University School of Law, where he teaches Employee Benefits & Pension Law.
In an era when very few cases actually go to trial, Bill nonetheless has significant trial experience, having represented clients in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts, including the United States Tax Court. He also routinely counsels management on all aspects of labor and employment law with an eye towards compliance and avoiding litigation in the first place, including advising employers on the their obligations under the federal and state WARN Acts.

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