Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
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Michael R. Leas is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Tax Law. Michael R., who practices law in Jacksonville, Florida, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Michael R. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Chris Crevasse focuses his practice on employee benefits, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and other aspects of employment law, including immigration law. He assists his clients with the design, drafting, and updating of retirement plans and other employee benefit plans; with ERISA and federal tax compliance; with benefit plan administration and audits, including audits by the IRS and DOL; and with resolving employee benefits issues through the IRS and DOL correction programs. He also counsels ...
Donald P. Sullivan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and Employment Law - Management. Donald P., who practices law in San Francisco, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Donald P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Christian Hancey is a partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. He focuses on designing, reviewing and implementing a wide range of benefit and compensation programs structured to suit businesses and nonprofit organizations. What do you focus on? I counsel employers on all types of traditional benefit plans, including defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, multiemployer plans, medical benefit plans, cafeteria plans, disability plans and o...
Jeffrey J. Pirruccello is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Corporate Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Litigation and Controversy - Tax, Nonprofit / Charities Law, Tax Law and Trusts and Estates. Jeffrey J., who practices law in Omaha, Nebraska, has been recognized since 1993. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting...
Emily Lambright focuses her practice on federal taxation, employee benefits and qualified retirement plans, estate and gift tax planning, and tax-exempt organizations and nonprofit law. She is a certified public accountant. Emily represents individuals and businesses by counseling them on income and estate tax issues, business succession planning, entity formation and selection, and transactional tax matters. She also provides guidance on benefits matters and executive compensation to clients...
Offers sophisticated, practical and comprehensible advice on complex benefits and compensation matters. More than two decades of experience advising clients of all sizes. Brings unique expertise in payroll tax treatment and reporting issues, including worker classification. David Spaulding’s experience covers a wide range of employee benefits matters, including the design, implementation, communication, administration and amendment of all types of tax-qualified retirement plans, executi...
Tracy A. Vitols is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Tracy A., who practices law in Boston, Massachusetts, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Tracy A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
K. Coleman Westbrook, Jr., is a partner in the firm’s Estate Planning Practice Group. His practice consists of performing analysis and planning for individuals with regard to gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes; charitable and other lifetime and testamentary transfers; probate and estate, trust and non-profit/tax-exempt administration.Coleman’s practice includes the drafting of and advising wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, beneficiary desi...
Christine Keller advises a wide range of clients on all aspects of health and welfare plan design, administration, and funding including compliance with federal tax, ERISA, and other federal and state law requirements, plan and VEBA trust document drafting, participant disclosure, change in election issues, wellness program compliance, and claims and appeals. Her clients include employers, insurers, and service providers of all sizes. She draws on her prior IRS experience to provide practical...
Daniel W. Srsic is highly-knowledgeable in benefits litigation and has appeared in more than 90 court cases involving employee benefit disputes, such as benefit claims, fiduciary duties and disputes regarding collectively bargained benefits. Daniel's benefits practice also extends to pre-dispute representation of plan sponsors and fiduciaries. He brings a litigation perspective to the evaluation of potential changes to collectively bargained retiree health benefits, which has proved to be a v...
After more than 25 years of practicing labor and employment law, David Walston has developed a formula for building successful client relationships. He believes that all good engagements begin with a face-to-face meeting to perform an assessment of the current policies and practices of the client’s human resources operations. David’s assessment is designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and agency and court interpretations. David then offers day-to-day empl...
Thomas J. McCord’s practice deals primarily with employee benefits, including all ERISA issues, retirement plans, insurance and flexible benefit programs and executive compensation arrangements. He is also experienced in the areas of tax-exempt organizations and estate planning and administration. What do you focus on? My three decades of experience enable me to quickly analyze and develop an action plan for a broad range of employee benefits issues presented by clients. Recently, I hav...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.