Professional Activities
Awards:
Recognized as a leading lawyer in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Employee Benefits Law and Named in Super Lawyers in the area of Employee Benefits/ERISA (2005-2010).
Membership:
Member, American Bar Association (Tax Section, Committee on Employee Benefits, Subcommittees on Fiduciary Responsibility and Qualified Cash and Deferred Arrangements; Past Vice-Chair, Chair and Chair Emeritus Subcommittee on Qualified Cash and Deferred Arrangements, 2001-2010); Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Committee on Employee Benefits; Chair, Subcommittee on ERISA Section 404(c) Regulations, 1992-1995); Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, fellowship based upon demonstrating sustained commitment to promoting public awareness and understanding of employee benefits law; Lecturer, American Bar Association, City Bar Association and Human Resources Association of New York, New York University School of Continuing Education Conference on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, including a speech on Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits and employee benefit plans under the Internal Revenue Code to the Human Resources Association of New York, August 1998; American Bar Association presentations on Section 401(k) Automatic Enrollments and Internal Revenue Code Automatic Rollovers, October 2000; Los Angeles ABA Fall Benefits meeting; Chair of Legal Issues Presentation, Church Pensions Conference, Savannah, Georgia 2000; Speaker on Employee Benefit Requirements Pertaining to Returning Veterans, Pension Conference, Orlando, Florida, December 2001; Presentation on EGTRRA Planning Opportunities, including catch-up contributions at the ABA Committee on Employee Benefits mid-winter conference, New Orleans, January 2002; Interviewed on CNN Lou Dobbs Money/Line as an employee benefits commentator regarding Fiduciary obligations and "black-out" periods, February 2002; Quoted in an April 23, 2003 Reuters news article "American Airlines Looks to Repair Tarnished Image," regarding executive compensation matters and in a Dow Jones newswire story, "WorldCom Ruling Seen Changing Section 401(k) Plans" regarding employer fiduciary issues and employer stock, June 25, 2003; Speaker at ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel’s TeleConference, To Roth or Not: Recent Guidance on Roth 401(k) Arrangements, April 11, 2006; Speaker along with Government representatives on an ABA Tax Section Panel on Emerging Fiduciary and other Title I Issues, Winter Meeting, January 2007; Panel Speaker, “Current Issues in the Design and Operation of Defined Contributions Plans,” ABA Section of Taxation Committee on Employee Benefits, Fall Meeting, San Francisco; Webinar Panelist, Current "Hot" Issues for 403(b) Plans, October 2008
Publications
Quoted: "Defined Contributions Plans Speakers Address Defined Contribution Issues On Annuities in 401(k) Plans, Waived RMDs" Pension & Benefits Daily (May 11, 2009)
Author or Co-Author: “The Effects of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act of 2009 on Employers Sponsoring Defined Contribution Plans: ‘Enhanced Communications to Participants or More Compliance Pitfalls?’” Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (February 5, 2010);"Effects of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act” New York Law Journal (October 20, 2009); "Met Life and LaRue’s Impact on Benefit Plan Determinations: More Clarity on More Court Time for Employers?" Journal of Compensation and Benefits (November/December 2008), "DOL Proposed Regulations Regarding Service Provider Disclosures: A New and Improved (?) Way of Doing Business for Both Service Providers and Plan Sponsors," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (August 2008); "Ask and Tell: Regulators Advise Plan Fiduciaries on Plan Consultant Fees," to be published in the December 2005 BNA Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal, "Killing the Golden Goose: Proposed Nonqualified Reforms Would Greatly Impact Executive Deferred Compensation," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (January/February 2004); "The Role of the Independent Fiduciary in ERISA Conflict Situations" (February 2003) BNA ERISA Compliance and Enforcement Library; "Caution: Severance Plans May Be Chocked Full of Liabilities," New York Law Journal (July 24, 2003); "Know the Ins and Outs of USERRA," Law Firm Partnership and Benefits Report (January 2002); "The Impact of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (September-October 2001); "Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans and Tax-Exempt Entities," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (May-June 2001); "New IRS Revenue Ruling Relaxes Some Desk Rule for 401(k) Distributions," The New York Law Journal and The Corporate Counsellor (January 2001); "New Accounting Rules for Employee Stock Options," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (July-August 1999); "Plan Administrators be Advised: Treatment of Severance Pay as Plan "Compensation" Raises Complex Issues," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal, (June 1998); "New IRS 401(k) Guidance Provides Increased Flexibility, More Issues for Employers and Plan Administrators," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (May/June 1998); "IRS Guidance on Minimum Distribution Permits Employers Greater Discretion," New York Law Journal (May 1998); "The Application of the Same Desk Rule to Section 401(k) Distributions," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (January 1998); "To Forgive May Be Human After All: New IRS Program Encourages Self-Correction," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (May/June 1997); "New Requirements for Group Health Plans," New York Law Journal (June 2, 1997); "Benefits Practitioners Take Warning: Contributions of Unused Vacation Pay to Employee Benefit Plans Raise Complex Issues," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (March 1997); "IRS Issues New Guidance Regarding Plan Loans," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (May/June 1996); "Pension Plans for Outside Directors: A Valuable Benefit or an Outmoded Dinosaur?" Directorship Significant Issues Facing Directors (1996); "Coping with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (January-February 1996); "Economically Targeted Investments Remain Rare," New York Law Journal (May 15, 1995); "IRS Announces Audit Program for § 403(b) Arrangements Maintained by Tax-exempt Institutions," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (October 1994); "Keeping Secrets About Early Retirement Programs May Result in ERISA Liability," Journal of Compensation and Benefits (September-October 1994); "Corporate Tax Changes: A Closer Look The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1994," Business Credit (April 1994); "The Clinton Health Care Proposal: An Overview" 501(c)(3) Monthly Letter (February 1994); "Health Care Reform: What the Director Should Know - Reform and the Large Corporation," Directorship Significant Issues Facing Directors (1994); "Employer Contributions Based on Age and Service: A 401(a)(4) Analysis," Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (December 1993); “QDRO Procedures and ‘Holds’ on Participants Accounts,” BNA Weekly Report (July 1993); "Pension Funds and Investment Partnerships - Caveat Emptor Or A Match Made In Heaven?" Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (February 1993); "A Trap for the Unwary: Employer Liabilities in Selecting Annuity Providers," BNA Weekly Report (December 1992); "Early Retirement Windows and Testing under 401(a)(4) Regulations," BNA Tax Management Weekly Report (May 1992)