Escalating costs, increased governmental regulation and the current economic climate have all influenced the approach businesses need to take to employee benefit issues. Riar Legal emphasizes hands-on client service, particularly during challenging times, often serving as an extension of a company's human resources and tax planning departments, providing comprehensive legal counsel and business advice, along with the cross-disciplinary resources to handle any issues that may arise. We advise both for-profit and non-profit entities ranging from professional corporations with one or two employees to employers with several thousand employees at locations across the country or the world. Our attorneys also advise governmental entities on benefit issues. The Employee Benefits Group works closely with actuaries, accountants, other benefits consultants and members in the firm's other practice areas in the design and implementation of benefits programs.
Our group has the bench strength to handle a tremendous volume and variety of work. Our attorneys provide ongoing legal services on a range of issues, including the design, drafting, preparation and termination of qualified retirement plans, counsel in connection with employee welfare and cafeteria plans, benefits, as well as advisory services to businesses that can be critical in corporate transactions such as sales, restructurings, plant closures, mergers, acquisitions, financing arrangements, liquidations and other business transactions. We represent employers with pension and health and welfare plan issues including benefit issues in private and public sector union negotiations. We also represent employers who contribute to multi-employer plans and provide advice regarding audit defense, withdrawal liability strategy, and approaches to plans in endangered or critical funding status.
We provide on-going advice to clients on the tax, compliance and strategic implications of executive compensation arrangements. We regularly advise clients regarding the Employee Retirement Income Security, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Regulations. The Employee Benefits Group also advises clients with regard to interpretation and compliance with the benefits aspects of, and other laws affecting employees, such as the Family and Medical Leave regulations, Disabilities Rules, Discrimination in Employment.
Our group also has highly experienced employee benefits advocates. In addition to representing plan sponsors, fiduciaries and plan professionals during Department of Labor, our litigators fashion pre-litigation strategies with an eye towards reducing litigation risk and minimizing costs in high-stakes litigation. Our litigators have handled individual and class action litigation across the country as applicable, state law:
- Retiree health care benefit termination
- Severance plan benefit denials
- Medical disability benefit denials
- Pension miscalculation claims
- Anti-cutback rule violations
- Discriminatory plan design
- Cash balance plans and other hybrid plans
- Fiduciary and co-fiduciary breaches
- Executive compensation
- Interference with rights under governed plans
- Excessive fees
- Prohibited transactions
- Non-compliance with disclosure requirements
- Multiemployer plan trustee disputes
- Multiemployer plan delinquent contribution and withdrawal liability disputes
- Public sector plan trustee misconduct under state law
- Employee benefits appellate litigation
Our experienced employee benefits advocates have also served as counsel to national trade associations and Court and have been selected by insurers to defend benefits litigation.
