Top best Employee Benefits Lawyers in Washington | 154 available

Robin M. Solomon is a partner in Ivins, Phillips & Barker's Employee Benefits practice. She counsels employers on a wide range of issues, including qualified plan design and compliance, health and welfare compliance (ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, MHPAEA), privacy, severance, employment classification, and executive compensation. Robin has extensive experience drafting plan documents, amendments, employment agreements, summary plan descriptions and other participant communications.. Robin’s client base covers many different industries, including aerospace and defense, automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, oil and gas, retail, and technology. She possesses particular expertise in counseling clients on workforce and benefits integration after a large acquisition, and she is experienced with the unique problems faced by large controlled groups.. Clients value Robin as a “business-minded” and practical leader, who can manage large projects on a tight deadline.. Representative matters include:

Mr. Avakian has argued cases before numerous federal trial courts, every United States Court of Appeal, and has successfully petitioned for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Moreover, he has engaged in private arbitrations, federal administrative litigation, and adversary court litigation with private parties, the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Election Commission, Federal Labor Relations Authority, and the United States Department of Labor.. As former Associate Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, Mr. Avakian participated in the overall management of the Department at the Secretarial level and engaged in matters pertaining to policy and program coordination with its Agencies and Offices. He received broad guidance from the Deputy Secretary and analyzed and advised on the implications of proposed, new or revised policies, regulations, and legislative proposals, and assessed their impact on the private sector regulated communities. He led Departmental projects and consulted with senior management officials of the Department, regarding major initiatives, proposed legislation, changes in Departmental regulations, milestones to be achieved, cabinet level matters affecting the Department, and international trade.. He developed briefing papers on matters of economic concern for the Deputy Secretary in the formulation of Departmental policy. He carried out assignments involving contacts with Departmental officials of other Federal agencies for information and coordination of action.. Before and after returning to private practice, Mr. Avakian was a Partner in the Wimberly, Lawson & Avakian Law Firm, a nationally recognized law firm specializing in employment relations and labor law matters. Mr Avakian was also Vice-President to the Center on National Labor Policy, Inc., a non-profit legal foundation chartered to protect individual rights under federal labor law.. Mr. Avakian has testified on proposed legislation and suggested statutory language at the request of various congressional committees in both Houses of Congress, including the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Equal Access to Justice Act and the Senate Labor Subcommittee on the Freedom in the Workplace Act. He has also counseled clients during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on bills to amend the Hobb’s Anti-Extortion Act. In addition, Mr. Avakian has testified before the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the NLRB on changes to its representational regulations, and provided administrative comments on proposed regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act before the U.S. Department of Labor, and amicus curiae briefs to the NLRB.. Mr. Avakian has been recognized as a public policy expert in labor law by the Heritage Foundation, and has appeared on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightwatch, Mcneil Lehrer News Hour, CNN News and quoted in the New York Times, the Washington Post. Mr. Avakian has testified on proposed legislation and suggested statutory language at the request of various congressional committees including the Senate Judiciary Committee on the Equal Access to Justice Act and the Senate Labor Subcommittee on the Freedom in the Workplace Act.  He has also counseled clients during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on bills to amend the Hobb’s Anti-Extortion Act.  In addition, Mr. Avakian has testified before the Federal Election Commission and National Labor Relations Board on proposed regulations affecting employers and labor organizations, has provided administrative comments on proposed regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act before the U.S. Department of Labor, and amicus curiae briefs to the National Labor Relations Board.

Michael Chittenden practices in the area of employee benefits and executive and deferred compensation arrangements. Within these areas, he has assisted clients with respect to a broad range of issues, including tax-qualified plan drafting and operational issues, compliance with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, equity compensation, fringe benefits, payroll taxes, and health and welfare benefits.. In his practice, Mr. Chittenden has advised clients on a variety of operational issues including the preparation of qualified domestic relations orders procedures, investment policies, and determination letter applications, reviewing domestic relations orders for qualification issues, 401(h) accounts, and the Code and ERISA requirements for defined benefit plan freezes and terminations. In addition, Mr. Chittenden has drafted a number of plan amendments and restatements. He has also successfully responded to issues raised by the IRS in an audit of a profit sharing plan and developed and implemented successful operational and plan document corrections through the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System.. Mr. Chittenden has experience working with non-qualified plans and welfare benefit plans. He has drafted change-in-control plans and executive retention plans adopted as part of corporate acquisitions. In addition, he has advised clients on payroll tax withholding requirements and planning opportunities related to non-qualified plans. He has advised clients on compliance with or avoidance of the requirements of Code Section 409A. Mr. Chittenden has advised multiple clients on the termination or substantial modification of their retiree medical benefits. He has also counseled clients on issues related to welfare plan communications, non-discrimination testing for dependent care and other welfare plans, and requirements relating to health reform law.. Mr. Chittenden has also been actively engaged in shaping employee benefits policy. He previously served as the Director of Retirement Legislation & Regulation at The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), a national trade association that represents the interests of large employers on employee benefits and compensation issues. In his role at ERIC, Mr. Chittenden engaged relevant Congressional committees and regulatory agencies across a diverse range of retirement-related issues, including cash balance plans, Pension Protection Act (PPA) funding and benefit restriction regulations, proposed PPA hybrid plan regulations, qualified and eligible automatic contribution arrangements, fee disclosure litigation, legislation, and regulation, and Congressional efforts to impose new limitations on nonqualified deferred compensation.. Mr. Chittenden came to Miller & Chevalier from Covington & Burling LLP, where he was an associate in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group.

Kate Robinson represents individuals and businesses with respect to a variety of sophisticated employee benefits, tax and traditional employment matters. Kate assists clients with the design and implementation of qualified and non-qualified deferred compensation, retirement and welfare benefits plans. She frequently drafts and reviews employment and independent contractor agreements, restrictive covenants, employment policies and employee handbooks, severance arrangements and other employee benefit plans. She also generally advises clients on all aspects of compliance with ERISA as well as state and federal employment laws.. Prior to joining Bailey & Ehrenberg, Kate worked as an associate attorney for the Global Compensation, Benefits and ERISA practice group at Paul Hastings LLP. At Paul Hastings, Kate represented a mix of private and public corporations, private equity firms and investment banks with respect to ERISA and employment matters arising in the context of M&A transactions.. Kate received her law degree from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in 2013. She subsequently graduated from Georgetown University Law Center during 2014 with an LL.M in Taxation (including a Certificate in Employee Benefits Law). Kate worked as a Law Clerk for the Foundation Litigation of the American Association of Retired Persons (“AARP”) during her time at Georgetown. In that capacity, she assisted AARP’s employee benefits attorneys by drafting memoranda, motions and briefs in support of ERISA litigation proceedings across various federal courts.

Jason H. Ehrenberg is a skilled trial and appellate litigator with years of courtroom experience and a nationwide litigation and counseling practice.. Mr. Ehrenberg regularly litigates claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). This includes defending claims for breaches of fiduciary duties, pension benefits, long term disability benefits, and ERISA withdrawal liability, among others. Mr. Ehrenberg also routinely advises pension plan sponsors, administrative committees, trustees and other plan fiduciaries with regard to their fiduciary obligations under ERISA. He has been selected for inclusion in Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers in the areas of Employee Benefits/ERISA and ERISA Litigation every year since 2012. Mr. Ehrenberg is a member of the American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. He is a regular contributing editor and chapter author of the Employee Benefits Law and ERISA Litigation treatises. He regularly authors articles and speaks on issues arising under ERISA.. Mr. Ehrenberg also has considerable experience in military administrative and criminal proceedings. Most recently, he successfully defended four separate sexual assault cases involving midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy, including the high profile “Naval Academy Football Case.” He has been widely quoted on military justice matters in publications such as the Washington Post and New York Times and has appeared on television programs such as the CBS Morning News to discuss his views on the problems with the military’s handling of sexual assault cases.. Mr. Ehrenberg has significant experience in appellate litigation, having recently handled ERISA and employment matters in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits.. Mr. Ehrenberg also maintains a nationwide Higher Education Law practice, and regularly counsels university administrators, professors and graduate students with regard to all aspects of their relationships with institutes of higher education. He regularly appears on the American Association of University Professors list of recommended attorneys.

Dedicated to working with employees who have been wrongly treated by their employers, I have won substantial victories in various courts and administrative processes to vindicate the rights of my clients.  I work exclusively with employees to ensure that employers are held accountable for their wrongful action.. Every case is different. Understanding how the law applies to your work-related situation requires in-depth understanding and research.

Cristopher Jones focuses his practice on employee benefits and executive compensation matters. He advises clients of all sizes on the design and administration of retirement, health care, employee compensation and wellness arrangements. Cristopher also counsels employee benefit plan administrators and trustees concerning their fiduciary obligations.. Additionally, Cristopher advises public and private companies on employee benefits issues related to mergers, acquisitions and debt offerings. He also helps employers, benefit plans and healthcare companies comply with HIPAA’s privacy, security and breach notification rules.. Before joining Sutherland, Cristopher was an employee benefits and executive compensation attorney at a law firm in Baltimore, Maryland. His previous experience includes serving as benefits counsel to a Fortune 50 financial services company, as a law clerk for the United States Department of Justice and as a legal extern for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.. Cristopher is admitted to the Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia State Bars. His work is supervised by District of Columbia Bar members.

Carol Calhoun is a member of Venable’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice. She has more than 30 years of private practice experience with employee benefits and insurance product taxation matters, including qualified retirement plans, health and welfare arrangements, executive compensation, and insurance and annuity products.Ms. Calhoun has significant experience with standard pension plans (both defined benefit and defined contribution), the full array of government plans (including 403(b) and 457), excess benefit plans, 401(k), cafeteria/flexible spending, and a wide variety of welfare (e.g., health, life, and disability) plans. Her clients include states, localities, and international organizations regarding their benefit plans. Ms. Calhoun also represents government plans themselves, and boards and agencies charged with administering such plans.