Benefit plans are regulated by a collection of ever-changing statutes, regulations and procedures. To keep plans in compliance with these rules, employers can draw on the specialized knowledge of benefits attorneys like the Holland & Hart Benefits Law Group. See the attached description of how benefits attorneys can add value to the advice and assistance you receive from your accountant, recordkeeper or other service provider.

The Holland & Hart Benefits Law Group is one of the largest and most experienced in the Mountain West region. We have a wealth of experience in working with large publicly traded employers, governments and small entrepreneurial businesses. Over the years, we have crafted and maintained defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, all forms of welfare and health benefit plans and all types of equity and deferred compensation arrangements.

We Design Plans to Meet Your Needs
We have extensive experience helping our clients select, draft and establish benefit plans for their businesses. We focus on cost savings, ease of administration, employee morale and, of course, business success. We understand the value of having a proper employee benefits structure to maximize employee performance and the financial success of the enterprise.

Plan Implementation
Our broad experience includes the design, maintenance and implementation of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans (with particular emphasis on 401(k) plans), ESOPs and other stock bonus plans, self-funded health plans, welfare benefit plans (including retiree medical plans, short and long term disability plans, medical expense reimbursement plans, health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending arrangements), dependent care and other fringe benefit plans; incentive equity plans (with particular emphasis on incentive and nonstatutory stock option plans and restricted stock plans), phantom equity plans, deferred compensation plans including supplemental executive retirement plans and excess benefit plans, severance and change in control agreements, and funding mechanisms such as rabbi trust and voluntary employee beneficiary associations (VEBAs).

Fiduciary Exposure
Our Benefits Law Group advises clients about their fiduciary duties under ERISA (and under state law for governments). In a post-Enron world, fiduciary issues are at the forefront of compensation, pension and welfare benefit planning and operation. We are especially well-versed in dealing with these issues and in assisting clients with compliance. We educate fiduciaries about their duties and create legal structures to protect the fiduciaries. We have formulated and implemented state of the art legal structures to assist plan fiduciaries with their obligations and limit their ERISA exposure and we serve as legal counsel to the benefit committees of several major companies.

Advocacy
The attorneys in the Benefits Law Group represent our clients before the IRS, the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). We routinely guide plans through EPCRS and DFVC, the remediation programs of the IRS and the Department of Labor. We have successfully represented clients in numerous plan audits conducted by these agencies over several years, generally reaching dismissals of the audit without penalty.

Reporting, Disclosure and Compliance
Our Benefits Law Group has established special expertise in tax compliance to assist our clients in meeting the complex rules of the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. Many clients seek advice with respect to filing and disclosure requirements imposed by ERISA. We assist clients, plan administrators and accountants in making certain that all components of compliance are met. Our goal is to anticipate our clients' needs in light of current trends, pending legislation and regulations. No tax-qualified plan designed or maintained under our supervision has ever been disqualified for any reason.

We also assist enterprises that have engaged in prohibited transactions to correct the defalcations and to limit their costs and penalties. We review plans and make recommendations for corrections to ensure tax and ERISA compliance.

Privacy Regulations
Our Benefits Law Group designs, drafts and assists with the implementation of health benefit plans. We also advise our clients regularly with respect to the complicated privacy and security rules for health care plans mandated by HIPAA and the health care continuation rules mandated by COBRA and applicable state statutes.

Mergers and Acquisitions
Corporate transactions require expert evaluation of all parties' benefit and compensation obligations and programs. We have had great success in negotiating the role of employee benefits programs in mergers as well as stock and asset transactions.

Planning and Litigation Challenges
Benefits tax law and ERISA are extremely complex. The attorneys in the Benefits Law Group have expertise in the controlled group and affiliated service group rules, in nondiscrimination testing, in qualified separate lines of business, in anti-cutback rules, in section 83 planning, and in ERISA preemption and subrogation, among the many complicated arenas involved in our day-to-day benefits practice.

In addition to having tax experience, we are heavily involved in the employment law components of ERISA. We work closely with labor and employment lawyers in drafting employment and severance agreements and in handling claims appeals and arbitration arising from claim disputes. Our ERISA litigation group handles complex litigation matters for several major companies and insurance clients.