Employee Benefits

As part of Kirkland’s industry-leading transactional practice, the attorneys in our Employee Benefits Practice Group guide clients (including public companies, private companies and private equity funds) through complex employee benefits issues arising in a wide variety of corporate transactions (including mergers, acquisitions, carve-outs, and divestitures) and restructuring matters with respect to qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, ESOPs, multiemployer plans and health and welfare benefit plans.

Our team plays an integral role in these matters, including addressing post-transaction issues and negotiating with governmental agencies (such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation) as necessary.

Because we work extensively with the Firm’s other top-tier practices, such as M&A, investment funds, restructuring and litigation, our Employee Benefits Practice Group has a unique exposure to, and has represented clients on, a wide-range of employee benefits matters, including:

• ERISA “controlled group” liabilities and implications
• PBGC reportable event filings and “early warning” actions
• Multiemployer plan withdrawal liability assessments, settlements and agreements
• Affordable Care Act counseling and penalty assessment appeals and resolution
• Voluntary correction actions with the IRS and Department of Labor
• Private letter and other rulings from the IRS and Department of Labor
• Litigation and claim disputes involving employee benefit plans or plan assets
• Benefit plan design, drafting, implementation and consolidation
• ERISA fiduciary and prohibited transaction rules

Our Employee Benefits Practice Group also regularly advises clients on ERISA matters arising in the context of the formation and ongoing operation of investment vehicles, including joint ventures, private equity funds, real estate funds, opportunity funds, infrastructure funds, hedge funds, group trusts, bank collective trusts and insurance company separate accounts.