Paul J. Wessel is a partner and leader of the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice group in the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
Mr. Wessel focuses his practice on handling executive compensation and employee benefits matters for corporations and private equity firms in all types of transactions. Mr. Wessel has represented numerous financial institutions, public and privately held companies, boards of directors, employee benefit plan trustees, and individual corporate executives. Mr. Wessel also regularly counsels clients in connection with executive compensation, employee benefits and ERISA matters, as well as pension investments and fiduciary matters. His practice includes advising on equity and incentive compensation plans, nonqualified pension plans, and employment, severance and change in control agreements.
Mr. Wessel also represents clients on the compensation and benefits aspects of bankruptcy and restructuring matters, and advises debtors in possession and creditors' committees on pension and employee benefits matters in bankruptcy. Additionally, his practice involves regulatory matters with the US Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Wessel currently serves as the Chairman of the Executive Compensation Subcommittee for the ABA Business Law Section. He is a frequent speaker on employee benefits and compensation matters and has been published and quoted in the media on current issues in the area.
Mr. Wessel is ranked as a leading employee benefits lawyer in Chambers USA and other legal surveys. He is a cum laude graduate of Buffalo Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Buffalo Law Review, and a graduate of Cornell University.