Executive Compensation & Benefits

Weil’s Executive Compensation and Benefits practice plays a key role advising global clients on a wide range of corporate and restructuring matters.

Notable Representations, Key Contacts

Global Transactional and Restructuring Capabilities

Weil’s Executive Compensation and Benefits lawyers are strategically located in the United States and United Kingdom. Our lawyers work in close coordination with the Firm’s M&A, Private Equity, Private Funds and Business Finance & Restructuring practices, and regularly advise global clients on the legal and financial risks associated with compensation and benefit arrangements that arise in these types of commercial matters — many of which require sensitive issues for senior management, transition planning and compensation.

Trusted Advisor to Public and Private Companies

Weil regularly advises public and private companies, as well as their boards of directors and compensation committees, on matters involving compensation and employee benefits. Our lawyers work closely with the Firm’s Public Company Advisory Group and Corporate Department to provide a full suite of advice for the design and implementation of compensation and benefit arrangements, taking into consideration Institutional Shareholders Services and institutional investor guidelines, as well as say on pay and disclosure issues.

Instrumental in the Design and Negotiation of Executive Employment and Compensation Arrangements.

We advise companies and management teams on senior executive employment and compensation arrangements, including for employment, separation, retention, cash incentives, equity incentives (such as stock options, restricted stock, partnership profits and capital interests, and other alternative forms of equity compensation), deferred compensation, golden parachutes, and pension and retirement.

Weil also regularly counsels clients in connection with ERISA, pension investments and fiduciary matters; equity and incentive compensation plans; nonqualified pension plans; and employment, severance, and change-in-control agreements. We frequently appear on behalf of clients before regulatory agencies such as the IRS, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and Department of Labor.

Shortcut Links

Key Contacts

Paul J. Wessel

Partner

New York

+1 212 310 8720
paul.wessel@weil.com

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Weil Named a “Leading” Firm for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation: New York

Chambers USA 2019

Weil Named a “Leading” Firm for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

Legal 500 US 2019

Ranked Tier 1 for National: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law

U.S. News - Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" 2019*

*Best Lawyers (in America) is by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

Paul Wessel named Benefits "MVP"

Law360 2018

Awards and Recognition, Speaking Engagements, Firm News & Announcements, Latest Thinking

Awards and Recognition

Weil Named a “Leading” Firm for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation: New York Award Brief — Chambers USA 2019
Weil Named a “Leading” Firm for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Award Brief — Legal 500 US 2019
Weil Ranked Tier 1 for National: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Award Brief — U.S. News - Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” 2019 (Best Lawyers (in America) is by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners)
Weil’s Paul Wessel Profiled as a 2018 Benefits MVP Award Brief — Law360

Speaking Engagements

PLI’s Cool Compensation Considerations for the Private Company 2019: Pay, Performance and Perspectives Speaker(s): Paul J. Wessel
January 14, 2020 — New York, NY — Co-Chair of Weil’s Tax Department Paul Wessel spoke on a panel titled “Insights into Troubled Companies Returning to Solvency” as part of PLI’s Cool Compensation Considerations for the Private Company 2019: Pay, Performance and Perspectives.
TEI’s 2019 Mergers and Acquisitions Seminar Speaker(s): Paul J. Wessel
November 19, 2019 — Las Vegas, NV — Co-Chair of Weil’s Tax Department Paul Wessel spoke on a panel titled “Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Issues in Post-TCJA Transaction Planning” as part of TEI’s 2019 Mergers and Acquisitions Seminar.

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Firm News & Announcements

Weil Advises Eli Lilly in its $1.1B Acquisition of Dermira Deal Brief — January 13, 2020
Weil Advises InfraRed Capital Partners in its $396M Sale of an 80% Stake to Sun Life Financial Deal Brief — December 24, 2019

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Latest Thinking

Sun Capital Update: First Circuit Rules Affiliated Investment Funds Not Responsible for Portfolio Company’s Pension Liability, Reversing District Court Alert — By Sarah Downie and Maliha Ikram — PDF — November 25, 2019
Change Of Control And Its Effect On Incentive Equity Publication — Law360 — By Michael Nissan — May 16, 2016
Sun Capital ERISA Litigation – Private Equity Funds Held Liable for Pension Obligations Alert — By Paul J. Wessel and Steven M. Margolis — PDF — April 2016
SEC Proposes CEO Pay Ratio Disclosure Rule Alert — SEC Disclosure & Corporate Governance — September 18, 2013
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Conclusion that PE Funds are Potentially Liable for Pension Obligations of Portfolio Companies Blog Post — Weil Bankruptcy Blog — By Paul J. Wessel — May 06, 2014

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