Jeff concentrates his practice in the area of employee benefits law. Jeff has over 20 years of experience navigating the complexities of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, including drafting plan documents, amendments, summaries and notices, reviewing agreements and contracts with third party administrators and vendors, and performing employee benefit due diligence for mergers and acquisitions.
Jeff has represented clients under audit by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor and has completed numerous retirement plan corrections. He has obtained funding waivers for defined benefit pension plans and helped clients respond to reportable event inquiries from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He has advised clients on issues related to multi-employer union pension plans, including plan audits and withdrawal liability.
Jeff has a special focus on employee benefits for tax exempt and nonprofit employers such as hospitals, schools, churches and church-related organizations, and other charitable organizations. He has in-depth, practical experience dealing with the rules and requirements that apply to Code § 403(b) and 457 plans sponsored by tax-exempt employers.
University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1996
Princeton Theological Seminary, Ph.D., 1990, cum laude
Union Theological Seminary, M.Div., 1985
Davidson College, A.B., 1982
The Best Lawyers in America®, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2021-2025,”Lawyer of the Year,” 2023
September 4, 2024 | Publications
Imagine if a minor shift in your organization’s status—something seemingly superficial, like the...
April 20, 2023 | Publications
Our overview of Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, titled “The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2...
April 30, 2020 | Blogs
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service extended the restatement deadlines for...
March 18, 2020 | Coronavirus Response Team
While many employers are closing their doors to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus, other employe...
November 12, 2019 | Publications
Plans subject to Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (403(b) plans) are currently in a “re...
January 10, 2019 | Publications
Most retirement plans (including profit sharing, 401(k), and 403(b) plans) are required to provide p...
December 15, 2017 | Publications
The IRS has reversed its unfavorable rule that prohibited the use of forfeitures to fund safe-harb...
July 31, 2017 | Blogs
Unanimous decision turns on reading of the language of the statute.