Executive Compensation, Employee Benefits, and ERISA

Cleary Gottlieb has an extensive practice helping well-known multinational corporate clients structure executive compensation and employment arrangements that achieve the delicate balance between executive, corporate and shareholder interests.

The firm is routinely recognized for guiding clients toward smart, strategically sound policies concerning the design and disclosure of executive compensation and employee benefits, and for helping companies avoid corporate governance controversies.

Our integrated practice is able to help clients manage the unique problems facing global companies that conduct business in the United States, Europe, and other jurisdictions.

A multidisciplinary approach from across Cleary practice areas enables our lawyers to provide advice in the following areas:

• Transactional: We regularly advise on executive compensation and ERISA affairs in connection with mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and leveraged acquisition finance transactions, and tax and private funds matters.
• Advisory: We have deep experience assisting companies and their boards with executive compensation and employment arrangements, corporate governance, and compensation disclosure and securities law obligations. We also advise financial institutions and private equity firms with ERISA fiduciary matters, and inform clients of regulatory developments and reforms affecting compensation.
• Litigation: We provide advice in connection with internal investigations and related disclosures and in employment, compensation disclosure, and pension-related litigations. We also play a key role advising on the treatment of executive compensation and employee benefits plans in bankruptcies.