Avoid Costly Section 409A Mistakes: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know (Virtual)

ONLINE REGISTRATION INCLUDED BELOW.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A REGISTRATION FORM

Event Description

Please join us for a discussion of how you can avoid costly mistakes in your practice involving Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.  Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code is drafted very broadly – you may be surprised to learn of Section 409A’s wide ranging impact on employment agreements, severance arrangements, equity compensation, bonus arrangements, and settlement agreements.  In fact, under Section 409A, deferred compensation includes any arrangement where compensation is earned in one year and paid in a later year.  The tax penalties for noncompliance with Section 409A are severe and are imposed on the employee, not the employer.  This program is geared toward all lawyers —not just those specializing in employment law – and is designed to help you understand when section 409A applies and when it does not so you can assist your clients in avoiding this tax trap.

CREDIT(S):

1.0 SUBSTANTIVE CREDIT

SPEAKERS:

Mark A. Smith, Esquire
Partner, Barley Snyder

Mark Smith concentrates his practice in counseling clients in all aspects of employee benefits and ERISA, including the design and implementation of retirement and welfare benefit plans, administration of retirement and welfare benefit plans, retirement planning and taxation of plan distributions and fiduciary law aspects of ERISA. He has considerable experience with a broad range of employee benefit programs, including qualified pension, profit sharing and 401(k) plans, welfare benefit plans (including health care arrangements, retiree health plans, cafeteria plans and VEBAS) and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. Before joining Barley Snyder, Mark was the manager of global employee benefits compliance at AMP, Inc., where he oversaw the design, financial management and legal compliance of benefit programs worldwide. Earlier, he was the benefits practice leader in Central Pennsylvania with an international accounting and consulting firm.

Nikolajs V. Gaikis, Esquire
Associate, Barley Snyder

Nikolajs (pronounced nickel-ice) is a member of Barley Snyder’s Employee Benefits Practice Group, focusing on all aspects of employee benefits, executive compensation, and employment and payroll taxes. Nikolajs’ employee benefits practice includes matters about 401(k) and profit sharing plans, welfare benefit plans, pension plans, and other fringe benefits. A sizable portion of Nikolajs’ practice is devoted to correcting non-compliant plans with the IRS’s and DOL’s correction programs.

Nikolajs also drafts executive compensation agreements that are compliant with the non-qualified deferred compensation and golden parachute sections of the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, Nikolajs represents clients before the IRS in a variety of matters, including employment and payroll tax levies and liens and the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.

Before joining Barley Snyder, Nikolajs was an Honors Program Attorney with the IRS, Office of Chief Counsel in its Litigation & Advisory division. At Chief Counsel, he litigated and advised on dozens of cases across a wide variety of issues in the U.S. Tax Court. Nikolajs brings his Chief Counsel mindset and experience to all his clients’ matters to protect their interests before the IRS.

QUESTIONS?

Email Lexi Driendl (lexi@lancasterbar.org), Continuing Legal Education & Marketing Coordinator