Overview
Lisa Loesel focuses her practice on employee benefits matters, including the design, amendment and administration of pension and 401(k) plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, and employee stock ownership plans. She counsels privately and publicly held corporations regarding the employee benefits design and transition matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. She also advises clients regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Lisa also has experience counseling plan fiduciaries with respect to the claims and appeals procedures under ERISA.
Lisa routinely represents clients in negotiations before the Internal Revenue Service, US Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. She has assisted clients with internal compliance reviews, voluntary correction filings under the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) and applications for determination letters on tax qualification. Additionally, Lisa has experience advising multinational clients on global employee benefits matters, compliance issues, benefits issues specific to expatriates, and benefits issues related to cross-border transactions.
Results
- Structured a 401(k) plan spin-off with complex company stock fund issues required to facilitate the client’s divestiture of a business segment valued at $2.1 billion
- Advised on real estate investment trust (REIT) transaction issues pertaining to a company stock fund and leveraged employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fund, for a client conducting an REIT spin-off
- Advised clients on strategies for reducing pension liabilities, including hard plan freezes, soft plan freezes, plan terminations, implementation of permanent lump sum distribution features and lump sum distribution windows
- Advised a client on its implementation of a new cash balance pension plan
- Drafted an equity-like incentive compensation plan for a privately held client and facilitated a global legal review of incentive plan structures in more than 40 countries
- Provided technical support to a client during an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plan audit, resulting in a “clean” audit letter from the IRS
Recognitions
Credentials
Education
University of Michigan Law School, JD, 2006
Yale University, BA, 2001
Admissions
Illinois
