Emily Mao focuses her practice on advising employers on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation including design, drafting, compliance, administration and termination of tax-qualified and non-qualified plans, including traditional defined benefit plans, cash balance plans, pension equity plans, employee stock ownership plans, defined contribution plans, equity compensation plans, deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, excess benefit plans, cafeteria plans, severance plans and other welfare arrangements. In addition to advising clients on ERISA, tax and executive compensation issues on a day-to-day basis, Emily also counsels public companies and private companies on employee benefits matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions, outsourcings and restructurings. Her transactional work has also involved handling numerous plan mergers and terminations. Emily also regularly advises clients with regard to ERISA Title I matters, including the special responsibilities of plan fiduciaries and issues relating to employee benefit plan investments in hedge funds, real estate funds and other investment vehicles.
Emily Mao focuses her practice on advising employers on all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation including design, drafting, compliance, administration and termination of tax-qualified and non-qualified plans, including traditional defined benefit plans, cash balance plans, pension equity plans, employee stock ownership plans, defined contribution plans, equity compensation plans, deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, excess benefit plans, cafeteria plans, severance plans and other welfare arrangements. In addition to advising clients on ERISA, tax and executive compensation issues on a day-to-day basis, Emily also counsels public companies and private companies on employee benefits matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions, outsourcings and restructurings. Her transactional work has also involved handling numerous plan mergers and terminations. Emily also regularly advises clients with regard to ERISA Title I matters, including the special responsibilities of plan fiduciaries and issues relating to employee benefit plan investments in hedge funds, real estate funds and other investment vehicles.
Emily also counsels employers on how to comply with changes in the law, including the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code which imposes substantial new rules on nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. In addition, Emily has been involved in the legislative process on behalf of clients seeking changes or clarifications to existing laws. Finally, Emily advises employers on the administration of health plans and welfare plans, including compliance with tax, ERISA, and other federal laws.
Emily received her LL.M., with distinction, in taxation in 1999 from Georgetown University Law Center. As part of her LL.M., she also received a Certificate in Employee Benefits Law from Georgetown University. She received her J.D., cum laude, in 1991 from The American University, Washington College of Law, and her B.A. in English literature in 1988 from the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining Alston & Bird, Emily gained experience as a law clerk and attorney-advisor to The Honorable Judge Norman H. Wolfe, U.S. Tax Court, Washington, D.C. and also as an attorney-advisor with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In addition, Emily was Legislative Counsel, during the 103rd and 104th Congresses, for Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA). As Legislative Counsel, Emily developed legislative proposals, assisted in drafting legislative amendments to major bills and negotiated proposals relating to tax, trade and health issues with Ways and Means Committee staff, Executive Branch Officials and representatives of the business and legal community.
Emily is a member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Washington, D.C. and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, a non-profit organization located in the District of Columbia.