Accolades
We have a large and experienced group of lawyers who work with 401(k) plans, ESOPs and pension plans to bring unique solutions to each client's situation. Few other law firms can offer the following:
- In Washington, D.C., we have several benefits lawyers who maintain regular contact with government officials in the U.S. Congress, and at the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Securities and Exchange Commission. Earl Pomeroy, for example, is a former Congressman who served on the House Ways and Means Committee, and before that was president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
- Tom Schendt worked for the IRS as technical assistant to the associate chief counsel, Employee Benefits and Exempt Organizations, before joining our Washington, D.C. office in 1996 as a partner, and he currently chairs two important conferences in which private practitioners interact with the IRS and the DOL. He focuses on government audits, investigations and rulings, and self-compliance initiatives.
- Carolyn Smith was the third-ranking staffer of the Joint Committee on Taxation of the United States Congress before joining Alston & Bird. Carolyn was instrumental in drafting much of the legislation affecting our clients, and has invaluable relationships in the government.
- David Godofsky, a partner in our Washington, D.C., office, is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (F.S.A.), and was vice chairman of the Education and Examination Committee of the Society of Actuaries. We are the only major law firm in the country to have an admitted, practicing lawyer who is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. David was a member of the task force appointed by the American Academy of Actuaries to advise Treasury, the IRS and the Department of Labor on regulations under the Pension Protection Act.
- Craig Pett, a partner in our Atlanta office, is also an adjunct professor teaching employee benefits law at Emory University Law School.
- Our lawyers often speak at major employee benefits conferences and are prolific authors. We often have articles in the Benefits Law Journal, Benefits and Compensation Law Alert and other benefits oriented legal journals. Our partners are frequently quoted in BNA, Employee Benefit News and similar publications.