A preeminent practice
Cox Smith’s Employee Benefits attorneys are counted among the preeminent employee benefits law practitioners in Texas. All shareholders in the practice group have been selected by their professional peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America. We pride ourselves on providing practical advice for the real world of benefits.

We assist employers of all kinds – private sector, tax-exempt and governmental – to achieve their employee benefit and pension goals. In doing so, we provide innovative counsel in handling the life cycle of benefit plans, including initial plan design and implementation; ongoing plan operation and compliance; and plan termination, often in the context of a merger or acquisition.

Our goal is to customize benefit and compensation solutions that take into account the special circumstances of our client's industry and business. We take a comprehensive approach that encompasses the financial, tax, administrative and fiduciary responsibility issues that are central to effective benefit and compensation programs, and their integration with our clients' employment policies and practices. Once plans are established, we assist with any bumps in the road by helping clients choose the best solution to solve a problem. These solutions range from tax reporting, self-correction or submissions to voluntary compliance programs of the Internal Revenue Service or Department of Labor, to negotiating with the government in audit settings.

Our primary aim is to help our clients avoid problems in the first place. Because we work with many types of employers, we can often spot potential benefit and pension problems before they arise and craft solutions that avoid the risk of private litigation or government sanctions.

Qualified retirement plans
We design and draft qualified retirement plans, including profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans, money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, and cash balance plans. We offer comprehensive service, from innovative plan design to preparing amendments and managing the termination process. Cox Smith’s Employee Benefits attorneys also advise on compliance and fiduciary issues, regularly representing clients before the IRS, Department of Labor, and other government agencies. Having extensive dealings with agency personnel at the Service Center, regional and national levels, our team represents employers in plan audits and fiduciary investigations.

Private sector employers must ensure that their tax-qualified pension and profit-sharing plans are properly documented and in full compliance with all tax and ERISA regulations. We fully understand the importance of preventing litigation or adverse tax consequences resulting from errors in plan design, documentation, and operations.

ESOPs
Our lawyers help clients design employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to decrease financing costs, maximize tax advantages, adopt effective corporate governance practices, and structure compensation to enhance performance. ESOPs are not right for every company, but they have compelling benefits for many business owners and their employees. Our experience enables us to help employers determine whether an ESOP is the right choice. If so, we work with counsel to other parties in the ESOP transaction to achieve common objectives. We are sensitive to the needs of our clients and their other counsel, and after the transaction is complete we are available to provide support going forward.

Governmental plans
A wide range of Texas governmental entities rely on Cox Smith for employee benefit guidance. Our lawyers advise not only municipalities and their agencies but also hospital districts, housing and river authorities, publicly owned utilities, transit systems and other political subdivisions on the best ways to structure and administer their benefit and pension plans. Because these plans are not subject to the requirements of ERISA, their sponsors seek our guidance on the federal tax and state law requirements that apply to qualified and section 457 plans, as well as other governmental nonqualified plans and their unique tax and plan design challenges. Representation of cities and other governmental entities by the firm’s employee benefits team is also enhanced by their ability to work, when necessary, as a team with other lawyers at Cox Smith whose knowledge of municipal law, operations and structures is useful or essential background for benefits issues.

Tax-exempt organization plans
Charities, healthcare providers and other tax-exempt organizations that are eligible to sponsor Section 403(b) and Section 457 retirement programs – as well as 401(k) plan opportunities that have been extended to tax-exempt entities – can confidently turn to Cox Smith for comprehensive guidance. We help clients comply with applicable laws, from effective plan structure and design to preventive plan reviews that identify and correct problems before an IRS or Department of Labor audit. That includes help in properly classifying and determining benefit coverage for part-time employees, leased employees, shared employees and independent contractors. We also help clients identify the measures necessary to readily access important documents, government filings and compliance test results in case of an audit.

Executive compensation
Executive compensation arrangements are critical to much benefits planning, and we advise employers on all aspects of equity and deferred compensation planning for executives. Our in-depth understanding of tax, accounting, disclosure and securities considerations gives our clients the necessary guidance to implement effective equity compensation arrangements, bonus programs and stock incentive plans. We also advise companies on employment and severance agreements, deferred compensation plans, and related funding arrangements, including such applications as SERPs and split-dollar life insurance arrangements.

Our knowledge of Section 409A compliance provides the foundation for executive compensation planning and compliance. In addition, we help our clients comply with the administrative and legal requirements of the full range of non-qualified stock option plans and restricted stock plans, as well as targeted incentive-for-performance pay plans and bonus plans that can benefit emerging growth companies.

Welfare benefit plans
Cox Smith has for years helped employers design, implement, document and administer health and other welfare benefit plans, including risk pools, retiree medical plans, cafeteria plans, medical care reimbursement accounts, dependent care reimbursement accounts, and health savings accounts. We help our clients determine how to contain plan costs, manage liabilities, and comply with rapidly changing laws and regulations. Our experience helps us deal with all key players in the health benefit industry: insurers, stop-loss carriers, PPOs, HMOs, administrative service providers, and utilization review organizations. We will help contain health plan costs and liabilities while preserving the effectiveness of company-sponsored health benefit programs.

Working with in-house benefits staff and outside consultants, our lawyers help design claims processes, investigate and process claims and appeals of claim denials, interpret and enforce plan documents, and coordinate welfare benefit arrangements with other sources of reimbursement and coverage. That includes developing training programs, prototype documents and administrative forms and other materials designed for efficient plan administration.

Our experience includes helping manage plan exposures and costs, avoid costly benefit plan lawsuits and liabilities, and save time and money in administration. We assist clients in their efforts to comply with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, HIPAA, COBRA, the Social Security Act, employment discrimination laws, Medicare Secondary Payor rules, and other federal and state laws and regulations, as well as record retention and privacy concerns.

ERISA advice
ERISA requirements are complex. We make it our job to help clients develop a clear understanding of their responsibilities as a fiduciary. With years of experience advising the plan committees of many clients in a wide range of industries, we strive to clearly explain what the law expects of employers and their investment advisors.

Working proactively on claims avoidance and risk assessment, our team helps employers develop strategies that identify and minimize the basis for claims of prohibited transactions or breach of fiduciary duty. But when necessary, we and our litigation support team are available to defend employers when plaintiffs sue over denial of benefits or breach of fiduciary duty claims.

Mergers and acquisitions
We represent both buyers and sellers regularly on the many employee benefit issues that arise in the context of mergers and acquisitions, from negotiation and drafting of the benefit provisions of the purchase agreement through resolution and coordination of the plans of the parties, including disposition or termination of the seller’s plans if necessary.

When representing buyers, we help identify potential problems or liabilities relating to the seller’s plans, including any plans that are not adequately funded, and conduct the due diligence necessary to identify such problems. We explain any restrictions or requirements that may apply, including qualified plan distribution restrictions, ERISA Section 204(h) notice requirements, blackout notice requirements, and COBRA requirements. When representing sellers, we assist the seller in complying with the representations and warranties of the purchase agreement and negotiate for immediate coverage of the seller’s employees in the buyer’s plans, with full credit for their service with the seller, and waiver of any waiting period requirements or pre-existing condition limitations.

Whether representing buyers or sellers, we help our client identify and resolve benefit plan issues, including retirement plans, medical and cafeteria plans, pay and leave policies, executive compensation, stock options, severance policies, COBRA coverage and requirements, HIPAA policies and procedures, compliance issues, and reporting requirements.

We help to correct problems that may exist with the plans of either party. If any plans of the seller are to be terminated, we assist with the termination of such plans, including preparation and filing of determination letter requests with the IRS. If any plans of the seller are to be merged into plans of the buyer, we assist with the merger of the plans, and help identify and help preserve protected benefits under the seller’s plan. We also assist with proper coordination of the parties' plans after the closing and transitioning of the seller’s employees into the buyer’s plans.