Overview
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)—at inception, termination and on an on-going basis—require expertise in a wide range of legal specialties. Our ESOP lawyers are an inter-disciplinary team from across the country with access to a deep bench of more than 1,000 Firm lawyers experienced in corporate law, corporate finance, environmental law, securities regulation, lending, litigation, labor and employment law, real estate, estate planning, tax planning, and related areas. We address all aspects of ESOP transactions and on-going ESOP administrative compliance, as well as required fiduciary analysis and review. Our group has been engaged to provide counsel in some of the largest ESOP transactions that have occurred in the last decade, and continues to provide guidance for a wide variety of clients on a full range of situations and across multiple industries.
We represent individual trustees, institutional trustees, ESOP companies, lenders, selling shareholders and companies buying and selling legacy ESOPs in corporate transactions. We have seen it all. At the core of our ESOP Group is a team of lawyers who decided early in their careers to dedicate themselves to ESOP law and have taken the time and effort to maintain a practice that is well-versed in the evolving requirements presented by an ESOP. McDermott lawyers have represented many of the leading lending institutions in the United States in both large and small ESOP loans. Our Firm also serves as regular counsel on a continuing basis to most of the leading independent fiduciaries for ESOPs, including institutional and individual ESOP trustees. Our lawyers have played important roles in the development of ESOP companies through transactional and on-going Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) advisory services. Our lawyers have also played integral roles in the development of ESOP law and legal precedent through participation in Department of Labor and Department of Treasury rulemaking and ERISA litigation.
The breadth and depth of our ESOP practice allows us to deliver comprehensive legal services in a cost-effective manner. We have developed the necessary documents and a wealth of research on the more esoteric issues affecting ESOPs. By drawing on these resources, we are able keep costs to a minimum, allowing for an efficient planning opportunity to the benefit of our clients.
