Executive Compensation
Executive compensation has become the focus of intense scrutiny by regulators and the public. Spencer Fane’s Employee Benefits Group help clients manage this scrutiny by establishing programs of nonqualified deferred compensation for their executives and other highly paid employees that comply with the complex rules governing these arrangements, including Section 409A of the Tax Code and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our attorneys draft, negotiate, amend, and defend executive compensation packages, severance arrangements, change of control (or “golden parachute”) agreements, phantom stock and equity compensation plans, and SERPs. We advise both corporations and their boards of directors. The Group maintains particular expertise in drafting nonqualified deferred compensation programs for tax-exempt employers and municipalities, which are subject to special Tax Code restrictions.