Jackson Walker’s Dallas Office Welcomes Greta Cowart and Kal Grant to ERISA and Wealth Planning Groups

January 10, 2019 | Attorney News



Jackson Walker is pleased to announce the addition of Greta Cowart and Kal Grant as partners in the Dallas office.

“We are thrilled to start off 2019 by adding two outstanding and experienced attorneys of Greta and Kal’s caliber,” Dallas Managing Partner David T. Moran said. “Between Greta’s experience in benefits and executive compensation and Kal’s background in trust and estate strategy, Jackson Walker and our clients will benefit greatly from their knowledge.”

Meet Greta

Greta E. Cowart brings to the Labor & Employment, Employee Benefits, & Executive Compensation practice over 30 years of experience in counseling employers on human resources and employee relations issues related to benefits and executive compensation. In her practice, she focuses on complex employee benefit plan issues – representing plans and plan sponsors before the various regulating government entities and in negotiations – and on resolving retirement plan issues through voluntary compliance programs.

“We are fortunate to welcome Greta to Jackson Walker. Her wide-ranging background in employee benefits and executive compensation lends valuable experience related to planning and audit representations,” said Austin partner Chuck Campbell, who chairs the Firm’s ERISA practice.

As former Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the American Bar Association’s Taxation Section, Greta has worked with the technical provisions governing retirement plans, executive compensation, and health reform initiatives. Applying that experience, she has handled issues related to pension and 401(k) plans, as well as issues under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (including the privacy and security regulations issued under  HIPAA), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Pension Protection Act of 2006. She has also worked with Code Section 409A regarding nonqualified deferred compensation.

In addition to her practice, Greta is a Fellow of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, the American College of Tax Counsel, and the American Bar Foundation. Since 2009, she has served on the Curriculum Advisory Panel of The American Law Institute, which strives to clarify, modernize, and improve the law. Previously, she served on the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Working Group for the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services.

A Bloomberg/BNA author of two Tax Management Portfolios and articles, Greta is a trusted voice on matters related to employee benefits and taxation. In the past two years, Greta has served as an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, from which she received her J.D., cum laude.

Meet JW

Founded more than 130 years ago, Jackson Walker has played a vital role in the growth and development of Texas business. With more than 350 attorneys across seven Texas-based offices, the Firm represents Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations, major financial institutions, insurance companies, and a wide range of public companies and private businesses around the globe. The Firm is ranked nationally in 27 practice areas in the U.S. News “Best Law Firms” rankings, has 12 Chambers USA-ranked practices, and has been recognized as a BTI Client Service A-Team since 2014.