Chuck Campbell

Biography

Chuck Campbell represents public and private sector clients in all areas of employee benefits and executive compensation. He regularly assists clients in the design, drafting, and compliance aspects of retirement plans (including 401(k), 403(b), and traditional pension plans), health and disability plans, deferred compensation plans (including handling aspects of 409A and 457 compliance), stock option and other equity compensation plans, severance arrangements, and executive employment agreements. In addition, a significant part of his practice involves representing public pension plans and their trustees. Chuck has unique experience addressing the varied issues that these organizations face, including issues surrounding plan administration, tax-qualified plan compliance, fiduciary responsibility, and plan investments.

Chuck also has extensive experience in handling the employee benefit issues involved in mergers, acquisitions, and other transactions, including the drafting and negotiation of relevant provisions in the transaction documents and the handling of the various transition issues that arise in such transactions. Because his practice focus is on federal income tax and ERISA issues, Chuck also represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, including the filing of determination letter requests and submitting retirement plans under the voluntary correction program of the IRS.

Career Highlights

• Restructure entire compensation program for large privately held company, including termination of existing non-qualified plans in compliance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, designing and drafting new long-term incentive compensation plans for executives and all employees, review existing annual bonus incentive plan, and negotiate and draft employment agreements for key executives.
• Perform detailed analysis relating to various documentation and operational issues arising under large employer’s 401(k) plan, including advise client with respect to corrective action under the IRS’ Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), prepare Voluntary Correction Program filing with the IRS, and complete filing under Department of Labor’s Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program.
• Address all employee benefit issues in significant acquisition involving a publicly traded company, including advise client on all executive compensation issues arising due to change in control (severance, stock option vesting, etc.), analysis on potential withdrawal liability in connection with participation in multi-employer plan, and negotiate process for benefit transition in connection with transaction.
• Handle all legal matters for large municipal retirement system, including preparing request for determination letter on qualified status of the plan, drafting legislation and administrative rules with respect to plan design and operational matters, reviewing all benefit claims and qualified domestic relations orders, advising Board of Trustees on fiduciary implications of relevant actions, and reviewing and negotiating investment agreements.
• Counsel large multi-national corporation on health and welfare benefit plan matters, including eligibility issues under health plan, administrative issues relating to health flexible spending account plan and review of various plan communications to participants.
• Draft and implement broad-based stock incentive plan for local publicly-traded corporation, including design of vesting provisions tied to specific individual and organizational performance goals.
• Negotiate employment agreements and other compensation arrangements for chief executive officer, presidents, and other executive officers on behalf of various clients, including publicly traded corporations, large privately-held companies, federal credit unions, large non-profit institutions and private universities.
• Prepare investment policy statement in connection with hiring of new investment consultant by governmental defined contribution plan, including review and negotiation of investment consulting agreement.

Community

• National Association of Public Pension Attorneys
• Travis County Bar Association
• Austin Young Lawyers Association
• Austin Human Resources Management Association.
• Junior Achievement of Central Texas
  • Board of Trustees, 2003-2011
  • Executive Committee
• Good Shepherd Episcopal School
  • Board of Trustees, 2007-2011
  • President, 2008-2010
• Memorial Endowment Fund of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Board of Trustees
• West Austin Youth Association
  • Soccer Coach
  • Basketball Coach
  • Flag Football Coach