Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli announces today the expansion of its Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) Practice with the addition of four new attorneys. The group includes nationally prominent corporate and ESOP attorneys Robert Grossman and Wally Brockhoff, and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation attorney Jenny Cascone Mosh, as shareholders, and ESOP and corporate associate Angela Burnett. Grossman has been chosen to lead Polsinelli’s National ESOP Practice.
The new attorneys bring a wealth of ESOP experience representing owners, management and fiduciaries of employee-owned companies and lenders to ESOP companies.
“This impressive group of attorneys, when now combined with our own impressive team, makes Polsinelli among the national leaders in the highly specialized ESOP arena,” said Business Department Chair Frank Ross. “They have deep experience working with a broad range of companies of all sizes, and across numerous industries. Using our bench and our geographic reach, they are going to create something very special for our clients and for our firm. We are incredibly happy to have them join us at Polsinelli.”
Polsinelli’s ESOP Practice assists businesses in exploring and understanding the benefits of employee ownership with a broad base of experience. The group’s full spectrum of services includes guiding companies through exploratory studies; suggesting and designing alternative programs that offer employee ownership and incentivized company performance; drafting ESOP plan and trust documents, stock purchase agreements and loan agreements; advising on corporate transaction structures; counseling benefits committees and corporate boards regarding corporate governance and fiduciary responsibilities; reviewing plan compliance testing; assistance with IRS audits and DOL investigations; and assistance with selection and negotiation with ESOP service providers.
The new attorneys bring deep experience in ESOPs, strengthening and expanding Polsinelli’s existing presence in this service area. The team includes:
•Robert D. Grossman, Shareholder, Corporate & Transactional Practice Group, Chair of the ESOP Practice. As a business lawyer, Grossman is known for his national ESOP work, with extensive experience representing owners, management and fiduciaries of employee-owned companies and lenders to ESOP companies. He represents privately-held businesses, professional service organizations and publicly-traded companies on ESOPs and a variety of employee benefits matters. He has been named among The Best Lawyers in America® for over a decade, including “Lawyer of the Year” for Employee Benefits in Kansas City for two years.
Grossman is a frequent writer and public speaker about ESOPs and employee benefits law, and is active in professional associations such as The ESOP Association, The National Center for Employee Ownership and ESCA (Employee-Owned S Corporations of America). Grossman will become the Chair of Polsinelli’s ESOP Practice.
•Wallace (“Wally”) Brockhoff, Shareholder, Corporate & Transactional Practice Group. With a focus on ESOP transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures, Brockhoff’s clients include a broad range of public and private middle-market companies, including agribusiness, ESOP and entrepreneur-owned companies. In 2018, he was named to the “Best of the Bar” by the Kansas City Business Journal, and he has been named among The Best Lawyers in America® for the past three years. Brockhoff is engaged in industry and community involvement, and has served as past Board President of the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired, and is a past Board Member for the Children’s Center Campus.
•Jenny Cascone Mosh, Shareholder, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. Mosh focuses her practice on all areas of employee benefits law, with an emphasis on qualified retirement plans and executive and deferred compensation arrangements. She assists clients with the design, drafting, administration and operation of ESOPs, 401(k) plans, pension and other retirement plans. Mosh is a Steering Committee Member for the Employee Benefits Institute.
•Angela R. Burnett, Associate, Corporate & Transactional Practice Group. Burnett is a corporate law attorney who works with clients on ESOP transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
“Polsinelli’s strong national corporate practice will provide a diversity of benefits to our clients, and we look forward to integrating with the full corporate and employee benefits teams,” said Grossman. “The firm’s collaborative environment and coast-to-coast platform were immediate draws for us, and we feel our national ESOP Practice has found a great new home.”
Also announced this month, William P. Sweeney, a Shareholder in Polsinelli’s Chicago office, has been named Chair of Polsinelli’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group, with Henry Talavera, a Shareholder in Polsinelli’s Dallas office, serving as Vice Chair. Both attorneys collaborate within the ESOP service area and will provide oversight in their new leadership roles.
This new attorney group furthers Polsinelli’s momentum of strategic growth in 2019. The firm recently announced geographic expansion, adding a new office in Miami with a group of six attorneys. The Kansas City office continues to grow as well, recently adding respected Labor & Employment defense attorney Karen Cain as shareholder.
Source: www.polsinelli.com
