King & Spalding today announced that executive compensation and employee benefits attorney Meredith O’Leary has joined as a partner in the firm’s Corporate, Finance and Investments (CFI) practice group in its Washington, D.C., office. O’Leary joins the firm from Eversheds Sutherland
O’Leary’s practice focuses on executive compensation and employee benefits issues in corporate transactions, including executive, change in control equity-based, performance-based and non-qualified compensation arrangements, as well as tax-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans and fringe benefits.
“Overlooking the impact that executive compensation and employee benefits have on mergers and acquisitions can create unexpected liabilities and uncertainty in the workforce,” said Todd Holleman, head of the firm’s CFI practice group. “Meredith will work closely with companies to implement performance-reward metrics for their executives and to provide their workers and beneficiaries with information on how employee benefit plans are designed, administered, and protected.”
O’Leary counsels clients on issues such as executive compensation proxy disclosures, 280G golden parachute payments, annual and long-term incentive programs, employment and consulting agreements, change in control agreements and retention and severance arrangements. She also advises clients on other aspects of employee benefits and employment tax law, including wage withholding issues, COBRA, HIPAA, leave policies and practices, personnel policies and fiduciary matters. Her clients include financial institutions, private equity funds, hedge funds, pension funds, energy companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, agribusinesses, airlines, defense contractors, and telecommunications entities.
O’Leary received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from Cornell Law School.
“King & Spalding is an extraordinarily dynamic firm and the level of talent on its deal teams is what drew me to the firm,” O’Leary said. “Its international platform also provides an opportunity to continue to expand the experience I have working with clients on global corporate transactions that require addressing multijurisdictional workplace issues.”
