White & Case LLP - Lawyers - Kenneth A. Raskin

Practice Experience

Kenneth A. Raskin, the head of the Firm's global Executive Compensation, Benefits and Employment Law Practice Group, concentrates in executive compensation and employee benefits law. He counsels clients in the creation, structure and communication of tax-qualified retirement plans and welfare benefit plans, assisting clients in maintaining IRS and ERISA compliance and in negotiating the resolution of qualification problems under the IRS' and DOL's compliance resolution programs. He also assists clients in establishing and maintaining non-qualified plans of deferred compensation (e.g., "top-hat plans" and "ERISA-excess plans") and in developing funding mechanisms for these plans such as "rabbi trusts." He advises plan trustees, bank trust departments and other fiduciaries regarding ERISA and its investment requirements, and fiduciary issues and responsibilities. He provides transactional counsel in mergers and acquisitions regarding financings, takeover defenses and a variety of other transactions.

Mr. Raskin advises both corporate and individual clients on executive compensation issues and has significant expertise in advising ESOP-funded LBO's. He provides counsel in the design and negotiation of executive employment contracts, incentive compensation arrangements, stock option plans, non-compete agreements, severance arrangements and parachute plans. He also counsels investment fund sponsors, investing plans and lenders on the fiduciary and other implications of ERISA's "plan asset" regulations.

In addition to counseling clients on specific matters, Mr. Raskin also provides clients and other employee benefits professionals with information on developments affecting the industry through the Firm's Executive Compensation, Benefits and Employment Law Focus, a monthly, internet-accessible newsletter analyzing current legislative, regulatory and judicial issues in the executive compensation, benefits and employment law fields.

Bars and Courts
New York State Bar, 1985

Education
JD, St. John's University School of Law, 1984
MBA, State University of New York at Binghamton, 1978
BA, University of Vermont, 1976

Professional Associations and Memberships
New York State Bar Association
American Bar Association
Legal and Legislative Committee of the Profit Sharing Council of America

Awards and Recognition
Listed in:
Chambers USA, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Legal 500 USA, 2007, 2008
The Best Lawyers in America, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
PLC Which Lawyer?, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Euromoney Legal Media Group’s 2005 Guide to the World's Leading Labour and Employment Lawyers
"One of the top ten global employment practices," PLC Cross-Border Quarterly, 2005, 2006/2007

Publications and Speeches
Co-author, "The Intricate Web of Plan Amendments Explained," Pension and Benefits Week, November 4, 2008, Volume 14, No. 31
Lecturer, "Employee Benefits Adviser's Raw Bar Podcast: LaRue v DeWolff, Boberg & Associates Inc. et al." Employee Benefits Adviser, February 25, 2008
Co-author, "The Final 403(b) Regulations – Long-Awaited Answers and New Opportunities," Bloomberg Employee Benefits Law Report, January 2008
Host and Panelist, The Profit Sharing Council of America's Profit Regional Plan Sponsor event, New York, October 30, 2007
Co-Author, "ERISA And Severance Pay Arrangements," Employee Benefit Plan Review, October 2007
Lecturer, on "Compliance: Mergers and Acquisitions," at the Profit Sharing Council of America's 2007 National Conference and Exhibition, Rancho Mirage, CA, September 24-27, 2007
Co-author, "Are 401(K) Fees the Next Wave of Litigation?" Bloomberg Corporate Law Journal, Spring 2007
Co-author, "Guidance on Investment Advice for 401(k) Participants," Employment Law 360, March 30, 2007
Lecturer, New York State Bar Association's program on the New World of Deferred Compensation under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, December 5, 2006
Lecturer, American Conference Institute's conference on Options Granting Investigations, New York, October 2006
Co-author, "Options Backdating: Plenty to Worry About," Financial Executives International, October 2006
Lecturer, 59th National Profit Sharing 401(K) Conference, Amelia Island, Florida, September 13-15, 2006
Co-author, "Backdating," New York Law Journal, September 2006
Co-author, "Preventing Executive Compensation from Derailing M&A Deals," Directors & Boards, Fall 2006
Co-author "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Backdating but Weren’t Sure What to Ask," Bloomberg's Corporate Law Journal, Fall, 2006
Co-author, "Pension Bill Remains in Quagmire over DB Plan Issues -- Renewed Effort Required on Permanency of 2001 Pension Provisions," PSCA.org Executive Report, July 2006
Co-author, "FASB Clarifies Meaning of ‘Grant Date’ for Equity Awards Under FAS 123(R)," Benefit Law Journal, Spring 2006
Lecturer, Practicing Law Institute’s Program on Pension Plan Investment 2006, May 2006
Co-author, "Hung Out to Dry—Scrutiny of Remuneration Schemes Could Threaten U.S. Deals," Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine, April/May 2006
Co-author, "Hung Out to Dry," Mergers and Acquisitions Magazine, April/May 2006
Co-author, "Actions to Take in 2006 and Beyond in Response to New IRS Rules on Deferred Compensation," Bloomberg Corporate Law Journal, Winter 2006
"How To Solve the Top Nine 401(k) Compliance Mistakes," Managing 401(k) Plans, February 8, 2006
Lecturer, 58th National Profit-Sharing 401 (k) Conference, San Diego, September 20-23, 2005
"Effective Date of the New Automatic Rollover Rules Is Fast Approaching," PSCA.org Executive Report, March 28, 2005
Co-author, "Sweeping Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislation Signed Into Law," PSCA.ORG Executive Report Online, November 2004
Co-author, "Proposed Legislation Could Lose Hedge Funds ‘Deemed’ Investment," HedgeWorld, October 2004
Co-author, "DOL Proposes Regulation with Respect to Automatic Rollovers," Profit Sharing, May/June 2004
Co-author, "Implementing an International Equity-Based Compensation Programme," Global Counsel Handbooks – Labour and Employee Benefits 2003/4
Lecturer, The ERIC-Aon Consulting Fall Benefits & Compensation Conference, October 2003
Co-author, "Optional Benefit Forms Could Be Eliminated Under New IRS Proposal," Profit Sharing, September/October 2003
Co-author, "Simplified Voluntary Correction Program Updated," Profit Sharing, September/October 2003
Co-author, "Officers and Directors of Public Companies May Be Restricted from Accessing Their Plan Loans," Employee Benefit Plan Review, September 2003
Co-author, "Conversions and/or Mergers of Money Purchase Pension Plans into Profit-Sharing Plans," Profit Sharing, January/February 2003
"Companies Must Guard Social Security Number Information," Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 29, 2002
Co-author, "Two Recent Federal Circuit Court Cases Explain Top-Hat Plan Administration and Eligibility," Journal of Deferred Compensation, Fall 2002

Languages
English

Citizenship
United States