Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Associate

We have an opportunity for a mid-level Attorney to join Our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group and contribute to the firm’s dynamic and long-established practice representing premier local and national employers. This is an excellent opportunity for attorneys who are proactive and passionate about assuming a high-level role providing legal service within a sophisticated practice and who are seeking to assume a significant role in all aspects of labor and employment law. This role requires extensive contact with clients, governmental agencies and opposing counsel.

Ranked Tier 1 by Best Lawyers for over a decade, our practice is broad-based and encompasses plan design, advice & counsel, and compliance work relating to retirement, health and welfare, and nonqualified deferred compensation and incentive pay plans maintained by private and publicly listed employers. We also regularly advise on executive compensation and payroll tax, and healthcare privacy matters.

Ideal candidates bring sophisticated, hands-on experience drafting, designing, and negotiating executive employment and compensation arrangements; structuring equity and other incentive programs; managing compensation and benefits issues in mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions; and counseling on compensation-related disclosure and corporate governance.

• Juris Doctor. Qualified candidates must be and remain licensed to practice law and in good standing in the state of employment. During employment, must meet requirements for continuing licensure for law practice.
• Familiarity addressing tax issues applicable to employee benefit plans under the Internal Revenue Code, as well as familiarity with relevant employee benefits laws such as ERISA, the ACA, COBRA, etc.; experience with IRC Sections 409A and 280G is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects independently while collaborating effectively.
• Superior written and oral communication, research, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and meet demanding deadlines.
• Strong academic credentials.
• Preferred: Executive compensation and employee benefits experience in a law-firm setting. Familiarity with securities compliance, qualified plan design and operation, ERISA fiduciary and pension investment matters, and cross-border compensation arrangements is highly valued.

Please note, we are not working with outside recruiters for this position.

Ogletree Deakins offers a robust suite of benefits for our attorneys including: comprehensive training and development programs including an annual firm-wide Attorney Retreat, CLE and bar admission expense reimbursement, several competitive annual bonus programs, 401(k) plan, affordable health, and life insurance including dental and vision coverage, flexible spending accounts to help offset the cost of dependent care and/or health care expenses, employee assistance program, back-up childcare program, and a paid parental leave on-ramping program.

Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Best Law Firms® has named Ogletree Deakins a “Law Firm of the Year” for 14 consecutive years. In the 2025 edition, the publication named Ogletree Deakins its “Law Firm of the Year” in the Litigation – Labor and Employment category. Ogletree Deakins has more than 1,100 attorneys located in 60 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, including many of the Fortune 50 companies in the U.S.

We are fully committed to the importance of diversity within the legal profession, as well as all workplace environments.

Equal Opportunity Employer.