Taylor Wedge French Partner

Executive Compensation

Taylor regularly works with clients to design, implement and maintain equity compensation plans, long-term incentive plans, bonus programs and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements for executives, employees and non-employee directors. He also advises and represents executives, boards of directors and compensation committees in the negotiation and drafting of employment, severance, retirement, termination and change in control agreements. Taylor also has extensive experience advising clients on the impact of Code Section 409A on executive compensation arrangements and has assisted clients utilize IRS programs to correct plan deficiencies or operation errors.

In connection with his executive compensation practice, Taylor frequently counsels compensation committees of publicly-traded clients on the Dodd-Frank financial reform laws and regularly assists with the drafting and preparation of proxy statements and other SEC filings related to executive compensation matters.

Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans

Taylor has extensive experience in the creation and maintenance of all manner of tax-qualified retirement plans, such as, defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) plans, profit-sharing plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) and money purchase pension plans. He also regularly counsels clients in the submission of tax-qualified retirement plans to IRS for favorable determination letters and assists clients preparing participant communications and government filings, as well as, correcting plan document and operation errors under the Self-Correction Procedure (SCP) and Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) under the IRS’s EPCRS program.

Health and Welfare Benefits

Taylor frequently works with clients to ensure compliance with HIPAA and HITECH and provides counsel concerning issues relating to PPACA and other healthcare reform laws. In addition, he assists many clients in creating WRAP plan documents and in the design, implementation and operation of employee wellness programs.

Corporate Transactions and Finance

Taylor frequently advises and negotiates executive compensation and employee benefits matters relating to private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. Such representations have included stock transactions, asset acquisitions, and stock and asset purchases for clients in the pharmaceutical, financial services and industrial sectors. In addition, Taylor has extensive experience drafting and negotiating employee benefits matters related to corporate finance transactions.

Taylor also advises hedge funds and other pooled investment entities in connection with investments from pension plans and other sources of plan assets and assists fund managers with the application of exceptions from ERISA’s plan asset rules under the 25% test, VCOC and REOC exceptions.

Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations

Taylor works with a variety of nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations on the design, implementation and administration of specialized employee benefit plans, such as: 403(b) plans, 457(b) and 457(f) deferred compensation plans.