Concentration

ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation

Summary

Mark Bodron is a partner in the Houston office of Baker Botts. His practice concentrates on the areas of ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation. Mr. Bodron advises clients on all aspects of qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) plans and ESOPs, nonqualified plans, health and welfare benefit plans, stock-based plans and deferred compensation and other executive compensation arrangements, including issues related to Section 409A deferred compensation rules.

Mr. Bodron frequently advises clients on ERISA fiduciary and prohibited transaction matters. He represents clients before the IRS, DOL and PBGC on matters related to employee benefits and provides legal counsel on employee benefit matters related to corporate mergers and acquisitions and employee benefits litigation.

Following graduation from law school, Mr. Bodron served as a law clerk to the Honorable Frank J. Polozola, judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. Prior to joining Baker Botts in 1998, Mr. Bodron was a senior tax attorney with ExxonMobil Corporation.

Representative Engagements

• Representation as employee benefits counsel for large and midsized publicly traded clients
• Advice on employee benefits matters in connection with separations and spin-offs of subsidiaries and divisions from a parent
• Advice to clients on ERISA fiduciary issues based on review of the provisions of a 401(k) plan and related trust
• Negotiation of employee benefits provisions and related due diligence review in numerous corporate mergers and acquisitions
• Representation of an employer in a purported class action suit for an ERISA fiduciary breach related to employer stock held in a 401(k) plan
• Advice and drafting of numerous equity-based plans for publicly held and private entities
• Negotiation of numerous employment, change of control and separation agreements on behalf of employers and executives

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• Speaker, “ERISA Litigation Update: The Good, The Bad and The Really Bad,” ERISA Industry Group, Houston, April 2011
• Moderator and Panelist, “DOL Fiduciary Litigation Update,” Joint Meeting of TE/GE Councils and Liaison Groups, Baltimore, February 2011
• “Increasing Retirement Security in 401(k) Plans,” Southwest Benefits Association, 21st Annual Employee Benefits Conference for Practitioners and Plan Sponsors, Dallas, November 2010
• Panelist, “Practitioner Viewpoint, A Top 10 List of Practitioner Issues for IRS Consideration,” Joint Meeting of the Great Lakes TE/GE Council, Gulf States TE/GE Council, Mid-Atlantic Pension Liaison Group, Pacific Coast Area TE/GE Council and Northeast Pension Liaison Group, Baltimore, February 2010
• Moderator and Panelist, “Welfare Benefits Update: GINA, Michelle’s Law, Mental Health Parity, New COBRA Rules and Section 125 Regulations,” May Meeting of American Bar Association Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee, Washington, DC, May 2009
• Panelist, “EPCRS,” Joint Meeting of the Great Lakes TE/GE Council, Gulf States TE/GE Council, Mid-Atlantic Pension Liaison Group and Pacific Coast Area TE/GE Council, Baltimore, February 2009
• Panelist, “In-Depth EPCRS Review,” Mid-year Meeting of American Bar Association Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee, New Orleans, January 2009
• “Section 403(b) - Final Regulations: What’s On Your End-of-The-Year-To-Do List?”, Tax Section of State Bar of Texas, Webcast, November 2008
• “Overview of Section 409A (or When Scoring a 99 Out of 100 on a Test Means You Failed),” Tax Section of State Bar of Texas Webcast, June 2008
• Panelist, “EPCRS: An Insider’s View to Solving Problems” and “409A Issues and Final Regulations: HELP!” Joint Meeting of the Great Lakes TE/GE Council, Gulf States TE/GE Council and Mid-Atlantic Pension Liaison Group, Baltimore, February 2008
• “Overview of Section 409A and Severance/Settlement Agreements,” Houston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section, Houston, September 2007
• “Compensation and Benefits in Healthcare Organizations,” Health Care and Policy Institute, University of Houston Law School, Houston, July 2007
• “Distribution Options,” BNA Conference on Redesigning Pension Plans and Executive Compensation: New Rules, New Opportunities, Washington, D.C., March 2007
• Panelist, “Increased Savings, Diversity and Portability: Pension Protection Act of 2006 Changes for Defined Contribution Plans,” Mid-year Meeting of American Bar Association Tax Section, January 2007, Hollywood, Florida
• “Roth 401(k): An Overview,” Gulf Coast Area TE/GE Council, April 2006, and ERISA Industry Group, Houston, May 2006
• “Bankruptcy and Employee Benefits: An Overview,” Dallas Bar Association, Dallas, March 2004
• Co-author and panelist, “Benefits In Trouble,” Mid-year Meeting of American Bar Association Tax Section, Employee Benefits Committee, Kissimmee, Florida, January 2004 (Janine H. Bosley, Greta E. Cowart, Abbey L. Keppler, H. William Maheffey, Jan A. Steinhour, and Mark S. Wintner, co-authors)
• “COBRA: An Overview” and “ERISA Fiduciary Issues,” ERISA, COBRA, and HIPAA, Lorman Education Services, Austin, December 2003
• “401(k) Plan Expenses and ERISA Fiduciary Issues,” and “Common Mistakes in 401(k) Plans,” Nuts and Bolts of 401(k) Plans Seminar, Lubbock, Waco and Corpus Christi, February and March 2003
• “IRS and DOL Correction Programs,” Nuts and Bolts of 401(k) Plans Seminar, Houston, October 2002
• “Recent and Proposed Legislation Affecting 401(k) Plans,” Nuts and Bolts of 401(k) Plans Seminar, San Antonio, October 2002
• “Investment Advice and ERISA Fiduciary Responsibility,” Houston Benefits Roundtable, Houston, September 2002
• “An Overview of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation,” Provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, ERISA Industry Group, Houston, September 2002