Brian M. Pinheiro

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Business and Finance, Health Care, Health Care Reform, Higher Education, Investment Management, Mergers and Acquisitions/Private Equity, P3/Infrastructure, Privacy and Data Security

Brian M. Pinheiro is the Practice Leader of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group and a member of the Health Care, Higher Education, Investment Management, P3/Infrastructure, Mergers and Acquisitions/Private Equity, and Privacy and Data Security Groups.

Mr. Pinheiro represents for-profit, tax-exempt, church, and government employers on matters relating to executive compensation, including Section 409A and the Section 280G golden parachute rules; tax-qualified retirement plans, including cash balance pension plans; 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans; and health and welfare benefit plans. He focuses on compliance with the statutory and regulatory rules relating to such plans, including rules arising out of ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, HIPAA, COBRA, and the ADEA. He has represented employers before the IRS, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and has assisted employers in seeking approval under various government-sponsored voluntary correction programs, including the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) and the DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). He has also advised clients extensively on health plan compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

Mr. Pinheiro joined the firm in 1997 following two years as a tax law specialist with the Employee Plans Division of the Internal Revenue Service (National Office). At the IRS, Mr. Pinheiro reviewed various types of retirement plans for qualification under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. He also worked extensively in the IRS Voluntary Compliance Resolution program to assist employers in correcting operational failures in their tax-qualified plans.

Professional Activities

American Bar Association

District of Columbia Bar Association

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, Adjunct Professor, courses on employee benefits policy and tax-qualified retirement plans

Recognition & Accomplishments

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, employee benefits and compensation law, 2006-2011

The Best Lawyers in America, employee benefits law, 2010-2012

Named to Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2010 "40 Under 40" list, recognizing professional excellence and outstanding community involvement

Recipient, the Brennan Award, on behalf of the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP) in recognition of time and effort working on behalf of equal justice for all people

Recipient, The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly's 2007 "Lawyers on the Fast Track" award, given to select young Pennsylvania lawyers whose achievements have distinguished them among their peers

Publications

Co-author, Employer’s Guide to Health Care Reform, 2010 and 2011 editions, Aspen Publishers

Co-editor, ERISA—A Comprehensive Guide, Aspen Publishers, Inc., and co-author, two of the Guide's chapters, "Qualified Retirement Plans" and "Coverage and Nondiscrimination Requirements"

Published in May and November 2007 editions of The Corporate Lawyer, a monthly publication of the Illinois State Bar Association, for his summary of the Section 409A final regulations and additional IRS guidance

Speaking Engagements

Frequent lecturer on employee benefits issues and at firm-sponsored seminars for clients as well as seminars sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Lorman Educational Services, and the Public Employer Labor Relations Advisory Service

"Health Care Check-Up 2012," Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities, PELRAS Annual Training Conference, March 22, 2012

"Defined Contribution Plans: Fee Disclosure," Greater Valley Forge Human Resources Association Seminar, March 8, 2012

"Employment and Employee Benefits Law for Nonprofits," Ballard Spahr CLE program, Philadelphia, February 8, 2012

"M&A Boot Camp: Qualified Retirement Plans," PENJERDEL Employee Benefits and Compensation Association, November 10, 2011

Featured in interview, The Employee Benefit Adviser podcast, January 30, 2009, discussing possible changes to COBRA regulations stemming from the 2009 stimulus package

Guest lecturer, Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania

Speaker, 2005 Mid-Atlantic Benefits Conference, jointly sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service and the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)

Panelist, "State of the Health Care Industry," Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Chapter Meeting, November 10, 2009

Panelist, "ERISA for In-House and Corporate Counsel—How to Spot the Benefits Issues Before They Become Crises," Philadelphia Bar Association's Employee Benefits Committee, August 21, 2009

"Sick Over Rising Health Care Costs?  Strategies for Plan Changes," Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities Annual Convention, June 20, 2007

"HSAs: The Devil is in the Details," Third Annual Health Benefits Partnership Conference, May 21-24, 2007

"How Much Are You Really Paying Your 401(k)/403(b) Provider?" Church Plan Workshop, April 15-18, 2007

"Sick Over Rising Health Care Costs?  Strategies for Plan Changes," Public Employer Labor Relations Advisory Service (PELRAS), March 21, 2007

"Cash Balance Litigation Current Developments," The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, November 14, 2006

"Medicare Part D," PENJERDEL Employee Benefits and Compensation Association, June 21, 2006

"Public Sector Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits—Can They Be Modified?" Wilmington Trust GASB 45 Webinar, June 13, 2006

"Executive Director Contracts,” 2006 LaSalle Nonprofit Strategies Forum, June 6, 2006

"New Requirements for Executive Compensation in Privately Held Companies," Ballard Spahr Webinar, May 18, 2006

"Facing (And Controlling?) Your Retiree Health Care Obligations!" Public Employers Labor Relations Advisory Service, March 30, 2006

"Fiduciary Issues for 2006 and Beyond," PENJERDEL Employee Benefits and Compensation Association, November 10, 2005

"Executive and Deferred Compensation—New Rules Under Section 409A," Ballard Spahr teleconference, October 25, 2005

"Due Diligence Investigations," Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, August 12, 2005; Pittsburgh, August 30, 2005

"Forget-Me-Nots Mergers and Acquisitions," The American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, May 23, 2005

"Stop the Insanity! Strategies for Controlling Health Care Costs," Public Employers Labor Relations Advisory Service, April 7, 2005

"Benefits Potpourri for Employment Lawyers," Pennsylvania Bar Institute, March 10, 2005

"Section 409A: New Rules for Executive and Deferred Compensation," Ballard Spahr webinar, February 3, 2005

Board Memberships

PENJERDEL Employee Benefits and Compensation Association (PEBA)

Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (J.D. 1995, magna cum laude)
Production Editor, Catholic University Law Review

Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M. 1997, with distinction; Certificate in Employee Benefits)

Boston College (B.A. 1992)

Pennsylvania

District of Columbia