Belinda S. Morgan is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, where she is a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and Labor & Employment Practices. Ms. Morgan focuses her practice on employee benefits, executive compensation and ERISA issues. She also is involved in the representation of tax-exempt organizations at both the state and federal levels.
Ms. Morgan has significant experience advising private and public employers in the design and administration of traditional defined benefit pension, profit-sharing and Code section 401(k) plans; Code section 403(b) tax-deferred annuity plans; and Code section 457(b) and 457(f) nonqualified deferred compensation plans for tax-exempt employers. Ms. Morgan also assists employers with matters related to health and welfare benefit plans, such as issues related to COBRA continuation coverage, the provision of fringe benefits, and the application of the new health care reform laws.
Ms. Morgan counsels employers on their executive compensation programs, (including non-qualified deferred compensation plans, severance plans, and employee stock option plans), often advising employers regarding compliance with the requirements of Code section 409A. In addition, she frequently advises clients on employee benefits and compensation issues arising in merger and acquisition transactions.
Ms. Morgan’s recent experience includes:
- Acting as employee benefits counsel to the buyers of two different Major League Baseball franchises, including negotiating the employee benefits provisions of the acquisition documents and related documents;
- Counseling a third-party administrator with various health care compliance questions, including issues related to general COBRA requirements and the requirements of the recent COBRA premium subsidiary program, Michelle’s Law, and the mental health care parity law;
- Assisting a public biotechnology company in merging two non-qualified deferred compensation plans, including ensuring the merged plan’s compliance with Code section 409A; and
- Assisting a group of private colleges with implementing changes to their Code section 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
Ms. Morgan is a contributor to Foley’s Employee Benefits Developments Newsletter, which reports on recent developments in employee benefits and ERISA law. She has also participated in several of Foley’s Employee Benefits Broadcasts, a series of quarterly web conferences that provide participants with knowledgeable insights on noteworthy employee benefits topics. Her other presentations and publications include:
- "Living with Code Section 409A: Ongoing Compliance and Correction of Operational and Document Failures," Chicago Bar Association, presenter, April 2010
- "The Basics of Code Section 409A and the IRS Correction Program for Certain § 409A Operational Failures," Chicago Bar Association, presenter, April 2009
- "Code Section 409A: The Basics Every Corporate Tax Lawyer Should Know," Chicago Bar Association, presenter, February 2008
- "Donations of Intellectual Property," Chicago Symphony Orchestra Planned Giving Advisory Council, panel presenter, 2006
- "States Adopt a Profitable ‘Carrot and Stick’ Approach to Tax Amnesty," Journal of Multistate Taxation and Incentives, 2004
Ms. Morgan received her law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2000), where she was awarded the Order of the Coif, and was an associate editor and business manager of the University of Illinois Law Review. Ms. Morgan holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and an associate’s degree in technical graphics from Purdue University. Ms. Morgan is a member of the American Bar Association Employee Benefits Section, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Chicago Bar Association.