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- Practices and Industries
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- Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
Covington has one of the country’s leading employee benefits and executive compensation practices. Our clients cover the spectrum from emerging companies to the largest global employers.
Our lawyers have served in senior positions in the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.
We advise on all areas of law relevant to employee benefits and executive compensation, including ERISA, taxation, fiduciary responsibility, plan investments, employment discrimination, securities regulation, health care, international equity, and global mobility. Our practice covers a full range of services, including the following:
- Advisory. For more than 40 years, we have helped clients design and administer innovative compensation and benefit programs that cover diverse and dynamic workforces. We dedicate ourselves to understanding our clients’ businesses, benefit programs, and the industries in which they operate. As our clients’ businesses have grown internationally, our practice has evolved to enable us to provide integrated cross-border solutions to sophisticated multinational employee benefits, executive compensation, and employment issues. We help clients make difficult decisions, and we find practical and creative solutions to complex problems.
- Litigation and Other Controversies. We handle a wide variety of employee benefits litigation and contested agency proceedings, ranging from cases brought by individuals to class actions and administrative audits involving billions of dollars. We have won ground-breaking decisions in the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal. We have successfully represented clients in agency audits, investigations, and enforcement proceedings, and in challenges to plans’ tax-qualified status in U.S. Tax Court.
- Public Policy and Government Affairs. As counsel to The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”), an influential voice for large employers, we are directly involved in the most significant legislative, regulatory, and public policy issues affecting employee benefits and executive compensation. We also obtain rulings and advisory opinions to resolve issues that affect our clients’ benefit programs.
- Transactions. We regularly handle employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of complex business transactions, both in the U.S. and internationally. We have extensive experience with transactions of all kinds, including public and private acquisitions and divestitures, IPOs, joint ventures, corporate finance, and outsourcing arrangements. We also work extensively with clients on post-transaction integration of acquired employees around the world into the client’s workforce and, where appropriate, benefit and compensation arrangements.
- Plan Investments and Fiduciary Issues. We represent plan sponsors, financial services companies, and fund managers on a wide range of issues involving the investment of employee benefit plan assets. We have advised on fiduciary responsibilities and compliance related to a range of investment products, including novel strategies for employee benefit plans; and we have advised a number of clients on the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposal to expand the reach of ERISA’s fiduciary standard.
- Cross-Disciplinary. We work closely with our colleagues in Covington’s securities, employment, tax, white collar, government affairs, privacy, cyber-security, trade secrets, insurance, and other practices to provide seamless solutions and advice to clients on the increasingly complex problems they face both domestically and globally.
Indivior $1.6 billion Demerger
Represented Indivior plc in its $1.6 billion demerger transaction from Reckitt Benckiser Group plc and listing on the LSE.
Acquisition of large portfolios of private equity interests
Advised a leading global fund-of-funds sponsor in connection with its acquisition of large portfolios of private equity interests in Europe and the United States.
European Employment Considerations
Co-ordinated U.S., Dutch and German tax, employment, immigration and benefits advice in relation to a U.S. listing of a Dutch company and relocation of senior managers.
Executive hire for FTSE-listed company
Assisted with employment and variable compensation aspects of the hire of a European CEO for a FTSE-listed company.
International benefit plans
Developed an international benefits plan for employees in Dubai, the U.S., and the UK.
Global mobility
Advising companies based in the U.S., UK, and other parts of Europe on cross-border tax and employment aspects of senior executive assignments in Europe and China.
Tencent in $8.6 Billion Acquisition of Clash of Clans Developer
Represented Tencent Holdings Limited in its $8.6 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell Oy, developer of Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Boom Beach and Hay Day, from SoftBank.
Cross-Border Workforce Reorganization
A fast-growing U.S.-based start-up planning and executing an aggressive global expansion relied on Covington’s global workforce team to mastermind a comprehensive implementation strategy that met the business’ goals while addressing compensation and benefits planning and employment challenges across dozens of jurisdictions.
January 2021
Recapture of Excess COVID-19 Payroll Tax Credits Addressed in New Regs As the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, our lawyers and advisors are helping clients navigate the complex considerations that companies around the world are facing and develop plans and strategies in response. Reach out to our ...
January 2021, Covington Guide
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (EUTCA) reached on December 24th is a wide-ranging and complex agreement. Our Brexit Task Force offers these "bite-sized" recordings to give a snapshot of what you need to know in each area. Though the EUTCA provides the overall architecture of the future relationship in a number of areas, much of the detail must still ...
November 2, 2020, Covington Alert
On Saturday 31 October, the UK Government announced a new national lockdown and confirmed the extension of the existing Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, more commonly referred to as the “furlough” scheme. In this alert, we set out what the UK Government has announced and what this means in terms of the support available to employers, including the status of the ...
June 27, 2020
WASHINGTON—Covington represented Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) in the sale of a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma Limited (Piramal Pharma), a wholly owned subsidiary of PEL that will contain its pharmaceutical businesses, to CA Clover Intermediate II Investments, an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Limited, an investment fund managed and advised by affiliated ...
March 27, 2020, Covington Alert
On Friday 20 March, the UK Government announced various support measures for UK businesses. One of these was the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the “Scheme”), which it is hoped will reduce the risk that UK employers promptly dismiss employees in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. Further guidance was published on 26 March, providing some much needed detail ...
September 28, 2018
FRANKFURT—Covington advised Investcorp Technology Partners on its acquisition of Berlin-based Softgarden, a human resources software provider. Investcorp is a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments and has $22.6 billion in total assets under management, including assets managed by third party managers and assets subject to a ...
August 9, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Emergent BioSolutions in its $270 million acquisition of PaxVax. PaxVax is majority owned by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management. Emergent is a global life sciences company focusing on providing specialty products for civilian and military populations that address public health threats. PaxVax is a company focused on ...
May 1, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Elbit Systems Ltd. in its $120 million acquisition of the assets and operations of the privately owned U.S. company, Universal Avionics Systems. Elbit Systems is an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of defense, homeland security, and commercial programs throughout the world. Universal Avionics is a ...
January 22, 2018
WASHINGTON—Covington advised Bacardi Limited in its definitive agreement to acquire Patrón Spirits International AG and its PATRÓN® brand, the world’s top-selling ultra-premium tequila, from John Paul DeJoria, a founder of Patrón. The transaction reflects an enterprise value for Patrón of $5.1 billion. The transaction follows the successful relationship the ...
December 26, 2017
SILICON VALLEY—The Financial Times has recognized Covington among the most innovative firms in 2017 in the category of "Enabling Business Growth," for advising "Tencent in its acquisition of a $8.6bn majority stake in Supercell, the Finnish gaming company, while maintaining Supercell’s creative culture and retaining its employees by introducing incentive ...
Covington Advises Aristocrat in Acquisition of Plarium and Related Acquisition Financing
August 15, 2017
WASHINGTON—Covington, together with Israeli-based law firm Allens and Herzog Fox & Neeman, is representing Aristocrat Leisure Limited, a leading provider of gaming solutions, in its acquisition of Plarium Global Limited and the related acquisition financing. Aristocrat will make an upfront cash payment of $500 million plus earn-out payments based on Plarium’s ...
August 10, 2017
NEW YORK—Covington is representing IFM Therapeutics in its sale to Bristol Myers Squibb for $300 million in cash and the right to receive contingent payments upon achievement of specified milestones that could total in excess of $1 billion for each of its two oncology programs. Prior to closing, IFM will spin off its inflammation program to a newly-formed ...
UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Managing Risk, Developing Narrative and Changing Outcomes
May 23, 2017, Webinar
Covington Represents Tencent in $8.6 Billion Acquisition
June 21, 2016
SILICON VALLEY—Covington advised Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading provider of internet service in China, in connection with its acquisition of a majority stake in Supercell from SoftBank. A consortium established by Tencent will acquire up to 84% of Supercell for $8.6 billion in a transaction valuing Supercell at approximately $10.2 billion. Supercell is a ...
Insider Threats to Cybersecurity—Prevent, Prepare, and React Webinar
June 21, 2016, Webinar
December 9, 2015
NEW YORK, December 9, 2015 - Covington advised Grupo P.I. Mabe, the leading producer of hygienic products in Mexico, on its sale to Ontex Group NV, a publicly listed company based in Belgium. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016. The transaction will require regulatory approvals in Mexico, the US and certain other countries, and has ...
December 8, 2015
NEW YORK, December 8, 2015 - Covington represented Ascension, the nation’s leading Catholic and non-profit health system, in a $200 million investment transaction with TowerBrook Capital Partners in Accretive Health, a leading provider of revenue cycle management services to healthcare providers. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of ...
Covington’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice, and individual partners in the practice, are recognized in the following publications:
- The Best Lawyers in America
- Chambers USA - America’s Leading Business Lawyers
- Legal 500 US
- U.S. News and World Report
- Super Lawyers
- Lawdragon and Human Resources Executive, Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys
- PLC Which Lawyer?
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