CHICAGO – Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP continues the expansion of its Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice with the addition of partners Gregory K. Brown and Kathleen Sheil Scheidt. Both partners will be based in the Firm’s Chicago office and are among four new attorneys to join Katten Muchin Rosenman’s Employee Benefits Practice already this year. Last month, partner Shannon Skinner Anglin joined the practice in Chicago, and special counsel M.C. Tania Balthazaar joined in New York. Mr. Brown and Ms. Scheidt both join the Firm from Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP’s Chicago office.
"Greg and Kathleen bring an incredible amount of knowledge and experience in ESOPs and ERISA issues that will certainly benefit our clients and our Firm," said William B. Duff, chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice. "Their outstanding legal skills and dedication to client service make them terrific additions as we continue the strategic expansion of our practice."
Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Brown, 54, spent six years as a partner in the Employee Benefits Practice at Gardner Carton & Douglas. Prior to that, he served as a partner in Seyfarth Shaw LLP’s Chicago office from 1997 until 2000.
Mr. Brown’s practice emphasizes Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), ERISA fiduciary matters, tax-qualified retirement plans, executive compensation and ERISA litigation. Best known for his work on ESOPs and other forms of employee ownership for both domestic and international employers, he is a past member of the Board of Directors of The ESOP Association and a past chair of its Legislative and Regulatory Advisory Committee. Mr. Brown currently serves as chair of the ESOP subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation Employee Benefits Committee. In 1998, he was named as one of the nation’s top 26 transactional benefits lawyers by The National Law Journal. In addition, Mr. Brown has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for the past eight years and is a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.
Mr. Brown received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky and his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Ms. Scheidt, 33, became a partner at Gardner Carton & Douglas in 2005, after spending two-and-a-half years as an associate in the Employee Benefits Practice at Gardner Carton & Douglas. Before joining Gardner Carton & Douglas, she was an associate with firms in Boston and Indianapolis.
Ms. Scheidt concentrates her practice on advising for-profit and tax-exempt employers regarding a variety of matters related to ERISA and employee benefits, such as tax-qualified retirement plans, fiduciary duties, equity compensation alternatives, executive incentives, health and welfare benefits, and nonqualified plans. She has particular experience in assisting clients with ESOPs and international employee benefits design and compliance. She also works with plan sponsors and companies on compensation and benefits issues that arise in the corporate transaction context. Ms. Scheidt has prepared plan correction submissions, negotiated closing agreements with the Internal Revenue Service and assisted in responding to inquiries conducted by the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Ms. Scheidt is a member of The ESOP Association, the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals, the Global Equity Organization and the American Bar Association. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and her Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Katten Muchin Rosenman’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice provides comprehensive services in planning, designing and implementing employee benefits and executive compensation programs for organizations of all sizes and structures. Combined, its attorneys have more than 200 years of benefits experience including at the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
