Richard Birmingham
USA Guide 2023
Band 2 : Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Band 2
About
Provided by Richard Birmingham
Practice Areas
Rich Birmingham has over 40 years of experience in both employee benefit consulting and ERISA litigation. He is one of the few lawyers in the country who is listed in "Best Lawyers in America" in two employee benefit categories—ERISA law and ERISA litigation. Rich's command of both the substantive and litigation areas of ERISA enable him to give practical proactive advice when consulting with clients and to obtain early dismissal or settlement when litigating ERISA matters. Rich is a frequent speaker at employee benefit seminars and has published numerous articles and client advisories on a wide variety of employee benefit issues.
Rich assists clients through the entire range of employee benefit issues – from designing qualified pension or profit-sharing plans, health and welfare plans, or non-qualified deferred compensation plans – to IRS and DOL audits or defending participant litigation. His practice consists of private, governmental, and nonprofit entities, single and multiple employer plans and multiemployer withdrawal liability.
Rich has participated in mediation training through the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and is available to mediate or arbitrate ERISA cases, including multiemployer withdrawal liability and excessive fee cases.
Rich's personal interests include adventure travel, photography, and bicycling. In 1991, he completed a 4,000-mile bicycle journey across Siberia, Russia (Bicycling Magazine, June 1997). Rich is married with a daughter.
Professional Memberships
Former Adjunct Professor, Pension & Profit Sharing, Seattle University School of Law
Former Contributing Editor, Compensation and Benefits Management (a national quarterly)
Executive Compensation and Employee Benefit Committee; Employee Benefits Committee; Welfare Benefit Committee – American Bar Association
Seattle Pension Roundtable
Western Pension Conference
Work Highlights
Consulting
Designing employee benefits and executive compensation plans in the financial, airline, governmental, hospital, technology and transportation industries and for government contractors, including cafeteria plans, qualified plans, and non-qualified plans. Assisting clients with multiple employer welfare arrangements and association health plans. Advising with respect to employee benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions.
IRS and DOL audits and MPPAA arbitration
Successfully guiding clients through IRS and DOL audits, and the Voluntary Compliance relief process, without adverse consequences and structuring transactions to avoid the assessment of withdrawal liability under MPPAA, as well as negotiating lump-sum settlements or withdrawal liability. Requesting "reviews" for withdrawing employers and arbitrating withdrawal liability demands.
ERISA class action lawsuits
Served as both plaintiff counsel and defense counsel in over 20 ERISA class action lawsuits, raising first-of-their-kind issues in both defense and litigation of ERISA matters.
Expert in these Jurisdictions
Washington
Oregon
Alaska
Education
Washington State University
Bachelors- Political Science
Seattle University School of Law
Boston University School of Law
LL. M.- Taxation