Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Paul L. Porretta has joined the firm as a partner in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group, resident in the New York office.

Mr. Porretta focuses his practice on a wide range of services related to 401(k) plans, pension plans, multiemployer plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and ERISA issues. He also has extensive experience with executive compensation, executive employment arrangements, health and welfare plans and HIPAA compliance.

“Paul is a well-regarded practitioner with an impressive skill set. He’s a terrific addition to our firm,” said David Kaplan, chair of the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. “We are confident that Paul’s extensive experience, loyal following and strong work ethic will help our practice continue to grow and thrive. We are thrilled he is joining Pepper.”

Mr. Porretta’s retirement and pension plan services include drafting plan documents, trust agreements, plan amendments and investment policy statements; preparing IRS determination requests; advising on fiduciary, plan administration, funding and withdrawal liability issues; and correcting compliance failures through IRS and Department of Labor programs.

Mr. Porretta’s executive compensation services include designing and drafting equity-based compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs) and other forms of deferred compensation. He also advises clients on Internal Revenue Code section 409A and golden parachute issues and regularly negotiates and drafts executive employment and separation agreements.

Before joining Pepper, Mr. Porretta was a partner with Morrison Cohen LLP and an assistant general counsel at MetLife. He started his legal career as an associate at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP

Mr. Porretta received a B.A. from Marquette University, an M.B.A. from Fordham University, a J.D. from New York Law School and an LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law.

Mr. Porretta has been a member of the New York Law School board of trustees since 2013.