Andrew L. Oringer is co-chair of Dechert’s ERISA and Executive Compensation group, and leads the firm’s national fiduciary practice in New York. He counsels clients on their employee benefit plans and programs, benefits-related tax matters and fiduciary issues arising in connection with the investment of employee benefit plan assets.
Mr. Oringer’s practice includes advising clients regarding ERISA and employee benefits generally, including 401(k) and other retirement plans as well as medical and other welfare plans. His advice to clients encompasses all aspects of corporate transactions and initial public offerings in which benefits and compensation issues play a central part. He regularly counsels financial institutions and plan fiduciaries regarding investments, and has been instrumental in designing complex investment structures to address difficult ERISA issues.
Mr. Oringer advises clients with respect to the design and implementation of arrangements relating to executive compensation, including stock option and other equity-based arrangements. His practice extends to the representation of employers and executives in the negotiation of executive employment and termination agreements.
Nationally known for his experience with ERISA and matters relating to executive compensation, Mr. Oringer is a frequent speaker and writer on a wide variety of topics. Publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain’s Pensions & Investments, Newsday, USA Today and The Chicago Sun Times have quoted him in articles on employee benefits issues. He has authored, co-authored or contributed to numerous bar comment letters and reports to regulators on both fiduciary and compensation issues, and has testified at the request of Congress regarding certain proposed Department of Labor regulations.
Mr. Oringer holds leadership roles for the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association and is on the advisory boards for a number of leading publications covering ERISA and executive compensation. He also teaches ERISA as an adjunct professor and in other educational settings.
Several major legal directories have recognized Mr. Oringer as a leading lawyer, including The Best Lawyers in America (2010-2012), Chambers USA (2005-2012, at Band One since 2008), the Practical Law Company’s Labour and Employee Benefits Cross-Border Handbook (2007, 2010-2012) and New York Super Lawyers (2006-2012, including in several years, listing among New York City’s Top 100 lawyers across all practice areas).
Education
Duke University, A.B., 1980, cum laude, with Distinction in Economics
Adelphi University, M.B.A., 1984
Hofstra University School of Law, J.D., 1984, with Distinction, Associate Editor of the Hofstra Law Review
Court Admissions
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
New York
Memberships
New York State Bar Association: Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section, Co-chair; Executive Committee, Member
American Bar Association: Employee Benefits Committee of the Section of Taxation, Emerging Issues Coordinator (and previously Chair of the Fiduciary Responsibility/Plan Investments Sub-Committee of the Employee Benefits Committee)
BNA Bloomberg Pension & Benefits Reporter, Advisory Board Member
BNA Bloomberg Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal, Advisory Board Member
Practical Law Company’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Advisory Board, Charter Member
American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Fellow
Maurice A Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, Adjunct Professor of Law
Regulatory Compliance Organization, Senior Fellow from Practice
Publications and Lectures
- Chapter on Releases, Section 409A Handbook
- Chapter on Investment Funds and ERISA, ERISA Fiduciary Law
- Co-author, “Deducting from Flexibility Under §162(m) –New Proposed Treasury Regulations Released,” Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (September 2, 2011)
- Co-author, “Section 409A and Releases of Claims,” Pension & Benefits Daily (January 2011)
- Co-author, “ERISA—Is That Your (Interim) Final Answer? New Disclosure Rules Under ERISA to Impact Many Hedge Funds,” The Hedge Fund Law Report (August 20, 2010)
- “Release Us from Confusion Over ERISA Fiduciary Claims,” Pension & Benefits Daily (March 16, 2010)
- “Some §409A Relief for the Weary—IRS Notices 2008-113 and 2010-6…and More?” Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (March 3, 2010)
- “A Regulatory Vacuum Leaves Gasping Wounds—Can Common Sense Offer a Better Way to Address the Pain of ERISA Preemption?” Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal and New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation (2009)
- “Retirement Security: The Importance of Conflict-Safe Advice,” Journal of Retirement Planning (May/June 2009)
- “Deferred Comp. ‘Plan’: In the Crosshairs of a Cross-Reference,” Tax Notes (April 6, 2009)
- Co-author, “Same-Sex Marriage and Employee Benefits: The Approaching Revolution,” Employee Benefit Plan Review (February 2009)