
Eric Keller
Partner
Practice Areas
Biography
For over 25 years, Eric Keller has focused his practice on executive compensation, employee benefits, and workforce restructuring matters. A substantial portion of his practice is devoted to advising clients on labor, employment, and employee benefits matters in connection with domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other business transactions, by conducting due diligence, negotiating, and preparing contract provisions, addressing transitional issues, and developing strategies to minimize financial expense and taxation.
Eric also maintains a broad-based practice representing domestic and international clients on executive compensation, tax-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and workforce restructuring matters. He advises clients regarding tax, employment, fiduciary, governance, securities, and litigation issues. Eric also designs and prepares plan documents and participant communications, negotiates service-provider contracts, and assists clients in developing and operating efficient and prudent plan administration practices.
In the area of executive compensation, Eric designs and implements employment agreements and executive compensation programs, including short, mid, and long-term incentives, equity-based compensation, retention, severance and change in control arrangements, deferred compensation, and supplemental retirement compensation.
With respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, Eric advises investment committees and other plan fiduciaries on how to reduce their risk of fiduciary liability for plan investments and fees, and represents sponsors of employee benefit plans in voluntary compliance programs maintained by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor.
Eric also advises clients on the Affordable Care Act and HIPAA privacy compliance for group health plans, as well as Health Reimbursement Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and other consumer-driven health plan designs. In addition, he represents plan fiduciaries in administrative claim disputes with participants and contractual disputes with service providers.
Finally, in the workforce restructuring area of his practice, Eric designs and implements early retirement incentives and reduction in force programs and advises clients on the WARN Act, state WARN Act analogs, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other related issues.
Eric is ranked by Chambers USA as one of the top employee benefits and executive compensation lawyers in the District of Columbia, is recognized by Best Lawyers® in the area of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, and is ranked by Legal 500 in the areas of executive compensation and employee benefits. He is a fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, the author of numerous published articles in his areas of expertise and serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School, teaching classes on executive compensation. Eric earned an LL.M in taxation from New York University School of Law, a J.D. from Capital University Law School (magna cum laude), and a B.B.A. from Ohio University.
Published Works
- "Fiduciary Disclosure Obligations" - Co-author, Fiduciary Law treatise.
- “Reductions in Force” – Co-author, Employment Law treatise.
- “Cafeteria Plans” – Co-author, Employee Benefits Institute of America, June 2003 to October 2014
- “What Private Equity Managers need to Know to Limit their ERISA Obligations for Portfolio Company Pension Plans” - BNA Pension & Benefits Dailey, Nov. 2, 2012
- “Your Health Plan’s Hidden Dangers: Litigation and Compliance Risks in the New Health Care Reform Environment” - BNA Pension & Benefits Daily, Dec. 16, 2011
- “So You Think You are Safe? Board Members and Personal Liability Under ERISA” - Corporate Governance Advisor, June 2010
- “Health Care Reform Requires Action in 2010: Action Items Employers Must Implement Before Year End” - BNA Pension & Benefits Daily, September 2, 2010
- “Overview of PBGC Enforcement Trends Impacting Restructurings in Bankruptcies” - Bloomberg Bankruptcy Law Reports, November 2, 2009
- Department of Labor Allows Private Equity Investment Exposure in 401(k) Plans - June 9, 2020
- IRS Dramatically Relaxes Mid-Year Section 125 Election Changes for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance and Flexible Spending Accounts - May 19, 2020
- Legislature Amends N.J. WARN Act to Provide COVID-19 Relief - April 22, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: COVID-19 and Equity Compensation Valuations - March 19, 2020
- PH COVID-19 Client Alert Series: The WARN Act and Similar State Laws - March 16, 2020
- COVID-19 Paul Hastings LLP Hospitality & Leisure Client Alert - March 16, 2020
- Unprecedented Private Equity Funds ERISA Decision Is Reversed - December 3, 2019
- Who’s Covered and What’s Grandfathered? A Look at the New 162(m) Guidance - August 24, 2018
- Unhappy New Year—New Tax Law Adversely Affects Certain Executive and Equity Compensation Arrangements - December 29, 2017
- Heads-Up: Proposed Tax Law Would Doom Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (Including Stock Options and Other Equity-Based Compensation) As You Know It - November 3, 2017
- Asset Buyers Beware: PBGC Attempts to Hold Asset Buyer Liable for Seller’s Underfunded Single Employer Pension Plan Termination Liabilities - February 1, 2017
- EEOC Issues Final ADA and GINA Wellness Program Regulations - May 25, 2016
- You Can Bank On Your Incentive Pay - Eventually: Proposed Regulations Would Require Sweeping Changes - April 26, 2016
- Unprecedented Private Equity Court Decision Collapses Related Funds Triggering Their ERISA Withdrawal Liability for Portfolio Company’s Union Pension Obligations - April 12, 2016
- Equity Aids the Vigilant: The Supreme Court's Montanile Decision And Its Lessons for ERISA Plans' Efforts To Recover Medical Payments - February 12, 2016
- Supreme Court Approves Application of Continuing Breach Theory in 401(k) Excessive Fee Case - May 21, 2015
- EEOC Reverses Course in Proposed Wellness Program Regulations - April 21, 2015
- Presumption of ESOP Fiduciary Prudence: A Fading Memory - July 1, 2014
- Final Affordable Care Act Employer Play or Pay Mandate Regulations Largely Preserve Status Quo - February 18, 2014
- Agencies Issue Affordable Care Act Guidance Making It Unlawful For Employers to Pay for an Employees Individual Health Insurance Policy on a Tax-Free Basis - September 19, 2013
- Private Equity ERISA Alert: Consider ERISA Pension Liability Risks from Portfolio Plans - July 26, 2013
- Pay or Play Delayed Until 2015 - July 3, 2013
- DOMA's Demise Requires Immediate Benefit Plan Action - July 1, 2013
- What Private Equity Managers Need to Know to Limit Their ERISA Obligations for Portfolio Company Pension Plans - June 13, 2013
- Employer Wellness Programs - Final Rules Under The Affordable Care Act - May 31, 2013
- Supreme Court Declares That Plan Terms Trump Equity (McCutchen v. U.S. Airways) - April 23, 2013
- Novel PPACA Play-or-Pay Compliance Techniques - January 22, 2013
- Overview and Practical Implications of Proposed Rules Requiring Employers to Offer Health Coverage or Pay a Penalty - January 6, 2013
- What Employers Need To Know About Healthcare Reform - October 18, 2012
- ERISA Risk Management and Action Items for Last Quarter of 2012: Disclosure-Driven Challenges - October 14, 2012
- Supreme Court Upholds the Constitutionality of Affordable Care Acts Individual Mandate: Implications for Employers and Group Health Plan Sponsors - June 27, 2012
- Employers Must Provide Group Health Plan Participants with a New Summary of Benefits and Coverage - February 29, 2012
- Your Health Plans Hidden Dangers: Litigation and Compliance Risks in the New Health Reform Environment - January 22, 2012
- New IRS Voluntary Worker Reclassification Program - November 9, 2011
- Model Participant-Directed Defined Contribution Plan Investment/Expense Disclosure Package - October 16, 2011
- Some Cafeteria Plans Must Be Amended by June 30 - June 1, 2011
- Health Care Act W-2 Requirements: To Report or Not to Report That is the Question - April 4, 2011
- DOL Grants Certain Group Health Plans Relief by Extending Non-Enforcement Period for Internal Claims and Appeals Requirements - April 3, 2011
- The Swan Song of Schedule SSA to Form 5500 - March 8, 2011
- New DOL Proposed Regulations Require Additional Disclosures for QDIAs and Target Date Retirement Funds - December 15, 2010
- Adrift in a Sea of Disclosure: New DOL Rules Require Disclosure of Plan Fees to Participants - October 19, 2010
- Health Care Reform Requires Action in 2010: Action Items Employers Must Implement Before Year-End - September 1, 2010
- So You Think You Are Safe? Board Members and Personal Liability under ERISA - May 29, 2010
- Health Care Reform Provides No Relief for Employers - March 30, 2010
- Compliance Update for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans - December 6, 2009
- 2009 Compliance Update for Health and Welfare Plans - November 10, 2009
- Attention ERISA Plan Sponsors: Get Ready Now for New Form 5500 Requirement to Disclose Compensation Paid to Plan Service Providers - October 13, 2009
- Obligations Imposed by Stimulus in Cases of Breach Involving Protected Health Information Clarified - August 26, 2009
- Avoiding Personal Liability for 401(k) and Retirement Plan Investments-From Fees to Losses. Bloomberg Employee Benefits Law Reports. June 18, 2009. - June 17, 2009
- Stronger Protections for Health Information are Part of the Fiscal Stimulus - March 16, 2009
- Global Workplace: Outperforming the Markets and the Competition - February 25, 2009
- New COBRA Subsidy Requires Prompt Action by Employers and Plan Administrators - February 18, 2009
- IRS Issues Interim Guidance on Taxation of Deferred Compensation Maintained by Certain Partnerships and Foreign Corporations - January 21, 2009
- Last Chance for Complying with Section 409A: Year-End Checklist - December 18, 2008
- 401(k), Pension, and Welfare Plans: 2008 Year-End Compliance Matters - December 14, 2008
- Executive Insecurity - No Better Time for Employer Attention. Bloomberg Labor & Employment Law Report. October 6, 2008. - October 15, 2008
- Global Workplace: Outperforming the Markets and the Competition - October 1, 2008
- Overview of Recent Department of Labor ERISA Service Provider Fee Disclosure Initiatives - August 6, 2008
- 409A Newsflash; Practical Implications of Recent Relief - October 30, 2007
- The Final Word: Final 409A Regulations Provide Guidance on Equity Compensation - May 16, 2007
- The Final Word Under the New Section 409A Rules: Separation Pay - May 7, 2007
- The Final Word Under the New Section 409A Regulations: 2007 Action Items and Diagnostic Guide - April 29, 2007
- The Final Word Under the New Section 409A Rules: Coverage - April 29, 2007
- IRS Announces New Compliance Program Allowing Employers to Pay Section 409A Penalties on Stock Rights Exercised in 2006; Employers Must Act Quickly to Participate - February 14, 2007
- Tax Urgency for Backdated (or Misdated) Stock Options: 409A Penalties Absent Action in 2006 - October 11, 2006
- Pension Protection Act of 2006: Miscellaneous Highlights - August 14, 2006
- ERISA Update: Retirement and Health Plans - June 21, 2006
- The New Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notice Requirement - October 16, 2005
- Proposed Section 409A Regulations Provide Relief and Planning Opportunities for 2005 - October 11, 2005
- On the Horizon: Roth 401(k) Contributions Are Coming in 2006 - September 13, 2005
- Last Gasp for Deferring Gains from Stock Options and Restricted Stock - September 13, 2005
- Impact of Internal Revenue Code Section 409A on Severance Benefits - August 15, 2005
- Deferred Compensation Tax Guidance Delivers Relief - January 5, 2005
- SEC Form 8-K Disclosure Rules for Executive and Director Compensation - December 19th, 2004
- New Medicare Legislation: Three Points for Employers - December 16, 2003
- Supreme Courts Clean Break Further Weakens ERISA Preemption of State Healthcare Regulation: Kentucky Association of Health Plans v. Miller - March 3t, 2003
- Regulating ERISA Claims Procedures: New Rules for Handling Benefit Claims - July 31, 2002
Classes & Seminars
- Speaker for the Practicing Law Institute, Bureau of National Affairs (BNA), Employee Benefits Institute of America, American Benefits Council, and PLANSPONSOR.
Education
- New York University School of Law, New York, New York
- LL.M. - 1996
- Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio
- J.D. - 1995
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Law Review, Capital University Law Review, Editor-in-chief
- Ohio University
- B.B.A. - 1992
- Honors: cum laude
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
Professional Associations
Honors
- The Legal 500's Labor & Employment - Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactions (2021)
- Listed by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in the executive compensation and employee benefits field
- Listed by The Legal 500 in the executive compensation, employee benefit, and retirement plan field, as well as in the ERISA litigation field
- Listed by The Best Lawyers in America in the employee benefits (ERISA) field
News Coverage
- Wagner Law Scoops Up Benefits Expert From Paul Hastings – Eric Keller, Law360, February 5, 2025 (PDF)
- The Wagner Law Group Expands its Washington D.C. Office with the Addition of Eric Keller – The Wagner Law Group Press Release, February 3, 2024 (PDF)