SEND AN E-MAIL TO THIS FELLOWBruce J. McNeil
Washington, DC
Bruce J. McNeil is a Partner with Leech Tishman and a member of the Employment & Labor Practice Group where he leads the ERISA, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group. Bruce is based in the Washington, D.C. office, where he focuses his practice on assisting clients in a variety of employee benefits matters including tax-qualified plans, executive and nonqualified deferred compensation plans, as well as the tax aspects of equity, phantom equity and employee benefits litigation.
Bruce is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and is considered one of the country’s foremost authorities on executive and deferred compensation.
Bruce regularly advises clients on a wide variety of issues with respect to tax-qualified retirement plans, including 401(k) plans, 403(b) and 457 plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, equity arrangements, split-dollar life insurance arrangements, COLI, and other forms of executive compensation. Bruce counsels clients on all aspects of tax-qualified and executive and nonqualified deferred compensation plans and arrangements for taxable and tax-exempt employers, employee benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions, fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction issues.
Bruce also has experience in practicing before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in examinations, correction programs, and ruling requests.
Bruce has served as an expert in federal hearings and investigations, including:
• Testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance as an expert witness in the hearings on the Enron Corporation.
• Testifying before the U.S. Department of Labor
ERISA Advisory Council on executive compensation, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, and other employee benefits matters.
• Participating in several investigations by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on employee benefits, cybersecurity and employee benefit plans, reporting, and disclosure for nonqualified plans at the request of U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Representative Robert Scott (D-VA), and other members of Congress.
• Participating in an investigation by the GAO on nonqualified deferred compensation plans at the request of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
As a leader in employee benefits law, Bruce serves on the board of directors of the Plan Sponsor Council of America and is chair of its Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Committee. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Western Pension & Benefit Council. Bruce is the Editor-in-Chief of both the Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance and the Journal of Deferred Compensation: Nonqualified Plans and Executive Compensation, quarterly publications published by Wolters Kluwer.
In addition, Bruce was an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, and is a frequent lecturer on employee benefits matters. He has authored more than
40 books on various employee benefit matters, including nonqualified deferred compensation plans published by Thomson Reuters, and more than 100 articles on related employee benefit topics.
Academics
LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center
J.D., Drake University Law School
M.A. in English, Georgetown University
B.A., Concordia College
Experience
The Wagner Law Group
Littler Mendelson P.C.
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Reid & Riege P.C.
Internal Revenue Service, Employee Plans Technical and Actuarial Division
Professional Memberships
American College of Employee Benefits Counsel (Fellow) Plan Sponsor Council of America (Board Member,
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Committee;
Recipient, Volunteer Service Award (2017))
Joint TE/GE Council (Chair, Board of Directors) Western Pension & Benefits Council (Member, Board of Directors
Professional Accolades
Martindale-Hubbell
Martindale Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated Attorney
Best Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2006-2022); Litigation - ERISA (2011-2022)
