Andrew S. Williams is a Chicago ERISA lawyer. His employee benefit practice encompasses the preparation, qualification, ERISA compliance and termination of retirement plans of all kinds (including pension plans, profit sharing plans, Section 401(k) plans and leveraged employee stock ownership plans, or “ESOPs”); deferred compensation, non-compete and employment agreements as well as Section 409A compliance matters; cafeteria and flexible benefit plans; qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs); group health and other welfare benefit plans (including ERISA subrogation, HIPAA and COBRA coverage matters); representation of clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in EPCRS and VCP submissions as well as private letter ruling requests; ERISA compliance issues including representation in ERISA fiduciary cases; and employment law and employment termination matters, including executive compensation agreements, negotiated severance arrangements, and Illinois employment rights. Mr. Williams also is engaged in a general practice as an attorney and counselor to businesses, human resource professionals, tax-exempt entities, professional organizations and individuals. Mr. Williams has extensive experience as an attorney representing clients in business transactions and acquisitions and benefit issues involved in acquisitions, including reduction in force (“RIF”) strategies and documentation. Representative client engagements include:

• design, preparation and implementation of qualified retirement plans, deferred compensation arrangements and welfare benefit plans for a wide variety of clients in commerce and the professions, including not-for-profit entities
• implementation of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan for an S corporation client in order to allow the client to conduct business on a tax-exempt basis
• correction of retirement plan qualification defects through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS)
• private letter ruling request for IRS waiver of the 60-day IRA rollover period pursuant to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA)

• representation of an accounting firm in a U.S. Department of Labor ERISA action seeking recovery of damages on behalf of a qualified retirement plan for breaches of fiduciary duty by one of the firm’s partners

• representation of real estate developers in a U.S. Department of Labor claim for breach of ERISA fiduciary duties arising from the sale of limited partnership interests to qualified plan investors (see Reich v. McManus, 883 F.Supp. 1144 (N.D. Ill., 1995))

Bar Admissions:  Mr. Williams is licensed to practice in the State of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago , where he is a member of the trial bar.

Undergraduate School :  Wabash College , Crawfordsville , Indiana , 1967  

Undergraduate School Honors/Involvement:  magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa

Bar/Professional Association Involvement:  Mr. Williams is a member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Employee Benefits Committee, the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce, and the Hinsdale , Illinois Plan Commission.  Mr. Williams speaks on benefit and employment related topics to professional and other groups, and maintains a web site, www.BenefitsLawGroupofChicago.com, which publishes employment and benefit updates, analysis and commentary.

Firm Description:  Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa LLP is a Martindale-Hubbell “AV” rated firm established over 100 years ago.  The firm currently consists of over thirty lawyers engaged in a business transaction, commercial litigation, real estate, employment, insurance, and banking practice.  Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa maintains offices at One IBM Plaza , Suite 3000 , Chicago , Illinois 60611 (312) 828-9600, and 10 North Martingale Road , 47th Floor, Schaumburg , Illinois 60173 (847) 985-4060.  More information on Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa is available at www.agdglaw.com.