Current Employment Position(s)

; Labor and Employment

Year Joined Organization: 1998

Lawyer Overview

Steve is an associate in the firm of Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Section, as well as the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. Steve practices principally in the areas of:

• Qualified retirement plan design, administration, compliance and counseling
• Non-qualified deferred compensation plan design, drafting and compliance with Code Section 409A
• Equity compensation strategies involving stock options, employee stock purchase plans and restricted stock
• Health and welfare benefit plan design, including FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs, and compliance with HIPAA, ERISA and state law requirements
• Employee communications and disclosure requirements
• Fiduciary duties, prohibited transactions and ERISA claims
• Corporate transactions and providing ongoing post-closing advice and counseling

Steve has more than 18 years of employee benefit experience, once working in-house for employers in the administration of employee benefit plans and also with two local trust companies. His experience prior to joining Briggs provides a practical approach for addressing client concerns.

As part of his practice, Steve has assisted employers in all areas of ERISA compliance for retirement, top-hat, health and welfare benefit plans, including reporting, disclosure, fiduciary, funding and nondiscrimination requirements. He has represented employers before the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regarding DOL examinations, prohibited transaction exemption requests, the Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program and the Delinquent Filers Voluntary Program. In addition, he has assisted employers with obtaining church plan rulings under ERISA.

Steve is a member of the Hennepin County, Minnesota State and American Bar associations. Steve has also been named a "Rising Star" by Minnesota Law & Politics.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Steve attended St. John's University and received his B.A. in economics from the University of St. Thomas. He received his law degree magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law, where he was a member of the international law moot court team. Steve joined Briggs as an associate in 2002.

Areas of Practice

• Labor and Employment
• Employee Benefits
• Education

West Practice Categories

Colleges & Universities, Education Law, Employment Law -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, Immigration & Naturalization Law, Labor Law, Pensions, Benefits & Compensations -- Employee, Pensions, Benefits & Compensations -- Employer, Private Schools, Public Schools, Special Education, Student Rights, Tenure

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 2002

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Hennepin County Bar Association
• Member
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member
• American Bar Association
• Member
• Minnesota State Bar Association
• Member, Insurance for Members Committee

Honors and Awards

Education

• William Mitchell College of Law
  J.D.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude
• University of St. Thomas
  B.A.
  Major: Economics

Published Works

• Alert - Employee Benefit Cost of Living Adjustments
• ALERT - Supreme Court Expands Liability for 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries, 2008
• ALERT - 2008 Cost-of-Living Adjustments, 2008
• HIPAA Compliance Deadline Fast Approaching, 2007
• ALERT - Pension Protection Act of 2006 (Retirement Provisions), 2006
• Charging Plan Expenses to Participants, 2003
• Premiums for Long Term Disability: To Tax or Not to Tax – or Both?, 2003
• Blackout Rules Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 2003

Address

2200 IDS Center
80 South 8th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Phones

612.977.8453 (Business Phone)

Faxes

612.977.8650 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.briggs.com/