Employee Benefits Counsel

Epiq Counsel; United States; Remote; USD 124,000 - 207,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Optional medical coverage

HSA Account

Wellness Program

Employee Assistance Program

401(k) with company match

Job summary

Epiq Counsel seeks an experienced Employee Benefits Counsel to provide part-time, interim support to the Legal Department through year-end. The role involves about 10 hours per week focused on sophisticated in-house benefits matters and plan amendments.

The ideal candidate has deep ERISA and 401(k) expertise, including drafting plan documents and advising on corrections. Prior in-house experience with a large sponsor and cross-functional collaboration are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Deep ERISA/401(k) experience required, including drafting plan documents and restatements.
• Experience advising on 401(k) corrections and plan harmonization is important.
• In-house counsel experience with a large sponsor is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day counsel on employee benefits and compensation matters, with focus on 401(k) work.
• Lead restatement and amendments for complex individually designed plans.
• Advise on plan corrections, EPCRS, and automatic contribution edits.
• Support benefits vendor agreements and cross-functional collaboration with Total Rewards and HR.
• Work independently in a fast-paced, fractional engagement through year-end.

Skills

ERISA expertise

401(k) plan experience

In-house experience

Legal drafting

Adaptability

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Our client, a leading company in the insurance and financial services industry, is seeking an experienced Employee Benefits Counsel to provide immediate, part-time support to its Legal Department through the end of the year. This fractional engagement is expected to require approximately 10 hours per week and offers the opportunity to step into a sophisticated in-house benefits practice during a particularly active period of plan amendments, compliance matters, and benefits harmonization initiatives.

This lawyer will provide day-to-day counsel across a broad range of employee benefits and compensation matters, with a particular focus on complex 401(k) plan work. The ideal candidate will have deep experience with qualified retirement plans, including drafting and restating individually designed 401(k) plans and advising on operational corrections, along with broader experience supporting defined benefit plans, cafeteria plans, incentive plans, and benefits-related matters. This individual must be comfortable stepping into active matters with limited transition time, working independently, and adapting quickly as priorities evolve.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the restatement of a complex, individually designed 401(k) plan, including drafting language for upcoming plan amendments and advising on related plan design considerations.
• Provide legal analysis and guidance regarding 401(k) operational issues and corrections, including supporting the development and documentation of appropriate correction approaches.
• Support ongoing plan harmonization initiatives across the organization's compensation and benefits structure.
• Provide day-to-day legal counsel on a broad range of employee benefits and compensation matters, including pension plans, 401(k) plans, Section 125 cafeteria plans, annual incentive plans, sales bonus plans, and global incentive plans.
• Review and advise on benefits vendor contracts and related agreements.
• Partner closely with Total Rewards, Human Resources, Employment Legal, Corporate Governance, and other internal stakeholders on benefits-related questions and initiatives.
• As applicable, support global health and welfare plan matters and coordinate with local counsel across international jurisdictions.
• Manage multiple, evolving benefits matters simultaneously and provide timely, practical legal guidance in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree and active U.S. bar admission in good standing.
• Approximately 10+ years of relevant employee benefits/ERISA legal experience strongly preferred, with the depth of experience necessary to independently manage sophisticated benefits matters.
• Deep 401(k) plan experience, including plan document drafting and the restatement of complex, individually designed plans.
• Experience advising on 401(k) operational corrections; experience with EPCRS and automatic contribution or auto-escalation corrections strongly preferred.
• Broad-based employee benefits experience spanning qualified defined benefit and defined contribution plans, Section 125 cafeteria plans, and incentive and bonus plan documents.
• Ability to independently step into sophisticated matters already in progress with limited transition time and provide responsive legal guidance.
• Strong judgment, adaptability, and the ability to manage shifting priorities and multiple open matters in a highly dynamic environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with Total Rewards, Human Resources, legal colleagues, and other business partners.
• Prior in-house employee benefits experience with a large plan sponsor strongly preferred.
• Experience with plan harmonization and benefits vendor contracting preferred.
• Experience advising on global health and welfare plans and coordinating with local counsel internationally is a plus.
• Insurance or financial services industry experience is a plus but not required.
• Must have immediate availability and be comfortable with a fractional, part-time engagement requiring approximately 10 hours per week through year-end.
• Epiq Counsel partners with industry-leading clients in support of their sophisticated interim talent needs. Must be interested in practicing in an alternative, fixed-term legal services model.
• Part-time, fractional engagement – approximately 10 hours per week
• 401(k) with company match
• Optional medical coverage; HSA Account; Wellness Program
• Employee Assistance Program

About Epiq Counsel

Epiq Counsel is an innovative legal services talent provider that offers meaningful in-house legal work and flexibility to sophisticated and credentialed lawyers and legal professionals. Our lawyers and legal professionals work on a wide variety of matters for Fortune 500 clients. Epiq works hard to provide our diverse legal talent with challenging work for sophisticated clients that does not require sacrificing flexibility or control.

Epiq Counsel takes the time and attention to understand each professional's practice areas, experience, and preferences to ensure they are presented with compelling engagement opportunities with leading law departments across the globe.

It is Epiq's policy to comply with all applicable equal employment opportunity laws by making all employment decisions without unlawful regard or consideration of any individual's race, religion, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expressions, transgender status, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, marital status, age, national origin, genetic information, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, veteran or family status, or any other basis protected by applicable national, federal, state, provincial, or local law. Epiq's policy prohibits unlawful discrimination based on any of these impermissible bases, as well as any bases or grounds protected by applicable law in each jurisdiction. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. Epiq is pleased to provide such assistance and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request. Pursuant to relevant law, where applicable, Epiq will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.