Michael R. Huffstetler, Attorney

Mr. Huffstetler is a partner in the firm's Employee Benefits Group in its Washington, D.C. office, where he has practiced for over 20 years. In addition to working with clients on ERISA issues and day-to-day operational compliance matters for all types of tax-qualified and nonqualified plans, Mr. Huffstetler has developed significant expertise in drafting and interpreting executive employment agreements, golden parachute and Code section 162(m) issues, stock compensation and other executive compensation matters, including Code section 409A implications, plan accounting and reporting issues, IRS self-audit, self-correction programs, cafeteria plan and other welfare benefit issues, VEBAs, drafting qualified and nonqualified plans, including 401(k) cash or deferred arrangements and cash balance plans, and IRS audits of qualified plans for operational compliance with the Internal Revenue Code.

Mr. Huffstetler has had great success in helping clients negotiate IRS audits. In a large qualified plan audit of a Fortune 500 company he convinced the IRS to reduce an asserted $10 million penalty to zero, and worked with the client to bring the plan back into compliance. In another case, Mr. Huffstetler persuaded the IRS to fully reverse an employment tax penalty assessment of over $500,000.

Mr. Huffstetler has lectured on and published in the area of employee benefits and compensation matters, including authoring the chapters on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation and Golden Parachutes in the BNA Tax Management Tax Practice Series. Although he works almost exclusively in the areas of ERISA and employee benefits, Mr. Huffstetler also has developed an expertise in issues related to the valuation of business entities.

Mr. Huffstetler earned his J.D., magna cum laude, at the University of Michigan, where he received the Richard Katcher Senior Tax Prize. He received his B.S. in Business Administration (with specific emphasis in accounting), summa cum laude, from the University of South Carolina. He is a Certified Public Accountant in South Carolina and Michigan, and practiced accounting for four years prior to attending law school. Mr. Huffstetler is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the American Bar Association.