Jay Friedman, a partner since 1993, practices in the firm's San Antonio location. He has significant experience with the employee benefit aspects of mergers and acquisitions, all aspects of qualified retirement plans with an emphasis on the implementation and operation of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).

Jay also has extensive experience in the area of plan mergers and issues concerning collective bargaining agreements and the impact of multiemployer pension plans and the imposition of withdrawal liability. In the general tax area, he spends considerable time in all areas of deferred compensation taxation with an additional emphasis on foreign tax reporting obligations.

Finally, given the status of Texas as a "voluntary" state, Jay has significant experience implementing occupational injury plans for non-subscribers to the Texas Workers' Compensation Act. Unrelated to the benefits practice area, he also has significant experience in foreign bank account reporting obligations of U.S. Persons with corporate and partnership interests in foreign entities.

His work has also included:

• implementation, operation, compliance and termination of all forms of ERISA and Internal Revenue Code regulatory, pension, and welfare programs;
• all forms of executive compensation including 409A compliance, and 
• handling participant disputes.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPS):

Jay spends a considerable amount of his time working with privately held companies establishing Employee Stock Ownership Plans. This practice includes both implementation of ESOPS for C corporations as well as S corporations including post-ESOP implementation conversion of the corporations from C corporations status to S corporation status. 

Multiemployer Plans:

Jay has considerable experience in assisting clients in mergers and acquisitions in identifying and structuring transactions to address withdrawal liability under collectively bargained multiemployer pension plans. This practice includes not only contractually apportioning liability but structuring transactions to avoid the imposition of withdrawal liability.

Executive Compensation:

Jay works extensively in the area of executive compensation, including phantom stock plans, stock option plans, supplemental executive retirement plans and rabbi trusts. He is involved in assisting clients in complying with Internal Revenue Code Section 409A as it affects deferred compensation arrangements.

ERISA Litigation:

Jay is co-head of the firm's ERISA Litigation Practice Group. This practice group handles all types of ERISA litigation, including IRS audits, DOL investigations, claims for benefits and claims for breach of fiduciary duty by plan sponsors, plan administrative committees and plan trustees. He has extensive experience in the application of ERISA to both pension and welfare arrangements and has experience in litigating contended claims under ERISA having twice argued successfully before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

• American Bar Association
• State Bar of Texas
• San Antonio Bar Association
• Gulf States Region IRS Employee Plans/Exempt Organizations Council
• Southwest Benefits Association, former Board of Directors
• Texas Society of CPAs (TSCPA)

• The Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits (2005, 2006, 2009 - 2013)
• The only San Antonio attorney specializing in Employee Benefits/ERISA, "Texas Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters (2008 - 2013)
• "Texas Super Lawyers," Employee Benefits/ERISA, Law & Politics (2003, 2004, 2007 - 2013)
• Martindale-Hubbell Rating - AV

• "Rules on 401(k) Plans are Changing," San Antonio Express-News, March 26, 2012
• "Certain Pension Plans Facing Tougher Rules," San Antonio Express-News, October 18, 2010
• "ESOPS Create Exit Strategy," San Antonio Express-News, June 28, 2010
• "Do You Own an SA? The IRS Wants to Know," The Tico Times, April 23, 2010
• "IRS Foreign Bank Account Reporting and its Impact on Gringos in Paradise," DominicanToday.com, March 17, 2010
• "Impact of IRS Foreign Bank Account Reporting on Gringos in Paradise," Honduras Weekly, March 14, 2010

• "Current Judicial, Legislative and Regulatory Issues Impacting Plan Sponsor Fiduciary Obligations," Institutional Retirement and Trust Client Forum, Wells Fargo, Houston, Texas, October 27, 2010
• "Pros and Cons of Grandfathered Plan Status Under the Patient Protection Act and 2010 Year End Planning Issues," Coffee Talk with Catto, August 26, 2010
• "Performance-Based Awards," Forum on Minimizing Legal Risks in the Design, Implementation and Administration of Executive Compensation, ACI, Chicago, Illinois, July 23, 2010
• "Fiduciary Update on 401(k) Plans," "Company Stock Fiduciary Issues," New DOL Fee Disclosure Requirements," "U.S. Fiduciary Inc.," San Antonio, Texas, November 12, 2008
• "Current Issues In Qualified Contribution Plans," Tulane Tax Institute, September 25, 2008
• "Recent IRS Developments Affecting 403(b) Programs for School Districts," 8th Annual Equity Center School Finance & Legislative Conference, January 27, 2008

1983 - J.D., South Texas College of Law
1980 - B.B.A., honors, The University of Texas

Jay holds a certified public accountant's license from Texas. He was admitted in 1984 to practice in Texas.

Outside of career responsibilities, Jay enjoys sailing, saltwater fishing and spending time on the southern pacific coast of Costa Rica.

• Texas

• Alamo Area Boy Scouts of America, Executive Council, 20+ years
• San Antonio Easter Seals Society, Executive Board, 2008 President
• Any Baby Can of San Antonio, Board of Directors