Janel Brynda

Janel M. Brynda

Associate
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Biography

Janel Brynda is an associate in Baker McKenzie's Employment and Compensation Practice. She regularly advises US and multinational employers on all matters related to executive compensation and employee benefits.

Practice Focus

Janel's practice focuses on traditional employee benefit plans, including qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans. She also advises on the tax, securities and ERISA aspects of executive and equity compensation, including non-qualified deferred compensation plans, stock compensation plans, employee stock purchase plans, change in control plans, perquisite programs, and executive employment and severance agreements.

Janel also has experience assisting clients with compensation and employee benefit issues raised in mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, reorganizations and other corporate transactions, including golden parachute payments, COBRA and due diligence review.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Assist companies in the design and drafting of tax-qualified retirement plans, including addressing operational and fiduciary issues such as qualification, deduction and tax issues.
  • Advises US and foreign public and private clients on all aspects of compensation and benefit-related matters, including the design and implementation of executive compensation and employee benefit programs.
  • Assist several companies with respect to de-risking strategies for frozen defined benefit plans with multiple formulas.
  • Advise companies with respect to various health and welfare issues including, COBRA, HIPAA and ACA.
  • Advise and assist on numerous IRS and DOL plan audits (both retirement and health and welfare).

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • American Bar Association - Member
  • ­National Association of Stock Plan Professionals - Member
  • ­San Francisco Bar Association - Member
  • Global Equity Organization (GEO)

Admissions

  • California~United States (2000)

Education

  • University of San Francisco (JD, cum laude) (2000)
  • University of California at Davis (BA) (1993)

Languages

  • English