401k and Other Retirement Topics for Beginners and Non-ERISA Attorneys

Al Holifield is the founding member of Holifield & Janich, PLLC (H&J). Al focuses his practice in the areas of employee benefits law, employee benefits litigation, health care compliance, employment law, employment litigation and business law. He represents local and national companies from various industries including, but not limited to, hospitals, insurance companies, restaurants, doctors’ offices, government contractors, and construction companies.

Al represents employers regarding employee benefit litigation and compliance issues. He assists clients in Department of Labor investigations and Internal Revenue Service audits. Regarding litigation, Al has handled benefit claims litigation, retirement medical claims, health and welfare issues as well as fee and related litigation. Al has represented employers in various Title VII litigation claims. He has served as an expert witness in certain employee benefit matters, and his litigation practice includes matters before state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Regarding compliance issues, Al represents clients routinely regarding the drafting, structuring, amending and terminating of retirement plans, welfare plans, and nonqualified plans as well as counseling them with regard to fiduciary responsibilities, the complexity of class action lawsuits, FLSA, FMLA and ADA compliance, and Affordable Care Act requirements. He provides day-to-day advice to clients regarding best practices for their plans and other compliance issues.

Sharon Goodman is a principal in the Washington D.C. firm of Slevin & Hart, P.C. Since 1988, Ms. Goodman has focused her entire career on the representation of employee benefit plans particularly multiemployer plan, and other tax-exempt entities. Her experience includes all aspects of employee benefits law, including ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She has extensive experience in pension plan and health plan design, tax qualification, pension funding, compliance for health plans under the Affordable Care Act, alternative investments, plan administration and the negotiation of service provider agreements. Ms. Goodman also has represented clients in many IRS audits and Department of Labor investigations and interviews. She has prepared numerous applications for tax qualification and tax exemption as well as guiding plans successfully through the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System program.

Ms. Goodman has spoken before many employee benefit organizations and is a frequent speaker before the AFL-CIO’s Lawyers Coordinating Committee, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the American Bar Association’s Employee Benefits Committee.

Ms. Goodman also has written extensively on a variety of employee benefit matters, including the impacts of the Affordable Care Act, negotiating provider contracts, spousal rights under plans, Section 401(k) plans, the Pension Protection Act, reviewing and negotiating alternative investments for ERISA plan and the rights of military veterans under ERISA plans.

Ms. Goodman is actively involved with the American Bar Association’s Employee Benefits

Committee and served as Co-Chair of the Qualified Retirement Plan subcommittee for many years and as a Co-Chair of the Specialized Retirement Income Plans subcommittee prior to that. She is also is a senior editor, chapter editor and contributing author of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law’s treatise, Employee Benefits Law.

Ms. Goodman graduated from the John Hopkins University with a bachelor’s degree in 1984. She received her law degree from Northeastern University School of law in 1988, and is a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Ms. Goodman is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland. She is also admitted to practice before the United States District Courts of those districts.