Ms Diane Dygert > Seyfarth Shaw LLP > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile
Seyfarth Shaw LLP Offices
233 SOUTH WACKER DRIVE
SUITE 8000
CHICAGO, IL 60606 - 6448
ILLINOIS
United States
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Ms Diane Dygert
Work Department
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
Position
Partner and Chair of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Department
Career
Diane Dygert has spent more than 30 years focused on the rules and regulations of employee benefits. Diane has considerable expertise in the health and welfare space, where she has counseled and trained clients extensively on HIPAA privacy compliance, health care reform, and wellness programs, including implementing compliant plans and policies. Diane’s focus on executive compensation matters includes employment and severance agreements, stock options, restricted stock, and performance-based compensation, as well as the international aspects of employee benefits issues. She counsels clients on the establishment and operation of qualified retirement plans with considerable experience in large corrections and the defense of government audits. She works with clients on establishing and conducting appropriate benefits governance and fiduciary compliance processes—critically important in this era of intense scrutiny.
Diane has served as an adjunct professor for the LL.M. in Employee Benefits Program at The John Marshall Law School, the first graduate-level law school curriculum in the country. Prior to joining Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Ms. Dygert was senior counsel at Waste Management, Inc., where she was responsible for legal review of all areas of employee benefits and executive compensation.
Memberships
- American Bar Association, Section of Taxation
- The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)
Education
- JD, University of Michigan Law School
- BS, Cornell University
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
Seyfarth Shaw LLP has particular expertise in handling ongoing employee benefits needs, handling the design and implementation of such plans and agreements. The firm is consistently involved in retirement plan design, handling issues such as the legislative compliance of plans, as well as health and welfare plan design. The firm represents large and well-known businesses engaged in notable industries, such as manufacturing, retail, health care, insurance and financial services. Based in the firm’s Chicago office, ‘valued and trusted advisor’ Diane Dygert has deep experience regarding the rules and regulations surrounding employee benefits, alongside considerable expertise in regard to the health and welfare space. Also based in Chicago is Jennifer Kraft, who advises clients on retirement and benefit plans, and ‘standout’ Jon Karelitz, who is experienced in executive compensation matters, as well as cutting-edge pension de-risking projects. Seattle-based Liz Deckman plays an important role in building the employee benefits capabilities for the firm on the West Coast.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- Labor and employment > Immigration
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Labor and employment > ERISA litigation
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Tax > Not-for-profit (nonprofit and tax exempt organizations)
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Government > Government contracts
- Real estate > Real estate
- Industry focus > Cannabis
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Real estate > Real estate finance
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious