Christopher T. Collins > Vedder Price > Chicago, United States > Lawyer Profile
Vedder Price Offices

222 NORTH LASALLE STREET, SUITE 2600
CHICAGO, IL 60601-1003
ILLINOIS
United States
- Firm Profile
- Go to...
Christopher T. Collins

Work Department
Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits
Position
Shareholder
Career
Mr. Collins assists employers on all aspects of employee benefits, focusing on retirement and welfare plan design, qualification and compliance. He frequently advises employers regarding benefit issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions and U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service correction programs. Mr. Collins also represents companies and executives in the design and negotiation of executive compensation arrangements, such as nonqualified deferred compensation plans and equity compensation plans.
Mr. Collins regularly counsels clients on HIPAA privacy issues and has written extensively on the HITECH Breach Notification Rule. He has also assisted clients in responding to security incidents involving health- and employment-related information.
Mr. Collins is an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, where he teaches Employee Benefits Law.
Memberships
- Past Co-Chair, Employee Benefits Committee of the Young Lawyers Section, Chicago Bar Association
- Adjunct Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
- Co-Chair, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Interest Group, Health Law Section, American Bar Association
Education
- IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 2002, with high honors
- University of Notre Dame, B.A., 1996
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
Renowned by clients for its ‘responsiveness and clarity of communications’, Vedder Price‘s executive compensation & employee benefits practice covers the compensation, benefits and retirement plan needs of clients varying from multinational public companies to start-up enterprises. The department is led from Chicago by Christopher Collins, a health, welfare and retirement plan design and compliance expert who also provides benefit advice amid corporate transactions and DoL correction programs. Also in Chicago are Thomas G. Hancuch, who represents employers in benefit plan issues regarding ERISA, IRC and ACA compliance, and Kelly Starr, who specializes in executive compensation plan design. Leading associates are Washington DC’s Amal Rafiq, an ESOP expert, and Chicago’s Olivia Ustupski, who advises clients on fiduciary issues and regulatory compliance.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Transport > Aviation and air travel: finance
- Chicago Elite > Corporate and M&A
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Chicago Elite > Corporate and M&A
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m)
- Transport > Rail and road: finance
Firm Rankings
- Chicago Elite > Commercial disputes
- Chicago Elite > Commercial disputes
- Transport > Shipping: finance
- Labor and employment > Labor-management relations
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: design
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense