McDermott Will & Schulte maintains a broad employee benefits and executive compensation practice with notable strength across retirement plans, executive compensation, ESOPs and healthcare-related benefits work. The team is particularly active in advising public companies, private equity sponsors and senior executives on complex compensation structures, deferred compensation, incentive equity arrangements and transaction-related benefits issues. Andrew Liazos anchors the team from the Boston office where he advises on governance and fiduciary matters. Key figures in the Chicago office include Jeffrey Holdvogt, who specialises in the design of pension, defined contribution and executive deferred compensation agreements; and Jacob Mattinson, who counsels companies on healthcare reform and welfare plans. Situated in Dallas, Allison Wilkerson is also noted for her expertise in the design and execution of transactions involving ESOPs. Lisa Loesel left the firm in May 2025, followed by Alden Bianchi in January 2026.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Lawyer & team quality
Client satisfaction: Billing & efficiency
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Client satisfaction: NPS ®
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Highly expert and practical in a complex and challenging field. Know the players well on all sides of the plan and its enforcement.’
- ‘Todd Solomon -- good sense of humor, very fast response time, highly relational Jacob Mattinson -- good response time, calm, clear, practical ’
- ‘The most knowledgeable in the ESOP space. Invaluable advice and assistance in the design and completion of our ESOP. We learned from various other companies all the mistakes that they made in their plan design, and we made none of those mistakes. I credit the MWE team for that.’
- ‘Allison Wilkerson is maybe the hardest working, smartest attorney I have ever met. I trust her unconditionally and she is an incredible asset to our company. Anything ESOP related, we trust her judgement and advice.’
- ‘This practice is a pleasure to work with as they take their time to understand any unique aspects of your particular situation, anticipate any future risks and how a situation may evolve in the future, take a balanced approach to solving for bespoke executive compensation and agreement needs, and deliver high-quality and timely service. ’
- ‘We work with McDermott Will & Schulte's ESOP team. They have the in-depth knowledge and experience that we need to help us navigate complex ESOP and other benefit plan issues.’
Key clients
- Albertsons Companies / United Food and Commercial Workers Union and Participating Food Industry Employers Tri-State Pension Fund and IUE-CWA Pension Fund
- American Staffing Association (and staffing agencies)
- BDO
- Citigroup
- Ericsson
- The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)
- Genentech
- Hospital Sisters Health System
- Liberty Mutual Insurance
- National Futures Association
- SBMA Benefits
- Tesla Special Committee of the Board of Directors
Work highlights
Advising BDO on ongoing ESOP sustainability, complex regulatory compliance, and strategic benefits integration following its landmark $1.4bn ESOP formation.
Advising Ericsson on IRS retirement plan audits, annuity lift-outs, and the consolidation of multiple pension arrangements.
Advising Liberty Mutual on pension derisking strategy and defending the company in retiree medical ERISA litigation.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Andrew Liazos
Other key lawyers
Jeffrey Holdvogt; Jacob Mattinson; Allison Wilkerson; Hillary White; Todd Solomon