Fox Rothschild LLP is pleased to announce that Jeremy M. Pelphrey has joined the firm as counsel in the Los Angeles office.

Pelphrey has extensive experience handling individually designed tax-qualified retirement plans (including employee stock ownership plans), fiduciary consulting, and health and welfare benefit plans.

“Jeremy is a welcome addition to the firm, adding particular strength to the West Coast end of our national employee benefits team,” said Jeffrey S. Kravitz, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office. “He possesses an impressive depth of experience handling merger and acquisition transactions related to employee benefits, and is well-versed in fiduciary and compliance consulting and employee stock ownership plans.”

Pelphrey is adept at drafting a range of custom pension and welfare plan documents, including cafeteria plans, health benefit plans and COBRA continuation, 403(b) plans for nonprofit organizations, profit-sharing plans, employee stock ownership plans, 401(k) plans, deferred compensation plans and compliance amendments and supporting documents. He routinely negotiates with regulatory bodies — including the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor and The California Franchise Tax Board — on compliance matters, and he is well-versed in preparing Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) and delinquent filer submissions, as well as excise and penalty protests.

Pelphrey is a frequent author and speaker on issues related to tax-qualified plans, health and welfare benefit plans, fiduciary consulting and COBRA compliance. He is currently serving as co-chair of the 2014 Western Pension and Benefits Conference of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, which aims to address the educational needs of pension professionals on an annual basis. He also serves as co-chair of the 2013 Los Angeles Benefits Conference of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.

Pelphrey has practiced law at firms in California and Illinois. He previously served as an adjunct professor at Bradley University, where he lectured on the topic of labor law. Prior to launching his legal career, he was an adjunct professor at The City University of New York, John Jay College, where he taught statistics.

Pelphrey is a member and vice chair of the ESOP Subcommittee of The American Bar Association’s Tax Section and also serves as chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee of The California State Bar’s Tax Section and the Compensation and Benefits Committee of The Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Tax Section. Additionally, Pelphrey is a member of The National Center for Employee Ownership, The Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association and The Los Angeles Benefits Group.

Pelphrey earned his J.D. from Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, in 2004, his M.A. from The City University of New York, John Jay College, in 2000, and his B.A. from Eastern Illinois University in 1999.

Pelphrey joins the firm from Brucker & Morra in Los Angeles.

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