Ronald Cooke focuses on ERISA/employee benefits, executive compensation, labor, and employment law. He has more than 25 years of experience, most recently overseeing all legal and compliance issues related to employee benefit plans and executive compensation as in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 financial institution.
Mr. Cooke provides authoritative and business-oriented advice to a wide range of employers in the private and public sector. He speaks and writes widely on ERISA issues and has taught an ERISA course at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Representative Work
ERISA. Provides advice and counsel on all aspects of statutory and regulatory compliance, including representation during audits and investigations by the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor.
Executive Compensation. Advises employers regarding all forms of executive compensation and benefits, employment agreements, and perquisites as well as providing counsel on statutory and regulatory compliance, including Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.
Employee Benefits. Provides advice and counsel on all aspects of the design, implementation, and administration of employee benefit plans, including: pension and 401(k) plans, health and welfare plans, Section 125 "cafeteria" plans, severance plans, and deferred compensation plans.
Employee Benefits Litigation. Defends employers in federal and state court litigation in claims for benefits, fiduciary liability issues, service provider disputes, and plan termination/withdrawal liability matters.
Mergers and Acquisitions. Advises on labor, employee benefit, and employment matters related to all forms of corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, or other restructuring of an employer.
Labor Relations. Represented employers in all aspects of collective bargaining and union-employer relations, including matters before the National Labor Relations Board, the courts and in arbitration. Regularly counseled employers on union avoidance strategies and employer responses to union strikes, picketing, and boycotts. Experienced in all aspects of Taft-Hartley employee benefit plan trust funds, including withdrawal liability disputes under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act.
Employment Law. Regularly counsels employers regarding preventative personnel policies and practices, wage and hour compliance, trade secrets, discrimination, and leaves of absence. Regularly provides management and employee training in all areas of employment law.
Employment Litigation and Arbitration. Litigates statutory, contractual, and tort claims in state and federal courts, enforcing agencies and in arbitration.