Certificate in Employee Benefits Law Seminar

Faculty Biographies

George F. Cicotte is the founder and owner of The Cicotte Law Firm. Before establishing his firm, he practiced in Washington, D.C. with one of the nation's preeminent law firms. His broad employee benefits practice involves such diverse issues as labor relations, tax, privacy, employment and fiduciary responsibility. In addition to providing advice and counsel, he frequently defends ERISA lawsuits. He has spoken throughout the country for entities including SHRM, the Western Pension and Benefits Conference and The National Employer Conference. He earned his J.D. from Brigham Young University and his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bret Clark practices with The Cicotte Law Firm, a boutique firm specializing in employee benefits law. His broad practice includes issues as diverse as the voluntary compliance programs of the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Labor, withdrawal liability, and subrogation, as well as general retirement and welfare plan administration issues. He is the firm expert on non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements (409A plans) and on controlled group issues. Mr. Clark received his J.D., cum laude, from Brigham young University and his B.A. in Political Science and and Journalism from Brigham Young University.

Ilene H. Ferenczy is a lawyer specializing in employee benefits and executive compensation. A seasoned benefits professional, she has experience in both the legal and technical aspects of employee benefit plans, as well as the practical administrative concerns businesses face on a daily basis. She has earned the designations of Certified Pension Consultant from the American Society of Pension Actuaries and Accredited Pension Administrator from the National Institute of Pension Administrators. She is a nationally known speaker and has authored more than 30 articles national journals and has authored a book on the benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions. She has earned two J.D. degrees, both summa cum laude from Georgia State University of College of Law and Western State University College of Law.

Ashley Gillihan is a member of Alston & Bird's Employee Benefits and ERISA Litigation Groups in Atlanta. Mr. Gillihan focuses his practice exclusively on health and welfare employee benefit compliance and litigation issues for employers, health plan administrators and other health and welfare benefit plan service providers. He also has extensive experience assisting financial institutions and insurance companies who serve as Health Savings Account trustees or custodians. Mr. Gillihan is active in publishing and speaking on various health and welfare benefit plan related topics and serves as a faculty member and/or technical advisor for several health and welfare benefit plan focused organizations. He is a member of the Employer’s Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC) Technical Advisory Council and the board of editors for the Benefits and Compensation Law Alert published by M.Lee Smith Publishers and was recently named a contributing author for the Flexible Benefits Answer Book published by Aspen Publishers. He received his B.A. from Western Kentucky University and his J.D. from Samford University.

John R. Hickman is head of Alston & Bird’s Health Benefits Practice where he leads five attorneys devoted exclusively to HIPAA privacy, flexible benefits, and other health and welfare benefit issues. Mr. Hickman has been a pioneer in the consumer-directed health care arena and has worked closely with health plans, financial institutions, and employers as well as the IRS, Treasury, and DOL in developing guidance for tax-favored health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs). Mr. Hickman has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White), Super Lawyers magazine and Who’s Who Legal in the employee benefits area. He has lectured widely and published articles on HIPAA, ERISA litigation, cafeteria and health plan issues. He is co-author of the Cafeteria Plans Manual, HIPAA Portability and Privacy, and Consumer-Driven Health Care (published by the Employee Benefits Institute of America). Mr. Hickman has been called upon by benefits and trade associations to testify before the IRS and DOL on issues affecting health and welfare benefit plans including HIPAA, cafeteria plan regulations, DOL claims procedures, and the HIPAA health care privacy regulations. He received his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University and his J.D. from Emory University.

H. Douglas Hinson is the leader of Alston & Bird's ERISA Litigation Group and a member of the Securities Litigation Group. He concentrates his practice on ERISA litigation, securities litigation, complex commercial and transaction-based litigation and class action defense. Mr. Hinson is a noted author and speaker on various topics related to ERISA, securities and transaction-based litigation. He received his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits sponsored by the Sections on Labor and Employment Law, Taxation and Tort and Insurance Practice. He is a presenter in the Advanced Benefits Law Seminar.

Thomas G. Schendt is a partner in Alston & Bird's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group in Washington, DC. His practice focuses on employee plan litigation, agency civil and criminal audits, investigations and disputes and voluntary compliance initiatives involving the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. He also regularly counsels large employers on the practical effect of various qualification requirements that are issued by appropriate government agencies. This includes assisting clients with the execution of various plan administration and qualification requirements under Titles I & II of ERISA. Mr. Schendt also focuses on fiduciary issues affecting plan providers, including plan fee disclosure, exemption issues, and implications of recent PPA provisions. Prior to joining the firm, he was with the Internal Revenue Service, where he held a number of positions. As technical assistant to the associate chief counsel, Employee Benefits and Exempt Organizations (EBEO) for the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Tom assisted in the coordination of national employee benefits litigation for the IRS, including plan disputes and compliance initiatives. He also acted as a liaison between the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service and various field offices, including Exam and Appeals. The unique combination of his prior experience dealing with sensitive IRS, DOL and SEC compliance issues plus his understanding of the practical aspects in the administration and management of retirement plans provides clients with strategic alternatives in a cost effective manner. Mr. Schendt received a B.S., M.B.A. and J.B. from Marquette University.

David Tetrick, Jr. is a litigation partner at King & Spalding in Atlanta, focusing on the defense of sponsors and fiduciaries of employee benefit plans in ERISA litigation matters. He defends clients in a variety of ERISA class actions involving employer stock in 401(k) plans, calculation of benefits from long term disability plans, breach of fiduciary duty claims, as well as individual ERISA claims and other employee benefits litigation. Mr. Tetrick also represents clients in a wide variety of employment-related issues, including racial, religious, and sexual and harassment cases, race and gender discrimination, Equal Pay Act claims, FMLA claims, wage and hour claims and as employment counsel during audit committee investigations. He has significant trial experience, including federal court jury trials in cases arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII. He was recognized by Atlanta Magazine and Law & Politics as a "Georgia Rising Star" in 2005 and 2006. Mr. Tetrick received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law. He is a decorated veteran of the 1991 Gulf War.

David Thomas is an associate in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's employee benefits and compensation practice. He concentrates on finding practical solutions to his clients' compensation and benefits issues. David's clients range in size from multinational corporations to small businesses. His practice focuses on the design and administration of tax-qualified retirement plans, equity incentive plans, employment agreements, and welfare benefit plans. His particular areas of concentration include assisting rapidly growing companies with the compensation and employee benefits issues unique to such companies; assisting large and small employers with employee benefits design and compliance issues related to corporate mergers and acquisitions and other corporate restructuring; helping plan sponsors to detect defects in tax-qualified retirement plans by conducting "self-audits" of such plans; assisting plan sponsors in preparing for and managing Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor audits; and correcting defects in tax-qualified retirement plans through Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor compliance programs. In addition to these areas, Mr. Thomas assists his clients with keeping up to date with the ever-changing rules in employee benefits law, including the obligations placed upon employers by the privacy and security mandates of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from James Madison University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law where was a recipient of the Edwin S. Cohen Tax Scholarship.