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Taylor French

Taylor W. French Partner

Charlotte T +1 704 373 8037 F fax +1 704 373 8838
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Chair of McGuireWoods’ Tax & Employee Benefits Department and co-leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits Practice Group, Taylor counsels public and private companies, private equity funds, tax-exempt organizations, and executives on the full spectrum of executive compensation and employee benefits matters. His practice spans a variety of inter-disciplinary areas and industries shaped by executive compensation and employee benefits laws.

Executive Compensation

Taylor regularly works with clients to design, implement and maintain equity compensation plans, long-term incentive plans, bonus programs and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements for executives, employees and non-employee directors. He also advises and represents executives, boards of directors and compensation committees in the negotiation and drafting of employment, severance, retirement, termination and change in control agreements. Taylor also has deep experience advising clients on the impact of Code Section 409A on executive compensation arrangements and has helped clients utilize IRS programs to correct plan deficiencies or operation errors.

In connection with his executive compensation practice, Taylor frequently counsels compensation committees of publicly-traded clients on the Dodd-Frank financial reform laws and regularly assists with the drafting and preparation of proxy statements and other SEC filings related to executive compensation matters.

Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans

Taylor has broad experience in the creation and maintenance of all manner of tax-qualified retirement plans, such as defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) plans, profit-sharing plans, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) and money purchase pension plans. He also regularly counsels clients in the submission of tax-qualified retirement plans to IRS for favorable determination letters and assists clients preparing participant communications and government filings, as well as correcting plan document and operation errors under the Self-Correction Procedure (SCP) and Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) under the IRS’s EPCRS program.

Health and Welfare Benefits

Taylor frequently works with clients to ensure compliance with HIPAA and HITECH and provides counsel concerning issues relating to PPACA and other healthcare reform laws. In addition, he assists many clients in creating WRAP plan documents and in the design, implementation and operation of employee wellness programs.

Corporate Transactions and Finance

Taylor is a trusted advisor on executive compensation and employee benefits matters relating to private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. His representations have included stock transactions, asset acquisitions, and stock and asset purchases for clients in the pharmaceutical, financial services and industrial sectors. In addition, Taylor has significant experience drafting and negotiating employee benefits matters related to corporate finance transactions.

Taylor also advises hedge funds and other pooled investment entities in connection with investments from pension plans and other sources of plan assets and assists fund managers with the application of exceptions from ERISA’s plan asset rules under the 25% test, VCOC and REOC exceptions.

Nonprofit, Educational and Tax-Exempt Organizations

Taylor advises a broad range of nonprofit, educational, and tax-exempt organizations – including colleges, universities, and K-12 institutions – on the design, implementation, and administration of specialized employee benefit plans. His practice in this area encompasses 403(b) plans, 457(b) and 457(f) arrangements, 401(a) plans, and 415(m) excess benefit plans, as well as other deferred compensation structures tailored to the unique needs of this sector.

Experience
  • Representation of architectural services company on Code Section 1042 deferred tax rollover rules, ESOP plan and trust design and corollary agreements in its roughly $40 million sale of stock by the company’s current owners to an ESOP.
  • Representation of a major state university system on all aspects of its retirement plan programs, including the restatement of all retirement plans to reflect current operational practices and changes in law.
  • Representation of a publicly traded global leader in energy control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets in all aspects of its executive compensation, retirement plan and health and welfare plan programs. We advised the client on an overhaul of executive compensation proxy disclosures and implemented a corporate aircraft use policy and related perquisite tracking program, and provide regularly counsel on potential changes to short-term and long-term incentive programs.
  • Representation of a publicly traded building products manufacturer on executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including review and preparation of annual proxy statement and executive compensation tables and assistance with day-to-day administration of broad-based employee benefit plans.
  • Provided comprehensive compensation, retirement and benefits support in connection with a $1.7 billion spinoff of an industrial business unit from a publicly traded electrical solutions company and its acquisition by a global alternative asset manager. Led the effort to stand up an entirely new suite of retirement, health, severance, incentive and employee benefit plans as the business transitioned off its former parent’s plans and advised on customizing plan terms to reflect the company’s status as an independent entity and guided payroll and vendor integration to ensure a seamless transition of compensation, retirement and benefit arrangements for employees.
  • Representation of a Fortune 500 chemical and ammunition manufacturer in all executive compensation, retirement plan and health plan matters, including assisting with the preparation and filing of a Voluntary Correction Program filing with the IRS to address significant retirement plan compliance matters that will likely require corrective contributions of at least $15 million.
  • Representation of a publicly traded provider of modular workspace and portable storage solutions on executive compensation and equity plan matters, including advising on the design, implementation and maintenance of equity incentive compensation plans and related executive compensation arrangements.
  • Representation of various K-12 independent schools on all manner of executive compensation matters, including 403(b) plans, 457(b) and 457(f) arrangements, 401(a) plans, and 415(m) excess benefit plans.
  • Representation of multiple state flagship university systems and private higher education institutions on all manner of executive compensation and retirement plan issues.
  • Representation of multiple large governmental and private healthcare systems on executive compensation and retirement plan matters, including advising on the design, compliance and administration of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and executive compensation arrangements for tax-exempt employers.
  • Representation of publicly-traded and privately-held companies and family investment offices in the design and implementation of executive incentive compensation arrangements, including short-term bonus plans, long-term equity incentives, and change of control severance agreements.

Events

Insights

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  • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2018-2026
  • Selected for inclusion in Leading Lawyers, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation, North Carolina, Chambers USA, 2020, 2023, 2025, 2026
  • Selected for inclusion as a “Leading Lawyer,” Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Design, Legal 500 US, 2022-2025
  • Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Design, 2022-2025; Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Transactional, 2023-2025
  • Selected for inclusion, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, Band 1, North Carolina, Chambers USA, 2021-2022

Spotlight

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