A partner and chair of the firm's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group, Robert C. Fleder has handled ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation matters for over 30 years. He was selected as one of the leading lawyers in the United States, in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation, by peer review organizations Chambers USA, Legal 500 and Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Fleder has extensive and sophisticated experience in the legal, accounting, actuarial and human resource issues connected with the implementation and operation of employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements.  In numerous merger and acquisition transactions, he has addressed the issues that arise in connection with the assumption of (or failure to assume) benefit plans and other employee obligations. His major transactions include representation of the airline pilots who led the successful multi-billion dollar effort to have employees acquire a majority stake in United Airlines through an ESOP.

Mr. Fleder has been involved in defending and settling significant ERISA fiduciary claims involving private plaintiffs and the Department of Labor. Additionally, he has done much work in advising on ERISA fiduciary matters for investment funds and plan fiduciaries. Corporate bankruptcies often require major support on benefits and executive compensation, and Mr. Fleder has significant experience with PBGC, the federal agency that insures underfunded pensions when a plan sponsor fails.

Mr. Fleder is a member of Taxation Section of the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association and has written and lectured extensively. He is a past co-chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association.