Michael Collins

Michael Collins is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He is Co-Chair of the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice Group. His practice focuses on all aspects employee benefits and executive compensation. His practice runs the full gamut of tax, ERISA, accounting, corporate, and securities law aspects of stock option, SAR, restricted stock, and employee stock purchase plans; tax-qualified retirement plans, nonqualified deferred compensation; SERPs; executive employment agreements, golden parachutes and other change in control arrangements; severance, confidentiality, and noncompete contracts; performance bonus and incentive plans; director's pay; rabbi trusts; split dollar life insurance; excess benefit and top hat plans; and the like. He represents both executives and companies in drafting and negotiating employment arrangements.

For over ten consecutive years, Michael has been ranked by Chambers & Partners USA as a leading lawyer in the area of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation in the District of Columbia. He is also recognized for Executive Compensation & Benefits in the Lawdragon 500: Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers 2023 and 2022 guides, which features “the nation’s top advisors to businesses, universities, nonprofits and other organizations dealing with the mind-bending matrix of today’s global workforce.” In addition, The Best Lawyers in America® lists Michael under the category of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law and has been recognized in this publication since 2012.

Michael graduated with high honors from the University of Notre Dame in 1991. On the May 1991 CPA examination, he received the highest score in Indiana and one of the top five scores in the United States. Prior to attending law school, Michael was an auditor with Ernst & Young.

In addition to his employee benefits practice, Michael has taught at different law schools including: Conflicts of Law at Catholic University Law School, and Tax Research and Qualified Plans at the University of Denver Law School. He has published numerous articles on employee benefits and executive compensation topics, including articles in the Labor Lawyer, the Virginia Tax Review, the Journal of Accountancy, New York University Tax Institute Proceedings, and the ABA Preview of Supreme Court Cases.

Michael graduated summa cum laude and second in his class from Notre Dame Law School in 1995. While at Notre Dame, he received six American Jurisprudence awards for best performance in a class, was editor of the Notre Dame Law Review, and received the Dean O'Meara Award for distinctive academic performance.

Capabilities

• Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits
• FDA and Health Care
• Investment Funds
• Labor and Employment
• Private Equity
• Sports Law

Credentials

Education:

• University of Notre Dame - 1995 Juris Doctor
• University of Notre Dame - 1991 B.A. Business Administration

Admissions:

• District of Columbia Bar