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Profile Picture

Michael Collins

Michael
Collins

Partner

CONTACT INFO

mcollins@gibsondunn.com

TEL:+1 202.887.3551

FAX:+1 202.530.9620

Washington, D.C.

1050 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036-5306 USA

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PRACTICE

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

BIOGRAPHY

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. Mr. Collins 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.  For ten consecutive years, Mr. Collins 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 listed in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® under the category of Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law.

Mr. Collins 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, Mr. Collins was an auditor with Ernst & Young.

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.

In addition to his employee benefits practice, Mr. Collins 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.

EDUCATION

University of Notre Dame - 1995 Juris Doctor

University of Notre Dame - 1991 B.A. Business Administration

ADMISSIONS

District of Columbia Bar

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Firm News - November 15, 2021 | Fourteen Gibson Dunn Partners Named Top Employment Lawyers
Webcasts - January 28, 2021 | Webcast: The Art of the Spin-off
Firm News - December 11, 2020 | Eleven Gibson Dunn Partners Named Top Employment Lawyers
Firm News - April 3, 2020 | Gibson Dunn Deal Receives Honorable Mention in Asian-Mena Counsel Magazine
Client Alert - November 6, 2019 | IRS Updates U.S. Retirement Plan COLAs for 2020
Firm News - August 15, 2019 | Gibson Dunn Lawyers Recognized in the Best Lawyers in America® 2020
Webcasts - October 30, 2018 | Webcast: Spinning Out and Splitting Off – Navigating Complex Challenges in Corporate Separations
Client Alert - August 30, 2018 | IRS Issues Initial Selective Guidance on New Section 162(m) Provisions, including Transition Rules
Client Alert - January 31, 2018 | IRS Issues First “Required Amendments List” for Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans Under New Program
Client Alert - November 10, 2017 | Updates to Taxation of Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Under the Proposed House Tax Legislation
Client Alert - November 8, 2017 | Potential Changes in Taxation of Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Under the Proposed House Tax Legislation
Client Alert - October 19, 2017 | IRS Updates U.S. Retirement Plan COLAs for 2018
Client Alert - September 5, 2017 | Internal Revenue Service Announces Relief for Southeast Texas Due to Hurricane Harvey
Webcasts - January 26, 2017 | Webcast: Key Legal Issues in Compensation and Benefits in M&A Transactions
Client Alert - November 1, 2016 | IRS Updates U.S. Retirement Plan COLAs for 2017
Client Alert - July 5, 2016 | IRS Releases Additional Guidance on Changes to Determination Letter Program for Qualified Retirement Plans
Client Alert - June 24, 2016 | IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Addressing Application of Section 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Client Alert - May 31, 2016 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Issues Final Wellness Plan Regulations
Client Alert - March 31, 2016 | District Court Issues Troubling Decision in Sun Capital Case: Private Equity Funds Formed “Partnership-in-Fact” and Were Engaged in “Trade or Business,” Liable for Withdrawal Liability Obligations of Portfolio Company
Client Alert - October 21, 2015 | U.S. Retirement Plan COLAs Unchanged for 2016
Client Alert - July 21, 2015 | IRS to Curtail Determination Letter Program for Qualified Retirement Plans
Client Alert - July 9, 2015 | U.S. Internal Revenue Service Announces Elimination of Lump Sum Windows for Retirees Already Receiving Benefits
Client Alert - May 19, 2015 | United States Supreme Court Finds ERISA Fiduciary Claims Not Time-Barred
Webcasts - April 30, 2015 | Webcast: Pension Tension: The Treatment of Underfunded Pensions In and Out of Bankruptcy
Client Alert - November 5, 2014 | Qualified Plan Limitations Updated for 2015
Client Alert - November 19, 2013 | 2013 Year-End U.S. Retirement and Welfare Plan Update: Action Items for Plan Sponsors
Client Alert - November 13, 2013 | Qualified Plan Limitations Updated for 2014
Client Alert - August 2, 2013 | First Circuit Issues Troubling ERISA Decision for Private Equity Funds
Client Alert - July 22, 2013 | M&A Report – Summer 2013
Client Alert - July 12, 2013 | Supreme Court’s Defense of Marriage Act Decision Will Have Profound Impact on Employee Benefit Plans
Client Alert - January 16, 2013 | U.S. Fiscal Cliff Deal Expands Availability of In-Plan Roth Conversions
Client Alert - November 19, 2012 | Tax Planning: Accelerating Employee Compensation into 2012
Client Alert - October 25, 2012 | U.S. Agencies Release Guidance on Shared Responsibility Employer Penalties and Waiting Period Limitations under the Affordable Care Act
Client Alert - September 14, 2012 | December 31, 2012 Deadline for Amending Certain Severance and Other Arrangements for Section 409A Compliance
Client Alert - September 12, 2012 | IRS Releases Final Regulations on Deductions for Personal Use of Business Aircraft
Client Alert - July 9, 2012 | Transportation/Student Loan Bill Includes Significant Pension Funding Relief and PBGC Premium Increases
Client Alert - October 20, 2011 | Qualified Plan Limitations Updated for 2012
Client Alert - November 1, 2010 | U.S. Labor Department Proposes to Expand ERISA “Fiduciary” Coverage of Providers of Investment-Related Services to Employee Benefit Plans and IRAs
Client Alert - April 2, 2010 | The Impact of U.S. Health Care Reform on Employers
Client Alert - December 22, 2009 | Congress Extends and Expands COBRA “Subsidy”
Client Alert - October 21, 2009 | IRS Qualified Plan Limitations Unchanged for 2010
Client Alert - May 27, 2009 | Deadlines for Amending Tax-Qualified Retirement Plans and Executive Bonus Arrangements Rapidly Approaching: Immediate Action Required
Client Alert - April 3, 2009 | Important New Guidance Issued on COBRA “Subsidy”
Client Alert - February 24, 2009 | Federal Stimulus Bill Makes Major Changes to COBRA That Will Require Immediate Action
Client Alert - October 30, 2008 | Code Section 457A: Ending Deferral of Compensation for Managers of Offshore Hedge Funds
Client Alert - January 8, 2008 | Internal Revenue Code Section 409A: Ten Traps for the Unwary
Client Alert - December 5, 2007 | IRS Issues Voluntary Correction Program for Section 409A Operational Violations
Client Alert - December 4, 2007 | 2007 Employee Benefits Deadlines Require Immediate Attention
Client Alert - October 24, 2007 | Labor Department Issues Final Qualified Default Investment Alternative Regulations
Client Alert - October 23, 2007 | IRS Extends Most Section 409A Transition Relief to December 31, 2008
Client Alert - October 19, 2007 | IRS Releases Updated Qualified Plan Limitations for 2008
Client Alert - September 11, 2007 | IRS Issues Limited Extension to Section 409A Amendment Deadline; Provides Little Relief for Employers and Other Plan Sponsors
Client Alert - August 15, 2007 | Delaware Court Decision Highlights Importance of Stock Option Plan Language in Corporate Transactions
Client Alert - June 8, 2007 | IRS Issues Helpful Guidance Excluding Principal Financial Officers from Coverage Under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code
Client Alert - April 26, 2007 | Nine Action Steps to Implement the Section 409A Deferred Compensation Regulations Before the Deadline of December 31, 2007
Client Alert - April 11, 2007 | IRS Releases Final Section 409A Regulations on Deferred Compensation
Client Alert - February 9, 2007 | February 28 Deadline to Take Advantage of IRS Settlement Program for Stock Options and SARs Subject to Section 409A That Were Exercised in 2006
Client Alert - January 18, 2007 | Senate Finance Committee Proposals Would Impact Deferred Compensation
Client Alert - December 7, 2006 | 2006 Employee Benefits Deadlines Require Immediate Attention
Client Alert - October 5, 2006 | IRS Extends Section 409A Transition Relief Through December 31, 2007
Client Alert - August 8, 2006 | Major Pension Legislation Enacted
Client Alert - August 7, 2006 | Pension Legislation Provides New Opportunities for Investment Funds
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