Gail W. Stewart
Section Chair at Baker Botts
Gail Stewart serves as the chair of the Baker Botts employee benefits & executive compensation section. She has been in the firm’s tax department since 1983 and has extensive experience with the design and implementation of executive compensation arrangements, such as equity-based incentive programs, salary continuation plans, golden parachute arrangements and employment agreements. She also provides counsel to companies on the design and regulatory compliance of pension, profit sharing and employee stock ownership plans and welfare benefit plans.
In the executive compensation area, Ms. Stewart helps clients establish and manage executive compensation plans and arrangements, as well as negotiate and draft employment and severance agreements with senior executives of publicly traded and privately held companies. Ms. Stewart also regularly advises clients on employee benefits issues attendant to mergers, acquisitions, public offerings and bank loans, as well as on prohibited transactions and fiduciary problems relating to employee benefit plan investments. She represents clients of all sizes, both public and private, in a variety of industries.
Publications, Speeches and Presentations
• Seventh Circuit Holds Plan Sponsors Can Enforce Forum Selection Clauses in ERISA Plans, Tax Update, September 2017
• IRS Issues Hurricane Harvey Relief for 401(k) Plans, Employee Benefits Update, August 2017
• U.S. District Court Dismisses Shareholder’s Claim that SEC Rule 16b-3(e) Does Not Exempt Share Withholding for Purposes of Section 16(b) Liability, Client Update, May 2017
• Trump Administration Analysis and Priorities, November 2016
• Shareholder Challenging Availability of SEC Rule 16b-3(e) to Exempt Share Withholding for Purposes of Section 16(b) Liability, Client Update, November 2016
• IRS Issues Temporary Regulations to Clarify Self-Employment Tax Treatment of Partners in a Partnership that Owns a Disregarded Entity, Tax Update, May 2016
• Private Equity Funds Are Found Liable for ERISA Withdrawal Liability of a Bankrupt Portfolio Company in Sun Capital, Private Equity Report, April 2016