Biography

Mr. Lifson is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. His practice is concentrated primarily in the areas of employee benefits law, with special emphasis on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), and he is currently Chairperson of the firm’s Defined Contribution Plan Practice Group and he serves on the firm’s Welfare Plan Committee. Mr. Lifson teaches various courses in employee benefits and executive compensation as part of the graduate program at The John Marshall Law School, in Chicago, Illinois.

Employee Benefit Plans (ERISA). Mr. Lifson has considerable experience in the design, implementation and administration of employee benefit plans of all kinds. He has experience advising clients on health and welfare plan matters, including the ever-changing landscape of retiree benefits and elimination or restructure of retiree medical programs. Mr. Lifson has supervised numerous compliance audits of qualified retirement plans, health and welfare programs, and executive compensation arrangements. He has made presentations before Boards of Directors, Compensation Committees, and plan fiduciaries regarding ERISA fiduciary compliance. Mr. Lifson has represented clients in audits and proceedings before the Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans. Mr. Lifson has considerable experience with ESOPs and ESOP transactions. He regularly advises clients regarding plan design aspects, how to structure and implement ESOP transactions, and administration matters. Mr. Lifson is a member of The ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership. He speaks regularly at the national conventions of The ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership.

Estate Planning and Probate. Mr. Lifson regularly advises clients regarding the use of wills and trusts in estate planning. He has extensive experience creating trust vehicles including irrevocable life insurance trusts, family partnerships, charitable trusts and grantor retained income trusts. In addition, Mr. Lifson represents families of decedents in probate which include court appearances, estate administration, tax return filing and the distribution of assets.

Taxation. Mr. Lifson has an extensive tax background which he uses to complement his estate planning practice. He is well versed in the latest developments in the tax area, including the use of “estate freezes,” grantor retained income trusts and survivorship insurance to minimize estate taxes. He also has considerable experience designing and implementing family partnerships, “estate freeze” recapitalizations, ESOPs and installment sales to facilitate ownership succession transactions and reduce family-owned or closely-held company tax burdens.

Education

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois