Biography

Mary K. Samsa is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Department in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Her primary practice is in the area of executive compensation (both domestically and internationally and with respect to for-profit as well as not-for-profit entities).  She also focuses her practice in the areas of qualified retirement plans (such as 401(k) and pension plans) and employee stock ownership plans. Mary has been named by Chambers as one of Illinois’ “Up and Coming” attorneys in Employee Benefits for 2008.

Executive Compensation Practice  As stated above, Mary’s primary practice is in executive compensation.  She regularly advises clients on (i) nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements (for both taxable entities and tax-exempt entities), (ii) executive employment agreements (for both taxable entities and tax-exempt entities), (iii) equity compensation arrangements and alternatives in conjunction with SEC reporting, (iv) Code Section 162(m) requirements, (v) change-in-control issues, (vi) executive security devises, and (vii) golden parachutes. 

Mary speaks and writes regularly on executive compensation issues.  She sits on the Editorial Advisory Boards for The Benefits and Compensation Law Alert Journal and The Benefits and Compensation Law for Nonprofits Journal where she contributes a bi-monthly column. 

Mary has also been extremely active in working with tax-exempt entities and professional employee benefit associations with respect to proposing regulatory changes to Code Section 457(f) plans and attempting to place tax-exempt nonqualified deferred compensation on par with for-profit entities under Code Section 451. 

International Employee Benefits Practice  Mary has developed significant expertise in international employee benefits issues.  In particular, she has experience in (i) assisting multinationals in the integration of their global employee benefit plans (including pension plans as well as medical/dental/life/disability plans) acquired and/or disposed of as a result of a merger and/or acquisition, (ii) extending nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements overseas, (iii) analyzing split-pay arrangements for mobile executives relocating in foreign jurisdictions, and (iv) designing foreign deferred compensation plans. 

Mary’s experiences in this area over the past 10 years have provided her with professional relationships with attorneys in over 100 countries.  Her network enables her to provide rapid turnaround on time-sensitive international benefit issues.

International Employee Equity Plans Practice  Mary has also been assisting large multinational employers (originating in the U.S. as well as overseas) with the extension of their international employee equity plans overseas for the past 10 years.  She has published a book regarding the legal ramifications (domestic and international) of extending equity-based compensation plans to employees and nonemployees and periodically supplements this book with a semi-annual newsletter regarding changes in regulatory issues across the globe.

Mary is also the Chapter Coordinator of the Global Equity Organization (GEO) Midwest Chapter.  Based on her approach to the Midwest Chapter by listening to what the corporate issuers want from GEO and delivering the appropriate peer network for the corporate issuers, Mary was successful in securing the approximately 60 new Fortune 1000 corporate issuers as members in the Midwest.

Qualified Retirement Plans  As with all employee benefit practitioners, Mary also maintains a core practice with respect to qualified retirement plans, for both taxable entities and tax-exempt entities.  Her clients range from large Fortune 200 publicly held companies to 100-employee ESOPs. 

Background  Prior to joining Seyfarth Shaw, Mary was a partner with a nationally recognized law firm for six years. Mary is a certified public accountant with an MST.  Prior to attending law school, she worked as a tax accountant for the public accounting firm of Laventhol & Horwath and is well-versed in financial statement analysis and preparation. During law school, she worked as a tax researcher and planner for Amoco Corporation’s Tax Department, developing tax strategies for the company’s numerous acquisitions and divestitures.

Education

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

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