Thompson Hine Expands Employee Benefits Practice With Three-Lawyer Team

26 Oct 2016, 10:02 AM CDT

Leading Employee Benefits Partner David A. Whaley Joins Firm

CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Thompson
Hine LLP is pleased to announce that leading employee benefits
lawyer David A. Whaley has joined the firm’s Employee
Benefits & Executive Compensation (EBEC) practice as a partner
in Cincinnati. Joining Whaley are associates Nicole M. Hanna and Beth A.
Mandel. The group joins from Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, where Whaley was a
partner.

Whaley’s practice focuses on all areas of employee benefits, including
ERISA litigation and administrative proceedings. He assists private and
public companies and nonprofit organizations in all areas of employee
benefits, including design, implementation and compliance in providing
tax qualified and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements,
health and welfare arrangements and employee fringe benefits. Whaley
also assists employers with complying with the mandates of the
Affordable Care Act.

Whaley has particular expertise in handling employee stock ownership
plans (ESOPs) and executive and equity compensation. His extensive
experience in the area of ESOPs includes representing both companies
sponsoring ESOPs and ESOP trustees and fiduciaries in transactions
between the sponsors, selling shareholders and the ESOP.

“Thompson Hine offers an ideal platform for my clients. I was initially
attracted to the firm’s robust, 25-person EBEC practice with bench depth
in every area of employee benefits law, including the Affordable Care
Act,” said Whaley. “In addition, the firm’s Corporate and Commercial &
Public Finance practices and extensive experience in representing both
lending institutions and companies obtaining financing to facilitate
corporate succession planning will be of great value to my ESOP clients.
I was also impressed with the firm’s innovation in service delivery and
its SmartPaTH^® program.”

“We are very pleased to welcome David, Nicole and Beth to the Cincinnati
office,” said J. Shane Starkey, Cincinnati office partner-in-charge.
“David is well-known locally and in the industry generally and the team
will be an excellent asset to the firm’s clients.”

“David is a strong general EBEC practitioner and his focus on ESOPs will
further strengthen our depth in this area,” added Laura A. Ryan,
practice group leader of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive
Compensation practice. “Nicole and Beth bring solid experience in the
employee benefits and executive compensation areas which will enable us
to meet client needs as our practice continues to grow. We are thrilled
that these lawyers have chosen Thompson Hine.”

Whaley is listed in Chambers USA^®: America’s
Leading Lawyers for Business, where he is noted to be “extremely
knowledgeable and very efficient.” He is currently the chair of the ESOP
Subcommittee of the Employee Benefits Committee of the Tax Section of
the American Bar Association and a member of the Legislative and
Regulatory Committee of the ESOP Association.

Whaley received a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in
2003 with high honors, and a B.S. in finance from the University of
Dayton. Hanna earned a J.D., cum laude, from the University of
Cincinnati College of Law in 2012, and a B.A., magna cum laude,
in Law and Social Thought and Political Science from the University of
Toledo in 2007. Mandel received a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati
College of Law in 2005, and a B.A. from the University of Michigan in
2002 with highest distinction.

With approximately 25 professionals, Thompson Hine’s EBEC practice has
focused on efficiently delivering exceptional employee benefits and
executive compensation advice to clients for decades. Ranked by Chambers
USA and the Legal 500 as a top Employee Benefits & Executive
Compensation practice, the group is known for its experienced team and
cost-effective legal services.

About Thompson Hine LLP. Thompson
Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400
lawyers in 7 offices, is ranked number 1 in the category “Most
innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The
Financial Times. For 4 straight years, Thompson Hine has
distinguished itself in all areas of Service Delivery Innovation and is
one of 7 firms noted in the BTI Brand Elite for “making changes
to improve the client experience.” The firm’s commitment to innovation
is embodied in Thompson
Hine SmartPaTH® – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and
aligned with client goals.