Strook & Strook hires former Lehman Brothers Executive Comp & Bens Specialist

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, a national law firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, has announced that Steven W. Rabitz has joined Stroock’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group as Partner today. Before joining Stroock, Mr. Rabitz [private] led the ERISA, executive compensation and benefits legal function at Lehman Brothers as Senior Vice President and Senior ERISA & Benefits Counsel, and most recently, served at Barclays Capital in a similar substantive capacity. Prior to Lehman, Mr. Rabitz worked at Goldman Sachs from 2000 through 2006 first as Assistant General Counsel and then as Associate General Counsel. While in-house, Mr. Rabitz focused extensively on the ERISA considerations relating to his employers’ main businesses and product lines, from both the “sell side” and the “buy side,” including ERISA issues relating to brokerage, prime brokerage, futures, swaps and other derivatives, structured products and asset backed and mortgage backed securities. He also focused on the ERISA considerations relating to asset management products and services including separately managed accounts, the formation and ongoing operation of private investment funds, collective funds, and “wrap” and other similar products and services. Mr. Rabitz also advised on ERISA issues related to in-house compensation arrangements.

Mr. Rabitz was an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton from 1995 to 2000 focusing on ERISA and executive compensation issues. In addition to an emphasis on financial products and advice relating to the design, implementation and ongoing operation of executive and other incentive based compensation, he spent a significant amount of time on transactional work.

Mr. Rabitz is a frequent presenter and author, including for the Practising Law Institute’s ongoing “Pension Plan Investments” conference series. He has also written articles on ERISA and compensatory issues and developments for a number of academic and business publications.

“We are delighted to welcome Steve as a talented attorney who fits our firm and our practice group perfectly. In this economy, the importance of ERISA and employee benefits issues has never been more prominent,” noted Mark Wintner, who leads Stroock’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group.

[/private]Stroock’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group has extensive experience in all planning, drafting, compliance and transactional aspects of ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation. The Group’s expertise encompasses ERISA, tax, securities law, bankruptcy law, stock exchange and corporate governance requirements as they affect benefits plans and compensation arrangements.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP is a law firm providing transactional and litigation guidance to leading multinational corporations, investment banks and venture capital firms in the U.S. and abroad. Stroock’s emphasis on client service and innovation has made it one of the nation’s leading law firms for 130 years. Stroock’s practice areas include capital markets/securities, commercial finance, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, venture capital, private funds, derivatives and commodities, employment law and benefits, energy and project finance, entertainment, environmental law, financial restructuring, financial services litigation, insurance, intellectual property, investment management, litigation, personal client services, real estate, structured finance and tax. For more information, please visit Stroock’s website at www.stroock.com.