Robert Neis returns to Eversheds Sutherland
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP has announced that Robert J. Neis has joined the Tax Practice Group as a partner in the Washington DC office. Mr. Neis rejoins Eversheds Sutherland after spending six years as Benefits Tax Counsel and Deputy Benefits Tax Counsel at the US Treasury Department.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rob back to the Tax Practice Group after his time at the US Treasury,” said Eversheds Sutherland Co-CEO Mark D. Wasserman. “His time in the public sector gives him an invaluable perspective on the employee benefits space that will be extremely beneficial to our clients.”
As the Benefits Tax Counsel, Mr. Neis was the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy on employee benefits matters, and he was a key player in the most important and cutting-edge benefits developments over the last six years, including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the publication of extensive regulations on executive compensation, and the development of the Treasury Department’s position on various health care matters, such as health reimbursement arrangements and medical savings accounts.
Mr. Neis advised Treasury Department officials on the formulation of employee benefits tax policy and coordinated with leadership and staff of the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Department of Health and Human Services, National Economic Council, Domestic Policy Council and other federal agencies. Mr. Neis also regularly represented the United States at the Working Party on Private Pensions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.
In returning to Eversheds Sutherland, Mr. Neis will leverage his time in the public sector to deepen Eversheds Sutherland’s employee benefits team, with a particular focus on executive compensation and health plan innovation and policy.
“Rob is a stellar employee benefits attorney with extensive government experience, and we couldn’t be happier that he has chosen to come back to Eversheds Sutherland,” said Jeffrey A. Friedman, partner and US Tax Practice Group Leader. “We look forward to the key role he will play in further strengthening our benefits practice for existing and future clients.”
While at Eversheds Sutherland previously, Mr. Neis worked for large financial services clients on issues involving their in-house executive compensation arrangements and nonqualified plan products offered to third parties. He has represented a wide range of clients, including publicly traded Fortune 100 multinational corporations, major tax-exempt organizations, start-up companies, and individual executives.