Mary E. Powell

Education

LL.M. in Taxation, with distinction, 1999
Georgetown University Law Center
J. D., with honors, 1996
Golden Gate University
B.A., Rhetoric and Philosophy, 1993,
Willamette University

Professional Career

2001 - Present
Director (Associate prior to 2005)
Trucker Huss
San Francisco, California
1999 - 2001
Associate
Cooley Godward LLP
Palo Alto, California

Professional Licenses
and Affiliations

Member, The State Bar of California
Past President, Bay Area Chapter of the National Institute of Pension Administrators
Member, American Bar Association (Contributing Author, Labor Section’s Employee Benefits Law)
Member, Bar Association of San Francisco
Member, Los Angeles IRS/Practitioners Benefits Conference (Past Member of Steering Committee)
Member, Western Pension & Benefits Council

Lauded by Chambers as having “exceptional client management skills” and a “very diligent and detail-oriented” approach, Mary has two decades of experience in all aspects of employee benefits.

Currently, her main focus is assisting employers with the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and drafting executive compensation and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. She designs and drafts voluntary and involuntary severance plans. Mary assists employers with obtaining Private Letter Rulings from the IRS and she submits comments to the IRS and Department of Labor both prior to the issuance of regulations and in response to proposed guidance issued by those agencies.

Mary has extensive experience in handling benefit plans in mergers and acquisitions. Her clients include large publicly-held companies and complex multi-entity health care organizations. Mary has lectured frequently on ACA and executive compensation topics for many clients and organizations including Western Pension and Benefits Conference, the San Francisco Bar Association and the Bay Area Chapter of the National Institute of Pension Administrators. For many years she was a contributing author to the ABA Labor Section’s Employee Benefits Law, published by BNA.

Mary is a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, the highest level of recognition for an ERISA attorney. Selection as a Fellow reflects the College’s judgment that a nominee has made significant contributions to the advancement of the employee benefits field. Mary is also a Chambers rated lawyer and has been listed as a Top Rated Employee Benefits Attorney by Northern California Super Lawyers since 2017.