Scott E. Galbreath

Education

LL.M. (Tax), with honors, 1991
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, Illinois
J.D., 1986
IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Chicago, Illinois
B.A., with high honors, 1983
Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, Illinois
in Political Science and Urban Studies,  [double major]
Criminology minor
Elmhurst, Illinois

Professional Career

2023 – Present
Counsel
Trucker Huss, APC
San Francisco, California
2017 – 2023
Of Counsel
Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld
Leader of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group
2013 – 2017
Attorney
The Burton Law Firm
Leader of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice group
2007 – 2013
Senior Attorney
Chang, Ruthenberg & Long

Professional Licenses
and Affiliations

Member, State Bar of California
State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization Certified Specialist in Taxation Law, 2017
Member, State Bar of Illinois, 1986
Member, Sacramento County Bar Association, Business, Labor and Employment, and Tax Law Sections
Member, National Institute of Pension Administrators
Past President, Sacramento Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits Council
Past President, Sacramento Chapter of National Institute of Pension Administrators
Past Chair, Sacramento County Bar Association Tax Section
Past Chair, Chicago Bar Association, Taxation Committee’s Exempt Organization Division
Past Chair, Chicago Bar Association, Trade & Professional Associations Law Committee
Past Chair, CBA Employee Benefits Committee’s Executive Compensation Subcommittee
Past Chair, CBA Employee Benefits Committee’s ERISA Litigation Subcommittee
Impact Foundry, Faculty Member

Scott E. Galbreath leads the Equity and Executive Compensation Practice Team. He has more than 30 years of experience representing employers in ERISA, employee benefits, and executive compensation matters.

Scott’s extensive experience includes working with clients on all types of nonqualified deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, 457(b) and 457(f) plans for executives of tax-exempt organizations, equity and synthetic equity plans, such as restricted stock and phantom stock or stock appreciation rights, golden parachutes, and change-in-control and severance arrangements. He also assists clients with Internal Revenue Code section 83(b) and 409A compliance and correcting qualified plan compliance errors under IRS and Department of Labor remedial programs.

After practicing for 20 years in Chicago, where he was recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and chaired the Chicago Bar Association’s Executive Compensation Subcommittee, Scott moved to California, where he has served as Chair of the Sacramento County Bar Association’s Tax Section, as well as President of the Sacramento Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council. He continues to serve on the Board of the WP&BC Sacramento Chapter. He has also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Governing Board of the Western Pension & Benefits Council and as a board member of the Sacramento Chapter of the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA). He served as President of the Sacramento Chapter of NIPA and instituted its merger into the Sacramento Chapter of Western Pension & Benefits Council. In 2023, Scott served on the planning committee for the Western Benefit Conference. Scott is a Fellow of the highly selective American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and he is a frequent writer and speaker on new developments in employee benefits. He is the author of The Benefit of Benefits blog, which is an online resource for information and commentary on new legislative, regulatory, and industry developments in employee benefits and executive compensation.

Scott was named a Top Lawyer for Employee Benefits (2015-2017 and 2020-2022) and a Top Lawyer for Tax (2021) in the lists published by Sacramento Magazine. He was also named a Super Lawyer in Northern California Super Lawyers 2021-2023 for excellence in employee benefits law. Scott was recognized as a 2024 Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law. Scott is also recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated lawyer.