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Kenneth A. Janik

Kenneth A. Janik

Partner

Meridian
1320 Main Street
17th Floor
Columbia, SC 29201
T 803.255.9460
ken.janik@nelsonmullins.com
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Ken practices in the areas of executive compensation, taxation, ERISA and employee benefits, and corporate law. He is certified by the Supreme Court of South Carolina as a tax specialist.

Ken practices in the areas of executive compensation, taxation, ERISA and employee benefits, and corporate law. He is certified by the Supreme Court of South Carolina as a tax specialist.

Kenneth A. Janik

Experience

The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

Experience

  • Has counseled clients regarding:
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified profit sharing, pension, ESOPs, multiple employer plans (MEPs), professional employer organization (PEO) plans, employee leasing organization plans, and other retirement plans; health, accident, disability, multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs), and other welfare plans; employee benefits-related taxation matters; stock options, restricted stock, phantom stock, equity, synthetic equity, and similar compensation; LLC profits interests; 280G golden parachute issues; non-qualified deferred compensation; 409A issues; ERISA; fiduciary issues; Internal Revenue Code; COBRA; employee benefit plan design, and modification
    • IRS, U.S. Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) audits and other proceedings
    • Compliance with Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and PBGC regulations and pronouncements
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters in the context of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, reorganizations, restructurings, disputes and litigation involving employee benefits, and planning and developing strategies to avoid disputes and litigation
    • Matters related to economic development incentives, state and federal tax-related planning, and disputes and litigation
  • Experienced in South Carolina state and local tax matters, including income, sales, use, property tax, and fee-in-lieu of property tax
  • Practice involves the representation of publicly held and private organizations, tax exempt organizations, church-related organizations, governmental agencies, and corporations and other organizations from the technology, manufacturing and health care industries

Representative Transactions

  • Advised target corporation in a $2 billion merger regarding various employee benefits matters, including fiduciary and other ESOP-related considerations both pre- and post-closing.
  • Advised many clients involved in mergers, reorganizations, preferred stock offerings, and other transactions regarding equity-based compensation considerations, including IRC Section 409A and 280G matters.
  • Advised clients, including hedge funds regarding their portfolio companies, in negotiations with executives regarding employment, change of control, equity-based incentives, and related agreements and matters.
  • Advised technology companies regarding incentives for entrepreneur-managers of acquired early growth stage companies.
  • Advised private nonprofit IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations in health care and other industries regarding obtainment of rebuttable presumption in the intermediate sanctions/compensation context, IRS Form 990 compensation reporting considerations, and design of supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs), long term incentive plans (LTIPs), and other executive compensation.
  • Advised Global Fortune 200 company regarding its U.S. subsidiary's termination of over 2,000 retirees' health and other welfare benefits without any litigation occurring in the aftermath.
  • Developed case strategy and participated as trial counsel in U.S. federal court litigation representing a Global Fortune 500 company-defendant in the defense of plaintiffs' multi-million dollar claims involving various alleged merger and acquisition-related violations of ERISA, including breach of fiduciary duty, in connection with denial of benefits under a defined benefit pension plan and severance plan. After a week long trial, the result was a defense victory.
The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

Experience

  • Has counseled clients regarding:
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified profit sharing, pension, ESOPs, multiple employer plans (MEPs), professional employer organization (PEO) plans, employee leasing organization plans, and other retirement plans; health, accident, disability, multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs), and other welfare plans; employee benefits-related taxation matters; stock options, restricted stock, phantom stock, equity, synthetic equity, and similar compensation; LLC profits interests; 280G golden parachute issues; non-qualified deferred compensation; 409A issues; ERISA; fiduciary issues; Internal Revenue Code; COBRA; employee benefit plan design, and modification
    • IRS, U.S. Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) audits and other proceedings
    • Compliance with Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and PBGC regulations and pronouncements
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters in the context of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, reorganizations, restructurings, disputes and litigation involving employee benefits, and planning and developing strategies to avoid disputes and litigation
    • Matters related to economic development incentives, state and federal tax-related planning, and disputes and litigation
  • Experienced in South Carolina state and local tax matters, including income, sales, use, property tax, and fee-in-lieu of property tax
  • Practice involves the representation of publicly held and private organizations, tax exempt organizations, church-related organizations, governmental agencies, and corporations and other organizations from the technology, manufacturing and health care industries

Representative Transactions

  • Advised target corporation in a $2 billion merger regarding various employee benefits matters, including fiduciary and other ESOP-related considerations both pre- and post-closing.
  • Advised many clients involved in mergers, reorganizations, preferred stock offerings, and other transactions regarding equity-based compensation considerations, including IRC Section 409A and 280G matters.
  • Advised clients, including hedge funds regarding their portfolio companies, in negotiations with executives regarding employment, change of control, equity-based incentives, and related agreements and matters.
  • Advised technology companies regarding incentives for entrepreneur-managers of acquired early growth stage companies.
  • Advised private nonprofit IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations in health care and other industries regarding obtainment of rebuttable presumption in the intermediate sanctions/compensation context, IRS Form 990 compensation reporting considerations, and design of supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs), long term incentive plans (LTIPs), and other executive compensation.
  • Advised Global Fortune 200 company regarding its U.S. subsidiary's termination of over 2,000 retirees' health and other welfare benefits without any litigation occurring in the aftermath.
  • Developed case strategy and participated as trial counsel in U.S. federal court litigation representing a Global Fortune 500 company-defendant in the defense of plaintiffs' multi-million dollar claims involving various alleged merger and acquisition-related violations of ERISA, including breach of fiduciary duty, in connection with denial of benefits under a defined benefit pension plan and severance plan. After a week long trial, the result was a defense victory.

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Recognitions

The bar rules of some states require that the standards for an attorney's inclusion in certain public accolades or recognitions be provided. When such accolades or recognitions are listed, a hyperlink is provided that leads to a description of the respective selection methodology.

Professional Activities

  • South Carolina Bar
  • American Bar Association
    • Corporate Law and Tax Sections
    • Employee Benefits (ERISA), Litigation - ERISA Committee
  • Richland County Bar Association
  • S.C. Economic Developers Association
  • Adjunct professor for the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina

Ken practices in the areas of executive compensation, taxation, ERISA and employee benefits, and corporate law. He is certified by the Supreme Court of South Carolina as a tax specialist.

Experience

The following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

Experience

  • Has counseled clients regarding:
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including qualified and non-qualified profit sharing, pension, ESOPs, multiple employer plans (MEPs), professional employer organization (PEO) plans, employee leasing organization plans, and other retirement plans; health, accident, disability, multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs), and other welfare plans; employee benefits-related taxation matters; stock options, restricted stock, phantom stock, equity, synthetic equity, and similar compensation; LLC profits interests; 280G golden parachute issues; non-qualified deferred compensation; 409A issues; ERISA; fiduciary issues; Internal Revenue Code; COBRA; employee benefit plan design, and modification
    • IRS, U.S. Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) audits and other proceedings
    • Compliance with Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Labor, and PBGC regulations and pronouncements
    • Executive compensation and employee benefits matters in the context of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, reorganizations, restructurings, disputes and litigation involving employee benefits, and planning and developing strategies to avoid disputes and litigation
    • Matters related to economic development incentives, state and federal tax-related planning, and disputes and litigation
  • Experienced in South Carolina state and local tax matters, including income, sales, use, property tax, and fee-in-lieu of property tax
  • Practice involves the representation of publicly held and private organizations, tax exempt organizations, church-related organizations, governmental agencies, and corporations and other organizations from the technology, manufacturing and health care industries

Representative Transactions

  • Advised target corporation in a $2 billion merger regarding various employee benefits matters, including fiduciary and other ESOP-related considerations both pre- and post-closing.
  • Advised many clients involved in mergers, reorganizations, preferred stock offerings, and other transactions regarding equity-based compensation considerations, including IRC Section 409A and 280G matters.
  • Advised clients, including hedge funds regarding their portfolio companies, in negotiations with executives regarding employment, change of control, equity-based incentives, and related agreements and matters.
  • Advised technology companies regarding incentives for entrepreneur-managers of acquired early growth stage companies.
  • Advised private nonprofit IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations in health care and other industries regarding obtainment of rebuttable presumption in the intermediate sanctions/compensation context, IRS Form 990 compensation reporting considerations, and design of supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs), long term incentive plans (LTIPs), and other executive compensation.
  • Advised Global Fortune 200 company regarding its U.S. subsidiary's termination of over 2,000 retirees' health and other welfare benefits without any litigation occurring in the aftermath.
  • Developed case strategy and participated as trial counsel in U.S. federal court litigation representing a Global Fortune 500 company-defendant in the defense of plaintiffs' multi-million dollar claims involving various alleged merger and acquisition-related violations of ERISA, including breach of fiduciary duty, in connection with denial of benefits under a defined benefit pension plan and severance plan. After a week long trial, the result was a defense victory.

Education

  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, LLM, Taxation (1987)
  • University of South Carolina School of Law, JD (1984)
  • University of South Carolina, BA (1979)
  • Warwick University, Exchange Student, Economic History

Admissions

  • South Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
  • U.S. Tax Court

Practice Areas

Industries

The bar rules of some states require that the standards for an attorney's inclusion in certain public accolades or recognitions be provided. When such accolades or recognitions are listed, a hyperlink is provided that leads to a description of the respective selection methodology.

  • South Carolina Bar
  • American Bar Association
    • Corporate Law and Tax Sections
    • Employee Benefits (ERISA), Litigation - ERISA Committee
  • Richland County Bar Association
  • S.C. Economic Developers Association
  • Adjunct professor for the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina