Shareholder

Patti Hedgpeth focuses her practice on all aspects of the firm's employee benefits practice including the design, implementation, and operation of tax-qualified retirement plans, employee stock ownership plans, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and health and welfare benefit plans; regulatory compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA, COBRA, and HIPAA; employee benefits issues arising in the context of mergers and acquisitions; and plan correction through various benefit plan correction programs. Ms. Hedgpeth represents companies before the IRS and the Department of Labor and advises management and fiduciaries on problems arising in operation of such plans.

Ms. Hedgpeth earned her J.D. summa cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law, graduating first in her class. Prior to law school, Ms. Hedgpeth worked with two of the "Big 5" accounting firms and was also the controller of a multidivisional corporation.

Education

Texas Tech University School of Law, J.D., Summa Cum Laude
San Diego State University, B.S., Summa Cum Laude

Bar Admissions

State Bar of Texas
Dallas Bar Association
American Bar Association

Practice Accolades

• Vice President of the Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation Section of the Dallas Bar Association
• Listed, Tax: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in The U.S. Legal 500 (2010)
• Listed, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (Nationally) in Chambers USA (2010)

Recognitions and Presentations

• "Strategic Roles & Interaction Between Management, the Board and the Trustee," The Southwest Chapter of the ESOP Association (March 2011)
• "Ethical Issues in Plan Administration," Dallas Bar Association Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Ethics (October 2010) and SouthWest Benefits Association Ethics Presentations (November 2010)
• "Ethics Concerns with Respect to Executive Compensation Issues," SouthWest Benefits Association (November 2009)
• "Ethical Practice Issues for In-House and Outside Counsel," Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation Section of the Dallas Bar Association (September 2009)
• "Qualified Plan Operational Issues," SouthWest Benefits Association Administrative Skills Workshop (February 2009)
• "ACAs, QACAs and EACAs: The New Vocabulary of Automatic Contribution Arrangements," Employee Benefits/Executive Compensation Section of the Dallas Bar Association (May 2008)
• "Health Benefits in Buying and Selling Companies," Lorman Education Seminars (February 2004)
• "A New Era In Claims Procedures For Employers," Lorman Education Seminars (February 2004)

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