Shareholder

Riva Johnson assists employers with the establishment, administration and ongoing compliance issues of their welfare plans, executive compensation, pension, 401(k), profit sharing, stock ownership and other qualified and nonqualified benefit plans. She has over thirty years of experience in the ERISA and benefits area.

Ms. Johnson focuses her practice on fiduciary issues, executive compensation, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), health and welfare plans and other traditional employee benefits. She represents companies before the IRS and DOL and advises management and fiduciaries on problems arising in operation of such plans. Ms. Johnson has extensive experience with the design, preparation and modification of medical, dental and disability plans, including negotiation and drafting of plan, trust and funding instruments. She regularly negotiates with third-party administrators and other vendors on behalf of employer self-insured welfare plans, designs and drafts bonus plans, incentive and nonstatutory options, and other forms of executive compensation.

Ms. Johnson is admitted to practice in Texas. She is not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Education

University of Texas School of Law, 1979 J.D., Cum Laude
University of Tulsa, 1976, B.A., Cum Laude

Awards and Recognitions

Listed, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (various states) in Chambers USA (2009)
Listed, Labor and Employment: Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in The U.S. Legal 500 (2009)
Listed in the highest tier for National ERISA Litigation Practice in Chambers USA (2009)
Listed, The Best Lawyers In America (2005-2010)
Listed, The Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine (2005-2010)
Listed, Texas Super Lawyers (2006-2010)

Presentations

• "Strategic Roles & Interaction Between Management, the Board and the Trustee," The Southwest Chapter of the ESOP Association (March 2011)

Bar Admissions

State Bar of Texas

Previous Law Firm Experience

• Morgan Lewis & Bockius
• Jenkens & Gilchrist
• Hughes & Luce

Member

• Dallas Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Charter Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
• Former Chair, HIPAA and Government Plans Subcommittees of the ABA Tax Section Employee Benefits Committee
• Former Chair, State Bar of Texas Tax Section Employee Benefits Committee
• Former Chair, Dallas Bar Association Employee Benefits Section