|
Gordon
Earle
Nichols
Member
Phone:
615.252.2387
Fax:
615.252.6387
gnichols@boultcummings.com
Martindale-Hubbell® AV Peer Review Rated
Gordon Nichols has over 25 years of experience in dealing with benefits and compensation matters, including a myriad of interrelated tax, corporate, employment, fiduciary and insurance issues. He advises both large and small businesses on a wide range of issues arising in connection with the design, administration and termination of tax-qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, welfare benefit plans, and executive compensation arrangements. In addition, he devotes a substantial portion of his practice to advising employers regarding the unique benefit and employment issues that arise in the merger and acquisition process. Gordon also has extensive experience in advising the sponsors of governmental plans, church plans and other plans exempt from regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Working with the lawyers in our Litigation Section, he also is involved with disputes, appeals and litigation involving pension and welfare benefit plans.
The benefits, compensation and employment issues of health care providers are of special interest to Gordon. He has represented both buyers and sellers in connection with such issues in large health care transactions involving the transfer and/or corporate reorganization of hospital systems, individual hospitals, nursing homes, physician practice groups and other provider entities in more than 20 states. Gordon represents individual physicians, physician groups, hospitals and other institutional providers in a wide array of pension and welfare benefits design, administrative and compliance matters. He has significant experience dealing with the aggregation rules in Code Sections 414(m), (n) and (o) that complicate retirement planning for smaller provider groups which have certain management and other relationships with hospitals and other large providers. Since the repeal of Code Section 415(e), Gordon has advised professional service organizations and other small businesses in the creative uses of cash balance pension plans as a way of maximizing the tax-deferred savings opportunities for the owners of such entities.
Gordon has significant experience dealing with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and other retirement plans that purchase and sell employer securities. He represents both public and private companies in a broad range of executive compensation matters, including employment agreements, nonqualified deferred compensation plans, stock-based compensation arrangements, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs), and the Code Section 409A compliance issues associated with all such arrangements.
Gordon also has more than 25 years experience in dealing with the tax and fiduciary issues arising in connection with the creation and administration of tax-exempt organizations, including both private foundations and public charities. He also has leadership experience in certain non-profit organizations, Gordon currently serves as legal counsel for and a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Nashville Regional Community Foundation (a 501(c)(3) organization which provides support for the charitable and governmental support functions of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce) and of Music City, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) organization which provides similar support for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau).
Gordon has been recognized for his legal practice in several forums. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, for his employee benefits practice for more than 15 years. He was the only benefits specialist listed in the Nashville Business Journal's "Best of the Bar" in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006; and the only employee benefits lawyer in Business Tennessee's January 2005 "Best 101 Lawyers in Tennessee" and January 2006, 2007 and 2008 "150 Best Lawyers in Tennessee" articles. He was recently named to the Lawdragon 3000, a list that represents less than one percent of the legal profession, and recognized in Mid-South Super Lawyers 2008 for his Employee Benefits/ERISA practice.
Gordon is a member of the Nashville, Tennessee (Section of Taxation) and American (Section of Taxation: Employee Benefits Committee; Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law: Probate and Trust Division - Employee Stock Ownership Plan Committee) Bar Associations. He is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, the ESOP Association, the National Center for Employee Ownership, the Southern Employee Benefits Conference and The Middle Tennessee Employee Benefits Council (President, 1993-1994).
Prior to joining Boult Cummings in 1988, Gordon was a partner in the Houston, Texas-based law firm of Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon, PLC (now Locke, Liddell & Sapp, LLP).
Publications
News
Events
|