Biography

Ken handles matters in all areas of employee benefits, including retirement plans, welfare plans, fringe benefits, and executive compensation. He regularly counsels clients on fiduciary obligations under ERISA, and on income and employment tax issues associated with all areas of employee benefits.

Ken has significant experience representing clients in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) audits. Ken has represented many clients before the IRS under its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), and before the DOL under its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) and Delinquent Filer Voluntary Correction Program (DFVCP). He also spends a significant amount of time advising clients on their nonqualified deferred compensation plans, incentive compensation plans, and welfare benefit plans including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) issues.

Ken began his career as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Maine Superior Court, and then as a law clerk in the Utah Court of Appeals. He then worked in Boston for nearly four years in the tax department of a national public accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand. He earned an advanced degree in taxation from Boston University, and for the past 20-plus years has concentrated his practice with Verrill in the area of employee benefits.

Ken currently serves as Vice Chair of Verrill's Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group and as President of the Maine Employee Benefits Council.

Services/Industries

Education

  • Boston University School of Law  (LL.M.)
    • Taxation
  • University of Maine School of Law  (J.D.)
  • Colby College  (B.A., magna cum laude)
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Bar Admissions

  • Maine
  • Massachusetts

Memberships

  • President, Maine Employee Benefits Council
  • Maine State Bar Association
  • Employee Benefits Committee, Section of Taxation, American Bar Association
  • National Diocesan Attorneys Association

Honors

  • AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Recognized in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business under Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation
  • Named the Best Lawyers® 2021 Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Portland, Maine
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America© for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law in Portland, Maine

To learn more about third-party ratings and rankings, and the selection processes used for inclusion, click here.

Clerkships

  • Maine Superior Court, Chief Justice Thomas E. Delanty II
  • Utah Court of Appeals, Judge Gregory K. Orme