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

Firm Highlights

Blog

Maine’s Mandatory Retirement Savings Program: What Employers Need to Know

On October 18, 2023, the Maine Retirement Savings Board adopted a final rule implementing Maine’s state-run retirement savings program, the Maine Retirement Investment Trust or MERIT. MERIT is intended to help employees who do...

Blog

Catch-Up Contributions: IRS Provides Relief from Roth Requirements of SECURE 2.0

On August 25, 2023, the IRS issued IRS Notice 2023-62 , providing much needed relief for employers who have been struggling to implement Section 603 of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0&rdquo...

Blog

How to Comply with the Health FSA Debit Card Claims Substantiation Rules

The IRS’s recent Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 202317020 (the “Memo”) brings into focus the importance of compliance with the debit card claims substantiation requirements for medical care expenses reimbursed or paid for through a...

News

30 Verrill Attorneys, Across Four Offices, Recognized in 2023 Chambers & Partners Guide

Blog

HIPAA Privacy Rule Changes: Just in time for the New Year?

In 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed changes to the Privacy Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act of 1996 (HIPAA) that would significantly alter the current regulations...

Publication/Podcast

Establishing Practices and Procedures to Support Retirement Plan Self-Correction

The opportunity to self-correct mistakes in maintaining a retirement plan has been dramatically expanded by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”); see our February 10 blog post for details. However, IRS interim...

Blog

Retiree Medical Coverage: Just Get the COBRA Waiver

The interaction between employer-provided retiree medical coverage and COBRA [1] is complex. Many employers incorrectly assume they do not have to offer COBRA at retirement if they offer a retiree medical plan or a...

News

82 Verrill Attorneys Recognized by Best Lawyers® 2024, Including 10 Named Lawyers of the Year

Blog

DOL Continues Enforcement of Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitation Requirements

Introduction : Fifteen months ago, we wrote that the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) had informed Congress that it intended to devote substantial resources to enforcing the new comparative analysis requirement for non-quantitative treatment...

Blog

The Department of Labor Proposes Its New Fiduciary Rule

On October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor published a new proposed regulation (the “ Proposed Rule ”) defining “investment advice” for purposes of determining when someone advising an ERISA plan or participant or...

Contact Verrill at (855) 307 0700