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W. Mark Smith

Of Counsel

Mark helps financial service providers and Fortune 50 companies successfully design and administer retirement, employee benefit, insurance, and executive compensation arrangements. 

He provides a pragmatic perspective on the tax, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other legal considerations applicable to these arrangements.

Asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, insurance companies, investment advisers and managers, mutual fund complexes, retirement platform providers/recordkeepers, and plan sponsors seek Mark’s counsel on a broad range of consulting, transactional, and regulatory matters. Clients say he has “extensive experience" and provides solutions that are "concise, easy-to-understand" and "invaluable; he is very adept at assisting clients with navigating the regulatory waters." He has been deeply involved in the advocacy regarding and implementation of the various iterations of the DOL fiduciary.

Mark has also managed more than 50 tax and ERISA cases in federal court, including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. v. Darden (Supreme Court 1992) and, for the amici, Albertson’s, Inc. v. Commissioner (9th Cir. 1993, 1994). He also advises on the taxation of corporate and nonqualified insurance products, including corporate- and bank-owned life insurance (COLI/BOLI) policies.

From 1999 to 2007, Mark served as partner-in-charge of the Eversheds Sutherland (US) Washington DC office and as US Executive Partner. From 2012 to 2016, he was practice group leader for the US tax and employee benefits practices.

  • Represented Empower in its acquisition of MassMutual’s retirement services business for a total transaction value of $3.35 billion.
  • Represented Empower in its acquisition of Prudential’s retirement plan business for a total transaction value of $3.55 billion.
  • DOL Fiduciary Rule proposal, November 16, 2023, Financial Services Institute (FSI)
  • Over 200 presentations on employee benefits and insurance topics
  • The Array of ERISA Compliance Solutions for Rollover Advice, Bloomberg Compensation Planning Journal (2021)
  • DOL Fiduciary Rule 3.0--How Long Will It Last?, Bloomberg Law (2021)
  • DOL Takes a Third Swing at the ERISA Fiduciary Rule, Bloomberg Law (2020)
  • Fiduciary Duties for Financial Services Companies: The Unique ERISA Paradigm, Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance, Journal of Pension Benefits (2020)
  • Guide to ERISA Individual Prohibited Transaction Exemptions, Eversheds Sutherland (2020 and updates)
  • Advisers to Collective Investment Trusts, PLI Investment Adviser Regulation (2019 and updates)
  • States May Escheat IRAs But Who Gets the Tax Bill?, Law360 Expert Analysis (2018)  
  • Employee Benefits in the Supreme Court, Eversheds Sutherland (2017 and updates)
  • DOL Resolves Important ERISA Issues About Cleared Swap Transactions, Bloomberg BNA (2013)
  • ERISA Compliance Issues for Broker-Dealers, PLI Broker-Dealer Regulation (2008 and updates)
  • Investment Advice for Employee Benefit Plans and IRAs, PLI Investment Adviser Regulation (2008 and updates)
  • Pension Protection Act of 2006: An Overview and Summary, Eversheds Sutherland (2006)
  • Legal, Regulatory and Accounting Issues, Handbook of Stable Value Investments (1998)
  • Named to The Best Lawyers in America in the area of employee benefits (ERISA) law (2001-2024)
  • Recognized in The Legal 500 U.S.A. (2012-2017)
  • DC Bar Frederick R. Abramson Award (2010)
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation
  • Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel
  • Co-Chair, IRI Retirement Summit (2012-2018)
  • Past Presidents Council (2011-present), Former President (2009-2011) and Director (2008-2011), District of Columbia Bar Foundation
  • Former Director, D.C. Access to Justice Foundation (2009-2012)
  • Former Chair, Employee Benefits Committee, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, American Bar Association (1991-1992)
  • Former Delegate, Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, American Bar Association
  • Former Member, Advisory Board, Georgetown Corporate Counsel Institute
  • District of Columbia

Honorable Clement F. Haynsworth, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

  • B.A., University of Kansas,

    Phi Beta Kappa

  • J.D., magna cum laude, Cornell University School of Law,

    Editor-in-Chief, Cornell Law Review, Order of the Coif

W. Smith

Of Counsel

W. Smith

Of Counsel

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