Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Attorney Maureen O’ Brien has joined Holland & Knight in Chicago as a partner in the firm’s Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group. Most recently, she was a partner in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group at McDermott Will & Emery.

Ms. O’Brien focuses her practice on issues affecting executive compensation and employee benefit plans in sales, acquisitions, spin-offs, bankruptcy and restructuring, and other corporate transactions, as well as with benefit plan structuring and integration stemming from such transactions. Her clients include both public and privately held companies, as well as private equity and venture capital funds.

In addition to Ms. O’Brien’s transactional focus, she advises clients on complex retirement and multiemployer pension issues, drafts and designs executive compensation, equity and employment agreements and arrangements, and advises clients on welfare plan design and compliance. Ms. O’Brien has significant ERISA Title I experience and has counseled plan fiduciaries with respect to investment policies, alternative investments, prohibited transaction and payment of expenses from plan assets. She is recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Leading Lawyers in the area of employee benefits (ERISA) law.

“Maureen is a strong addition to our Corporate, M&A and Securities team in Chicago and firm-wide. Her practice is sophisticated and her knowledge broad based,” said José Sirven, leader of Holland & Knight’s Business Section. “Her M&A transaction experience is impressive and complements our existing capabilities in this area.”

Ms. O’Brien received a J.D. degree with high honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.