Partner

Mona Ghude is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group.

Mona’s practice consists of three broad areas: qualified plans, equity plans and executive compensation, and benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions.

Mona’s practice in the area of qualified plans includes assisting employers with the various documentary and operational requirements that apply to qualified plans including keeping qualified plan documents in compliance with changes in the law, assisting employers with operational compliance and correcting any errors that inevitably occur along the way, assisting employers in tailoring qualified benefits to employees at different subsidiaries while staying within the confines of the qualified plan rules, amending a qualified plan to change and/or freeze its benefit structure, and submitting qualified plans for IRS approval on a periodic basis.

Mona works with Drinker’s clients to design, draft and implement broad-based equity plans and deferred compensation arrangements, and to design and draft executive compensation, employment and severance agreements for top-level management. Mona’s work in this area includes analyzing Section 409A issues, Section 162(m) issues, and golden parachute issues and reviewing proxy disclosures for various compensation arrangements.

Mona also works on benefits issues in transactions. Mona’s practice in this area includes managing the benefits aspects of transactions by identifying and resolving potential issues that may impede a deal, coordinating with seller’s/buyer’s counsel and with foreign counsel (if required) to transfer sponsorship of benefit plans, and integration of the seller’s benefit plans with the buyer’s benefit plans.