David L. Wolfe is a partner and member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice Group. He represents clients in a full spectrum of industries with an emphasis on tax-exempt organizations. He is a co-founder and member of the Steering Committee for the development and continuing sponsorship of the HR/Hospital Advisory Board (co-sponsored by Deloitte) for senior HR executives in tax-exempt health care systems.
David is a prolific speaker and writer. He has written on a variety of tax topics in a number of publications including the DePaul Law Review, Akron Law Review, CCH Financial and Estate Planning Reporter, The Practical Lawyer, Legal Checklists, Chicago Bar Record, IICLE Handbooks (on S Corporations and Employee Benefits Law), IICLE, ISBA and ABA outlines and the ISBA Employee Benefits Section Newsletter. He has co-authored three chapters in the Health Care Industry volume published through the CCH Tax Transactions Library. He has been published in the Employee Benefits Journal, Plan Sponsor, Tax Analysts, ERISA Compliance & Enforcement Strategy Guide, Retirement Planning and Plan Sponsor Magazine.
David has sponsored and presented more than 100 Breakfast Briefings as a service to clients and colleagues. He uses these free seminars as an opportunity to update clients on current employee benefits issues that may affect them. He has also served as a lecturer for National Institutes and meetings of the American Bar Association, programs sponsored by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and the Employee Benefits Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association, various committees of the Chicago Bar Association, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, Conference of Consulting Actuaries, Indiana Pension Conference, Illinois Hospital Association, Enrolled Actuaries, Benefits Management Forum & Expo, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, Worldwide Employee Benefits Network and the Society for Human Resource Management, speaking on a wide variety of employee benefit issues.
David engages in a broad-based practice covering tax-qualified plans and executive compensation. Specifically his practice focuses on benefits issues for tax-exempt clients, U.S. benefits for international clients, global stock arrangements, reducing ERISA litigation and fiduciary liability exposure, cash balance and other hybrid pension arrangements, legal compliance reviews, executive compensation, incentive pay arrangements and the corporate governance of benefit plans.
Since 2000, David has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® (published by Corporate Counsel) in Employment Benefits Law. He is also past chair of the Employee Benefits Section Council of the Illinois State Bar Association. He is also recognized as one of Chambers USA 2006 - 2010 "Leaders in their Field" for Employee Benefits. From 2007 - 2010, David was named a "Super Lawyer" in the field of Employment and Labor, Employee Benefits/ERISA. In 2011, David was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.
In General. David received his J.D. degree cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1976. He is a 1973 graduate of the University of Illinois with highest honors, and has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1973.
David and his wife, Gail, live in Park Ridge, IL. They have three children.