Mr. Earle is a partner in the Charlotte office. A significant portion of Mr. Earle’s practice involves counseling publicly traded companies and other complex employers on matters related to executive compensation. Clients operate in a wide range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, food, telecommunications, utilities and other service-based companies. Many of Mr. Earle’s clients operate globally.
Mr. Earle’s executive compensation practice focuses on counseling clients regarding all aspects of the employment, compensation, benefits and severance of directors, executive officers and other senior managers. Mr. Earle has significant substantive experience with all forms of executive compensation and benefit plans, including the design and administration of stock plans, incentive plans, SERPs, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, perquisites (including executive aircraft), new hire packages and severance/retirement agreements. Mr. Earle helps clients to understand and comply with tax, securities, labor/employment, governance and other legal issues associated with these arrangements, including related disclosure issues for public companies.
Mr. Earle also assists clients with the design and administration of broadly-available employee benefit programs, including welfare benefit plans and tax-qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k) plans and defined benefit plans. He also assists companies with employee benefit and compensation issues in connection with acquisitions and divestitures.