Albany, NY. Nixon Peabody is pleased to announce the arrival of new counsel Suzanne D. Smith, who joins the firm’s Albany office. Suzanne focuses her practice on employee benefits and brings more than 15 years of technical experience in retirement plan compliance under ERISA and the tax code.
“The area of employee benefits has been revolutionized over the years given the changes with health care reform, the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and an aging workforce,” said Eric Paley, leader of Nixon Peabody’s Employee Benefits team. “Suzanne knows the ins and outs of the law and regulations governing employee benefits and will be a great addition to our Albany team.”
Suzanne helps employers keep their retirement, health, and welfare plans in compliance with current regulations. In addition, Suzanne advises clients on Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service audits of their employee benefit plans. Given Suzanne’s extensive work at the federal level, her practice will be national in scope. Her portfolio of clients spans employers of all sizes and sectors, from financial institutions and hospitals to nonprofits and universities.
Suzanne is extremely knowledgeable in and has extensive experience advising on M&A transaction and severance and executive compensation matters relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation, and Affordable Care acts.
“Suzanne’s practice is a great fit for the workforce expansion being experienced by many of our Capital Region clients, and her addition will help us position those clients for future growth,” said Andrew Rose, managing partner of the firm’s Albany office. “We’re excited to welcome Suzanne to our Albany office.”
An added strength that Suzanne brings to Nixon Peabody is her extensive, hands-on and practical experience working in-house at a third-party actuarial consulting firm, where she advised on retirement plans, handled plan audits and plan corrections, and communicated legislative and regulatory matters internally and externally. Suzanne earned a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law and a B.A. from Connecticut College. She is a member of the Northeast Pension Liaison Group and serves as a board member of the Albany chapter of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists.
