Stephanie Smithey Named Chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Employee Benefits Practice Group

INDIANAPOLIS – March 25, 2019 – Ogletree Deakins shareholder Stephanie Smithey has been named chair of the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group. Smithey is replacing Joel “Buddy” Daniel, who founded the group in 1988 and has been the practice group chair for over 30 years.

Smithey devotes her practice to all aspects of employee benefits law. She represents clients with respect to qualified retirement plans and health and welfare plans, assisting them with a variety of plan design, compliance, and administration issues for all types of pension, health and welfare benefit plans. Smithey advises her clients as to ERISA, MPPAA, HIPAA, COBRA, the ACA, the Internal Revenue Code, as well as other federal and state laws applicable to employee benefit plans and plan sponsors. She assists clients with IRS and DOL audits, as well as internal compliance audits and plan corrections.

“Stephanie is an extremely accomplished benefits attorney that has the leadership skills to improve and expand the success of the Ogletree benefits practice,” Daniel said.

“Under Buddy’s leadership, Ogletree’s employee benefits and executive compensation practices has grown to be one of the largest, most-experienced group of benefits professionals in the country,” Smithey said. “I am honored to have this opportunity to follow in his footsteps.”

More than 60 Ogletree Deakins attorneys—located in the firm’s offices around the world—are members of the Employee Benefits Practice Group. Ogletree Deakins has one of the largest teams of employee benefits and executive compensation practitioners in the United States. The group’s goal is to provide practical advice that allows an employer’s benefits strategy to work in harmony with the employer’s overall personnel, financial, and business objectives.

About Ogletree Deakins
Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Premier client service, as outlined in the firm’s Client Pledge, is one of the firm’s top priorities and a cornerstone of its core values. U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” has named Ogletree Deakins a “Law Firm of the Year” for eight consecutive years. In 2019, the publication named Ogletree Deakins its “Law Firm of the Year” in the Employment Law – Management category. Ogletree Deakins has more than 850 attorneys located in 53 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies. www.ogletree.com