Employee Benefits Attorney

• A qualified lawyer in the US with 5+ years of relevant legal experience (either at a major law firm and/or in-house)
• Excellent interpersonal and collaborative skills with ability to contribute successfully to cross-functional teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to distil and communicate complex ideas in a clear, commercially astute manner that supports internal clients in making difficult decisions
• Highly motivated and independent self-starter with excellent work ethic
• Excellent analytical skills with ability to exercise sound judgement even in ambiguous situations
• Excellent organizational skills with experience of managing multiple time-sensitive projects simultaneously
• Strong lateral thinking and problem solving
• Ability to work from Morgan Stanley’s New York office 3 to 4 days per week

Morgan Stanley's goal is to build and maintain a workforce that is diverse in experience and background but uniform in reflecting our standards of integrity and excellence. Consequently, our recruiting efforts reflect our desire to attract and retain the best and brightest from all talent pools. We want to be the first choice for prospective employees.

It is the policy of the Firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sex stereotype, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy, veteran or military service status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce (M/F/Disability/Vet).

Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $110,000.00 and $190,000.00 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs. 

Employee Benefits Attorney

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm and a market leader in investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the people of Morgan Stanley are dedicated to providing our clients the finest thinking, products and services to help them achieve even the most challenging goals. As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. We embrace integrity, excellence, teamwork and giving back.

Responsibilities:

Under the direction of group attorneys:

• Review, analyze and draft decision letters with respect to 401(k), pension, and health and welfare plan claims and appeals
• Advise on the design, administration, and compliance of qualified pension, profit-sharing, 401(k), and welfare benefit plans
• Prepare amendments to employee benefit plans, nonqualified deferred compensation plans and severance pay plans to ensure compliance with applicable legal requirements and to implement plan design changes
• Review statutory, regulatory and other governmental pronouncements to assess the impact on employee benefit plans
• Prepare and review employee benefit plan communications
• Prepare and revise summary plan descriptions and other employee communications
• Advise on the resolution of compliance issues and other technical matters that arise in the day-to-day administration of employee benefit plans and programs
• Assess impact of corporate transactions (mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, etc.) on employee benefit plans
• Prepare IRS determination letter requests and other employee benefits-related governmental filings
• Correct retirement plan qualification failures through IRS correction programs
• Advise on the resolution of issues and concerns that arise in the administration of the Firm's employee benefit plans
• Draft minutes of retirement plan investment committees
• Respond to regulator inquiries and research related issues
• Oversee litigation matters including gathering materials to provide to outside counsel
• Perform other duties as assigned